So, you’ve decided that you have an issue that a therapist can help you with. Perhaps it’s a problem you haven’t been able to make any headway with. Or you may be feeling depressed or anxious. Or you’re wondering how to make your relationship with a special someone better. Whatever your problem is, you want to connect with a therapist who you feel comfortable with and who can help. Easy, right?

Maybe not so much. You search online and find a confusing array of therapists — all of whom claim that they can help you with your problem. On the surface it appears to mean that all these therapists can help. But, do can they? And how to choose one?

Therein lays the million dollar question. Therapy is important to your mental health and happiness. Not to mention expensive. So, naturally you want to choose a therapist who is familiar with the treatment of your particular problem and who is a good match for you. In other words, how do you find a good therapist?

How to find a good therapist

The first step is to do your due diligence. Ask friends, family, and coworkers whose opinion you respect if they know any therapists who provide therapy on the issue you want help with whom they have heard good things about. Even better, would be a therapist recommendation from someone who had a successful experience of therapy for your particular issue.

Next, conduct research online for additional information on the therapists that were recommended to you, and also to find additional therapists that might be a good match for you. See our blog post How to Find and Research a Mental Health Therapist Online.

How to Find and Research a Mental Health Therapist Online

Understanding Search Results

Now, comes online research. Remember, google is your friend. Search for therapists that specialize in the treatment of your issue. Whether it’s anxiety, depression, relationship problems, panic attacks, social anxiety, loneliness, trauma, PTSD, or whatever your problem is there’s a therapist that can help. Enter a search that includes the problem you want help with, such as “online panic attack therapist.” Notice that there are three main types of search results that are returned: therapist ads, directory ads, and therapist websites.

Therapist Ads

The first type of search result will be near the top or right of the search page. These will be paid advertisements. In google searches they are identified by the word “Ad” in bold type above them. Are these the best therapists? Maybe, maybe not. These results appear first only because the therapist paid google to display their results at the top of the page.

Therapist Directory Listings

The second type of result will usually be therapist directory listings. These are basically “yellow pages” listings of therapists. You can identify these by reading the web address in the result. If it reads, for example, “psychologytoday.com,” it is a therapist directory. Perhaps, these are the best therapists because they are near the top of the results? Alas, not necessarily. These therapist directory listings are near the top of the results because therapist directories are cleverly optimized by highly paid and motivated search engine optimization specialists. These specialists work for the directory to make sure that the directories are listed as close to the top as possible in searches. Therapists pay a monthly or annual fee to be listed in therapist directories to help people find them online. The fact that a therapist is in a directory listing in the top search results is not an indication of therapist skill or quality. It is more an indication of the skill of SEO specialists and digital advertising agencies! Often, these search results will be written to appear as if they belong to an individual therapist’s website. You can differentiate a directory listing from a therapist’s website by looking at the web address of the search results. An example of a directory listing’s web address is “goodtherapy.org.”

Therapists’ Websites

Well, you ask, where do I find the websites of individual therapists? At last, we are getting to that. Typically, the website’s of individual therapists will be listed next. Here you may find website addresses with just the name of the therapist (for example, “johnsmithphd.com,” or the name of the therapist’s practice (for example, “thehappinesspsychologist.com”). Here finally, is your chance to peruse the websites of individual therapists and group practices. Now, is it possible that these individual websites are listed high up in the search results because the therapist or practice paid an SEO specialist or digital marketing agency? Sure that’s possible, but on individual and practice websites you have the best opportunity online to learn about individual therapists. This is because it is usually the place where the therapist or practice has had the most latitude in the content they present. Here they can tell you as much as they want about themselves. Here they can showcase the quality of writing, pictures, and style they chose for their website. All of this tells you import details about the therapist.

Questions To Ask Yourself

Here’s what to ask yourself when researching a therapist online:

• How professional does the website look? Does it look like a lot of care was put into it?

• Do they offer therapy for the type of mental health issue you have? Common issues treated by mental health therapists include: anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, relationship issues, and trauma treatment.

• Do they talk about the type of therapy they use? Common therapy types include: psychodynamic therapy, sensorimotor therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), accelerated experiential dynamic psychotherapy (AEDP), somatic therapy, and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy (EMDR).

• Do they tell you where they received their initial education and training? Is their education from a well known public or private university or from a for profit professional school? Look for big name universities and universities that you recognize.

• What type of degree did they earn? The most common mental health professional degrees in decreasing order of time, training, and experience are: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) for psychologists, Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) also for psychologists, Mental Health Counselor (MA or MEd) for mental health counselors, and Master of Social Work (MSW) for social workers.

• How much experience do they have providing therapy? Did they just graduate from school? More years of experience often translates to more skillful provision of psychotherapy.

• Are they licensed by the state or regional board of psychology, counselors, or social work? Licensure is very important because it ensures a minimal level of acceptable education and training. Be sure to verify a therapist’s license on the website of the appropriate state board. Here you can check to see if their license is current, and if any board actions have been taken against the therapist — not a good sign.

Dig A Little Deeper

Next, it’s time to find reviews online of the therapists you’re interested in. Take reviews with a big grain of salt, as anyone can post a review and the reason they may have had a good or bad experience may have little to do with the particular therapist but could instead be related to other factors such as the particulars of their issues. Look for general trends of mostly positive or negative reviews for therapists you’re interested in.

Make The Call

Now, you’ve completed your due diligence in searching for a quality therapist. Hurray! You’re ready for the final steps! Take a deep breath and call the office of at least three of the therapists you think would be a good match for you. When you call describe your issue and ask any questions you have. After making your calls, consider the responses you received. Then select one therapist and set up an initial appointment.

Congratulations! You did it! You made a wise and carefully considered choice which will give you the best chance of having a quality therapy experience and getting the help you need.

Did you find this article helpful? Do you agree or disagree with our advice? Do you have any advice to add? Let us know in the comments below!