How to start Counseling

I need to see a counselor and I’ve known for aw while now that I need to talk to someone but I don’t know where to start. 

I hear this frequently from clients I work with during their first session. Something my profession is apparently not doing a good enough job of, is making our services accessable and providing direction on how to get started. I’m making this post to provide a step by step guide of how to find a therapist that is a good fit for you. 

• Identify the main issues you want to work on. It could be anxiety, grief, intimacy issues, anger, the past haunting you.. ect. You get the point. We are complex human beings but within the counseling field there are many different kind of therapists who do different kids of therapy.
  Here is a link to a list of examples https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics

• Identify how you want to pay for your services. Do you have insurance, do you have income to pay out of pocket for these services. Someone has to pay for the service, just like any other service in our community.
  If you are not able to pay, that’s okay, but we need to identify the correct provider for you and there are resources with your county Mental Health and Recovery Board.
  If you wanting to use a particular insurance plan, you have to find a provider that is paneled or accepts that payer. What insurance each provider accepts is listed on their page or you can contact them for more information.
  If you can or need to pay for the services yourself, take a look at your budget and see what you can comfortably afford. Some providers offer a sliding scale to those in certain income guidelines.
  We at Trauma Therapy Company accept Open Path. They are a nonprofit dedicated in matching therapists with providers at a discounted rate for those in middle and lower income levels.  

• Identify any types of therapy that you think would help you most or fit you better as a human. You can see a list of different types of therapy if you search the issues you identified in step 1. For example “most effective treatment for anxiety” will lead you to Cognitive behavior treatment, medications, and trauma focused treatment such as EMDR that we use here at TTC. If you do not find one you like, that is ok, each provider has a therapy they are trained in to help the specific issues they treat.
  Here is a list of examples https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/types-of-therapy

• Go to traumatherapycompany.com and see our list of providers and see who would be a good fit based on the needs you identified for issue, payer, type of therapy and any other needs, for example some people are more comfortable with a female provider, vs. male provider. 

If we don’t have a provider you feel comfortable with thats okay, we just want too get you with the right person:

• Search on a therapy directory like psychologytoday.com and filter the search by the issues, payer, and therapy you identified in steps 1-3. You can also search by area if you’re wanting to see someone in-person or by state if you’re open to Telehealth or online therapy. Currently therapists can only work in the state they are licensed in, we’re hopeful that will change in the coming years but for now, the state you are currently standing in, is the one you have to see a provider who is licensed within. 

• Click “Schedule an appointment” , then click “new client” and the provider you selected to work with. From there you can see the different times of day, morning, afternoon and evening appointments available by the day. If it says “call to schedule” just pick another day to see more availability.