The role of Psychologists, in the United States, has changed in the past few years and it’s important to understand what you need and want to accomplish in therapy before you choose a psychologist.
Clinical psychologists now see long-term patients that once were seen by psychiatrists. These are patients with long-term problems like depression, schizophrenia and other biologically based mental problems that require psychotherapy. If you require long-term or more intense treatment, this is the kind of psychologist that would meet your needs.
If your problem is less severe, your choice is in the counseling community. These psychologists often counsel people with everyday stresses, family problems, divorce recovery, short-term crisis situations, and they help you learn to cope with problems.
Where to find a psychologist:
While experts say to go by word of mouth, I’m not sure many of us know of people who are in counseling or psychotherapy.
Generally, if you need to see a psychologist, someone has directed you or given you advice. The preliminary diagnosis should come from your doctor who can also guide you to a psychologist or to professional organizations that can help you find reputable help.
Doctors can help you find the right kind of psychologist to meet your needs. It would be unproductive to see a counselor if what you really needed was more intense clinical help. Its possible that group therapy would meet your needs, but you won’t know that without guidance. Finding the right kind of psychologist and therapy is important.
It makes good sense to see your doctor first for a number of reasons:
Doctor referrals -(required with HMO insurance)
Medical history -(needed by clinical psychologists)
Professional organizational listings -(for your search)
Doctor’s personal acquaintance with psychologists -(referral)
Coordinated treatment by doctor and psychologist -(teamwork)
You visit with the psychologist:
Rapport is very important, but it doesn’t always happen within the first two meetings. It takes time to build trust, and a good psychologist will be working with you to establish that trust. Seeing a psychologist may be stressful for some people.
Unless there is a noticeable problem in relating to each other, whether verbal or non-verbal, it’s a good idea to stick with one psychologist for 3 to 4 sessions at least. At that time, you will know if it’s a go or not.
The truth is, there are just some people with whom we can’t connect. We may like or admire him or her, but without a viable connection there is no doorway for rapport or opportunity to build trust.
If that happens, you search again using the resources you’ve already gathered. Perseverance is needed in finding the right help sometimes.
Source:
http://www.wcupa.edu/
