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Welcome back to BeREAL! This week Diana and Ednesha are joined once again by BeWELL’s very own, Jess. The trio is here to discuss how to choose a therapist that fits your needs and schedule.
Diana starts off the episode by explaining how many people seek therapy beginning in January, because of new year’s resolutions. The three women then all share their first experiences with therapy, and how they found their first therapists. Diana found hers through a phone book. Jess found hers by researching different specialities. Ednesha found her first therapist during grad school and through campus resources, but later she found a therapist through her insurance provider.
But how do you find a therapist that is the perfect fit?
Diana explains many basic factors that will affect how to choose a therapist. She describes a patient – therapist relationship like dating. You want to show your true self in the initial paperwork, so that you can get into the gist of the work sooner, and therefore know whether the given therapist relationship will work in the future. Ednesha brings up issues of how to know if you should ask for a second session. She debunks a myth that after an initial consultation, the patient has to choose whether or not to commit to months on end of treatment. In some offices this is true, but others (including BeWELL) allow you to go session by session. Ednesha advises that you commit one week at a time so that you can develop the relationship with the clinician, but also have an out if you realize the therapist is not the right fit.
How often should you attend therapy?
There are many different schools of thought around the question of how often you should attend therapy. Ednesha brings up that she has heard of therapists that require patients to sign contracts committing to a schedule. However, the trio feel as though that can muddle the therapist – patient relationship because it can feel too structured and formal. Again, Ednesha suggests attending therapy frequently at the beginning, to develop the relationship quickly, but after the relationship is built you can assess the situation for yourself and change the schedule as you see fit (and you can change it again later).
After a break, the therapists come back to ask Jess about her experience with therapy. She goes over the strange experience she had with her previous therapist, who ended their sessions after deeming that Jess was “cured.” Jess, on the other hand, still felt as though she needed more counseling, and so she’s figuring out how to choose a therapist that is in the same school of thought as her when it comes to the idea of being “cured.” Diana and Ednesha both offer input on the idea of therapy being used to “cure” specific issues.
Thank you so much for tuning into BeREAL in 2021! Be on the lookout for a new episode next week. In the meantime, make sure to check out last week’s year on 2021 intentions.
For more information on BeREAL (our mental health podcast) and BeWELL (our psychotherapy practice in Midtown Manhattan) visit the links below:
To schedule a therapy appointment text BeWELL to 484848 today
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Be.WELL.Psychotherapy/
