When you take the first, brave step to seek out therapy, the next step is to find a therapist that meets your needs. There are many types of therapy out there, from a talking-based online therapist to other, more specialist interventions to help with specific conditions. Here are some top tips for finding the therapist that is best suited for you. Ask About Therapy Styles One of the most important questions to ask when you meet with different therapists is this: “What is therapy with you like?” The reason why this is so important is that there are so many different styles and disciplines and therapeutic approaches that a session of therapy under one psychologist or therapist may be very different from another. For example, cognitive behaviour therapy is about focusing on what people think, and by changing their thoughts on certain subjects, that will help alter their actions and feelings. Person-centred therapy, on the other hand, will focus on every aspect of a person’s life as part of the treatment. Psychoanalysis will focus on your upbringing and past and how that has impacted you today. It is important to find a therapist that fits your needs, and whilst even within different frameworks there is a lot of room for different approaches, this will give you a good idea of what to expect. Consider Who You Typically Ask For Help One way to find the right therapist, especially if you have never had a session before, is to ask yourself who you ask for help in your life and how do you approach that? Do you confide in a close friend, a romantic partner, a sibling or a parent? What aspects of the people you confide in most help you when you are in times of trouble. Is it having someone who cares about you to vent to that matters most, do you want advice, tools or guidance, or are you looking for a mix of both? These kinds of questions will help you find a therapist that will provide the outcomes you are after.
The Six Session Rule There are two types of therapy course: Time-limited, often provided by the NHS and will come to an end after a certain number of sessions, and, Open-ended, where the therapy will continue for as long as you need it. Different people need varying amounts of time to reach a breakthrough and see improvement, but a good rule of thumb is to allow for six weeks to see if the therapist has been able to help you achieve positive therapeutic change and see if it is a good fit. This allows for a therapist to see how you evolve and change, and let you get comfortable in the session. The first couple of sessions are often subconsciously undertaken with a guardedness that does lower once that trust is built and established.