How to find a therapist is a frequent question readers ask when they call. They know they or a loved one needs help with something “bad” that happened to them in childhood, a mental illness, or a substance use disorder — sometimes all three. But they are at a loss for how to find someone who specializes in all three and still meets their other criteria. This other criteria might be insurance, gender of the therapist, age groups the therapist works with, whether the therapist offers video conferencing therapy, as examples.

Celebrating National Mental Health Awareness Month by Sharing Steps on How to Find a Therapist.

In recognition of May as National Mental Health Awareness Month, I wanted to share one resource and steps to follow in order to find a therapist. National Mental Health Awareness Month has been celebrated since 1949 and is led by Mental Health America and its affiliates across the country. Another group very active in this observance is the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). I encourage you to check them out for more information and the services they offer.

How to Find a Therapist

For this post, I am sharing how you can use the Psychology Today’s website section, Find a Therapist. Here are the steps to follow when using this site.

1. Click on Psychology Today, Find a Therapist.

2. Enter your city or zip code and a list of therapists pops up.

3. In the left column, click on the options that apply. Options include: Insurance, Issues (examples include: depression, anxiety, eating disorders, family conflict, trauma and PTSD, substance abuse…) Age, Sexuality, Gender, Language, Faith, Types of Therapy, Online Therapy, and See Nearest. You would select all that apply. Now your list of possible therapists narrows to only those that meet your criteria.

4. From there, you’d select “View” in the column to the right of each therapist’s name, and that will take you to their website. Look through their websites to see which ones seem like they might be a fit.

5. Call the offices of those that seem like a fit and talk to the therapist. You are interviewing them so don’t be afraid to ask questions.

6. If none seem to work, then consider expanding the distance you’re willing to travel in order to expand your list options.

And If You’re Looking for Addiction Treatment

…check out my post, 7 Things to Know When Looking for Addiction Treatment.

As Always

Feel free to contact me through my confidential email, lisaf@BreakingTheCycles.com, or my office phone, 916-241-9813, with additional questions. There is no charge for these kinds of calls.

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Lisa Frederiksen

Author | Speaker | Consultant | Founder at BreakingTheCycles.com

Lisa Frederiksen is the author of hundreds of articles and 12 books, including her latest, "10th Anniversary Edition If You Loved Me, You'd Stop! What you really need to know when your loved one drinks too much,” and "Loved One In Treatment? Now What!” She is a national keynote speaker with over 30 years speaking experience, consultant and founder of BreakingTheCycles.com. Lisa has spent the last 19+ years studying and simplifying breakthrough research on the brain, substance use and other mental health disorders, secondhand drinking, toxic stress, trauma/ACEs and related topics.

Latest posts by Lisa Frederiksen (see all)

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