It’s Time to Find a Therapist
In a time marked by a 10-month pandemic, a volatile economy and an attempted coup d’état , it makes sense that we are a little worried. We’ve been stuck inside for almost a year now, offices are closed and businesses are closed. Given circumstances beyond the control of individuals and even large and powerful organizations, you may feel the need to speak to a professional about the chaotic vortex sweeping your mind. And that’s a great idea.
There are many considerations to consider before starting therapy – and these often range from financial concerns to a willingness to be honest with a complete stranger. Here are several ways you could get started learning about therapy, including answers to some of the questions you might have.
How to find the right therapist
Finding a therapist can be overwhelming, and it often feels like he is looking for the right romantic partner – he must be a good fit for the relationship to work. Fortunately, we’ve already covered the ins and outs of finding the right therapist , such as the various psychological disciplines therapists use, the licenses and specializations they may have, and some of the most common questions you can ask before getting started. relationship.
However, one thing is true for everyone – how important it is to trust your instincts. As writer Rebecca Fishbein wrote last year:
The real key to finding a therapist is just like trying to find a romantic partner: there has to be a click. If after a couple of sessions you don’t feel that your therapist is someone you can open up to, then he is not your therapist.
Is teletherapy effective?
In short, yes. But trust me: my therapy sessions went into this format last year when the pandemic began, and continuing the relationship even in such a remote format has been extremely rewarding. When all of our usual physical meeting places moved to the Internet last year, Elizabeth Yuko of Lifehacker wrote a clarification on teletherapy that should answer most, if not all, of your questions about the topic.
Although it took a while for the practice to become widespread, due to government compliance issues and the typical bureaucracy of insurance companies, teletherapy – and telemedicine in general – skyrocketed during the pandemic. As Yuko wrote last year, teletherapy is basically as effective as its personal equivalent:
Since 1996, there has been extensive research into teletherapy, which has led to the conclusion that it is as effective as, and in some cases even superior to, personal therapy (for example, teaching parent-child interaction ).
What about text therapy?
These days, therapy doesn’t even need a computer camera: you can first dip your toes in water using text therapy, which usually involves exchanging written messages with a licensed consultant or, in some more limited cases, with a bot.
Obviously, there are caveats in this direction: to begin with, you are missing a real human connection, and there is clearly a lack of facial cues and tone. Other than these non-verbal cues, it can be harder to misinterpret some of the advice you receive. Texting also dampens emotions; after all, you cannot edit, delete, or rewrite what you actually say to the therapist.
But – and this is a big but – text therapy has its advantages. It’s a convenient way to get at least some advice as a last resort, and it’s also much more affordable, generally, as many services and apps only require small monthly fees, as opposed to fees that often run into three-digit numbers for a single use. session. Moreover, text therapy is perhaps best recommended as an introduction to a real-world situation, especially for those who are hesitant or skeptical of the clinical setting.
As Dr. Sabrina Romanoff , a clinical psychologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York, told Lifehacker last November, text therapy “can be an opportunity for people to dive into a therapeutic pool and encourage them to look for the real thing. “