In every profession there are those who are good at what they do and those who are there because it’s their job. The first group of people generally enjoy what they are doing and put in the time and energy to be skilled professionals. The second group of people are just doing a job. It is a paycheck and not much more. That is fine for many categories of work. Not all jobs are meant to be enjoyable. It is a matter of gritting your teeth and making it to the end of the day. Some people do this their whole life. They live for the weekend and if hard work gives them the money to enjoy the weekend, they are happy. I applaud that kind of blue collar grit. Those kind of folks keep the world turning. When finding a Therapy service it important to find a person who enjoys what they do. There are therapist who grit their teeth to get through the day, but that is not good for the client.
This article is to discuss how to tell if you have a good Therapist and specifically, an online therapist. It is a field where one must enjoy what they are doing to be successful. I am sure of this. Attitude is transferred from therapist to client and if the therapist has a negative viewpoint on life, the client will not achieve the kind of growth they are looking for. So lets explore some of the keys to tell if the therapist is someone who is good at what they do.
Let me first state,this article could help you find a therapist online or in person, I just wanted to add in a few points as it seems there are more concerns with the online therapists at this point. That is probably because it is a newer concept. We will start off with keys that cover all therapists and end with those specific to those therapists who practice online.
The first key is to get your therapist’s license number. For Licensed Professional Counselors, Psychologists, Social Workers, or any practitioner in the mental health field, a number is issued by the state where they practice. You can research what that licence means and what education/background it took a practitioner to have to obtain the license. This is the first thing you can do as a client to make sure your therapist is legit. Pretty simple stuff here. The internet will have the licensing boards information as well. Google it and see what their website has to say.
The second key is to check out the therapists web page. Read about them and see what kind of background they have outside of the counseling world. Many therapist will reject this line of thought. They think only their education and license are important information for the client to have. I disagree and disagree strongly. You should find out what your therapist holds true in terms of therapeutic approach. Do they use a Cognitive/Behavioral system that believes therapy is a mutual work where client and therapist must both put forth equal effort? Do they hold an Existential belief that is more focused on the internal thoughts we hold about higher matters in life? One approach can work great on one client, but fail miserably with another. Find out if you and your therapist ‘fit’. This is part of the research you need to do. A good web site will discuss the therapist’s background.
The third key is to find out what the therapist specializes in. This should be on their website. Some therapists are problem specific. They specialize in Anxiety Disorders, Depression, Grief and Loss, Addictions, or any other area of mental health. Some therapists are geared towards a certain target audience. This may mean they are best suited to work with teens,couples, the elderly, women, men, the disabled, or any demographic of people. Look on the web site and see what the therapist specializes in. If it is not on the web site, call them and ask.
The fourth key is more specific to online therapy. The key here is to make sure the web site looks professional and is user friendly. You are looking to spend hours out of your life online with this therapist so make sure the website looks professional and is easy for you to use. This shows you if the therapist put the time, effort, and money into making you feel comfortable. This is a good indicator of how the therapist will treat you in session. There are technical problems that happen from time to time, but a good therapist will not make you suffer those problems. For example, if I was in a video session with a client and their computer lost access, I would let them make up those remaining minutes without charging them. That is just honest business, but you would be amazed at how rare that type of thing can be in today’s age. Online Therapy is geared to create a comfort factor for the client. So having a solid web site is a good indicator if this therapist is putting forth the proper effort.
