Tips For Selecting a Therapist

I am so happy that it seems as if the stigma of therapy is evolving positively. I think this is because people are sharing their stories more and more these days.

Had you asked me a decade ago if I would have ever considered therapy, my answer would have probably been, no. However, now it is something that I am so happy I started. I would honestly say it’s been one of the best things I’ve ever done in life. I think it’s just as important and life-changing as giving up red meat, investing in my education, and having my son.

When selecting a therapist, there are many things to consider. For me, my requirements were a therapist with multi-faceted disciplines covering multiple areas of focus, a woman, and she had to be BLACK. I also wanted the location to be close to my home, but I was willing to sacrifice that because it wasn’t as important as my previous requirements. I started my search with Therapy For Black Girls.

A few reasons you may need to consider therapy:

🔸Grief
🔸Trauma
🔸Early childhood Trauma
🔸If you’ve had a big life change
🔸If you’ve had thoughts of harming yourself or others.
🔸If you’ve felt withdrawn from things or people that have made you happy in the past.
🔸If you are using drugs or alcohol to cope with life’s challenges.
🔸If you are having more life challenges than you feel you can cope with normally.
🔸If your relationships are strained.
🔸If you feel like you are losing control of your life.
🔸If you need to understand challenging childhood issues.
🔸If you feel like you just need to talk to someone.

After you realize therapy is a path that you want to take, you should have some goals you’d like to accomplish with that experience. Some of those goals could be but may not be limited to:

🔸Gaining an understanding of the past.
🔸Becoming a more evolved person.
🔸Stop making the same mistakes over and over again.
🔸Learning coping mechanisms.
🔸Creating an action plan to a happier you.

Selecting a good therapist is the first step to gaining some clarity about the challenges you are having. Research therapists and select the ones that have a focus on your area of interest. After you do that, do a bit of snooping. A good place to start is the following:

🔸Google them. It sounds very basic, but this should be your first step.
🔸Check out their social media channels.
🔸Read their blog, if they have one.
🔸Check out testimonials.
🔸Read their books if they are published.

After you’ve narrowed your choices down, call a few to get a feel for them, and trust your instincts. Talk to them about their specialties. They will be getting a feel for you but, you also must see if they are a fit for you as well. Selecting a good therapist is essential if you’d like to figure things out. Sometimes selecting a good one could be immediate, but sometimes you may need to talk to a few before you get a good fit. Either way, the most important thing is that you find a good fit.

If you are reading this, you may have been on the fence about seeking therapy. YOU deserve to be at peace with who you are. So make that leap into therapy, you won’t be sorry.

I would love to know your thoughts on this session, therapy in general, and more about your journey in getting better in touch with who you are through therapy. Reach out, let’s chat on FB, IG, and Twitter. Until then, Happy Healing.

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