How To Find The Right Counseling Services For You
It's difficult enough to admit you're struggling with a problem you can't handle on your own or that you don't feel safe talking to anyone, but finding the right counseling services for your situation can seem even more daunting. Use these tips to find a counselor and return to a happier life.
Today, the number of different counseling services available for your use is astounding. From couples therapy, addiction counseling, grief therapy and more, it's important to understand that no matter how alone you may feel with your struggles, the right counseling services for you are out there. You just need to have the knowledge and resources to find what is available in your community. It will also help to take some time to consider what you are dealing with, whether you feel ready to engage with a therapist, and what you would like to achieve from the process. It helps to know a little about what therapy is all about as well, so you can make a better choice.
Therapy can help people enhance their mental health, operation and overall quality of life. The therapist provides a safe environment for you to discuss your concerns. There are many different approaches to treatment that your therapist may utilize depending on your needs and goals. These approaches will help resolve the issue that brings you to therapy and provide you with new skills so that you will be better able to cope with similar issues in the future. At the initial appointment, the therapist will want to know what has brought you into treatment and what you would like to achieve. You should also be able to ask her questions about her experience with similar issues, specific expertise, training and education, and her therapeutic philosophy and mission statement, and any other questions that might make you feel more comfortable proceeding.
Before you start your search, you should come up with a list of traits you'd like your ideal counselor to have. Do you think you'll be in need of some tough love and want someone who will be blunt and honest, or are you looking for a compassionate counselor who provides a listening ear and is a little gentler in their communication? Maybe you would like a combination of both. Even deciding whether you want to work with a man or woman can help guide your search. You might also consider whether you would like to pursue in-person sessions located in your surrounding community or if you would feel more comfortable pursuing mental health services through a virtual platform.
Plus, it's helpful to understand exactly what your options are in terms of different counseling specialties, and which one may be right for you. The most basic orientations are individual therapy, group therapy, family therapy. These distinctions usually represent who attends the treatment. Within individual therapy, a therapist can focus on your psychology as an individual, family systems you experienced, interpersonal relationships, and/or historical or current experiences or situations. A personal yet professional relationship develops that should be grounded on your needs as a client. By taking into account that you need to be comfortable with a counselor, you'll be a lot more likely to find someone who will be effective in helping you.
While specific types of therapeutic work are best understood by professionals, it can be helpful to know some of the more popular types of techniques in treatment. One of the most historic forms of treatment was psychoanalysis, a lengthy process of individual treatment that focuses on uncovering unconscious material that may be affecting you while you lay on a couch. Over time this has moved more toward psychotherapy with face to face contact that is grounded in a therapeutic relationship discussing concerns. Techniques the therapist might use in this work include cognitive behavioral, dialectical behavioral, mindfulness, relaxation, trauma-based interventions, to name a few. These techniques basically are grounded on the premise that what you feel and experience and think cognitively are all inter-related and affect one another. In this way, interventions can be made in terms of how you think as well as how you act and feel. At the base of all treatments, however, is a client-centered and empathic relationship where you feel heard and a process that facilitates your overall improvement.
Of course, if you are feeling overwhelmed and need to make a decision relatively soon, you may not have time to explore all these aspects. Sometimes, you can find a counselor that may simply help you to stabilize for the time being, while you explore options. Short term therapy for immediate concerns is very prevalent today, while longer-term treatment may involve a dedicated effort to achieve deeper and more lasting results. In any event, when you enter therapy, you are able to evaluate the experience as you go. Keep in mind that therapy and dealing with difficult issues can be uncomfortable sometimes. So when you are in therapy, try to evaluate your experience as honestly as possible.
Once you at least have a general idea of the type of counselor you'd like to work with, you can begin your search. They may have connections with mental health professionals serving the community who they can refer you to. You can also do a search through your health insurance network to see what services may be covered, and to get a list of counselors to start learning more about.
You may also be able to get a referral from a professional organization, like your insurance company or a psychological association in your area. Or you might perform a search to discover what mental health programs and community resources are available. Today, people often make use of the internet to find resources for help and several web sites have reviews posted for professionals and private practices.
For some people, talking openly about a search for counseling services can be anxiety-inducing. Even calling potential counseling resources on the phone can feel like a daunting task. Because of this, an online counseling services website can provide you with all the options you need to find your ideal counselor in a private and pressure-free setting.
This can help eliminate some of the stress in finding a counselor while giving you a significant pool of counselors to choose from. Not to mention, counseling sites like BetterHelp, often have testimonials from real people using their services, which provide useful insight into their counselors, that can help you narrow down who you'd like to connect with.
Commonly Asked Questions On This Topic Found Below:
What can my Counsellor help me with?
Working with a counselor can help individuals experiencing a wide range of emotional or mental health challenges. Some individuals may decide to pursue counseling for support navigating a difficult season of grief or loss, relational difficulties, or healing after trauma. Others may seek counseling for help managing mental health conditions, such as anxiety disorders, depression, or substance use disorders. There are different types of counseling available for individuals and families based on the current challenges they are facing and unique needs.
Through working with a counselor, clients can process difficult emotions, identify and challenge unhelpful thought and behavior patterns, and develop healthy coping strategies. People facing a variety of challenges can find hope for enhanced quality of life through counseling services.
FAQ
What are the counseling services?
Counseling is a collaborative process involving the development of a confidential professional relationship that focuses on personal problems. There are three types of counseling that are most commonly offered. The three types of counseling include school and career counseling, mental health counseling, and substance abuse counseling.
School and career counseling offers support to children of all ages who are at risk of feeling overwhelmed. Those feelings can stem from issues at home, problems with friends, or what they have seen on the news. School counseling sessions often take place in a school setting and help students have a positive educational experience. They are often called upon to provide social-emotional support.
Mental health counseling professionals provide psychotherapy treatment to individuals, couples, families, and groups. The main role of a mental health counselor is to promote mental and emotional health and they are often well-versed in a wide variety of topics spanning from marital problems to self-esteem and stress management. Mental health counseling can occur either individually or in a group.
Substance abuse counselors work with clients individual or in a group. They also might work alongside nurses or doctors to coordinate care and to develop treatment plans. These professional may choose to specialize in providing services to specific populations, while others will work with individuals who are in treatment programs.
What are the 3 types of therapy?
The three types of therapy include school and career counseling, mental health counseling, and substance abuse counseling.
School and career counseling offers support to children of all ages who are at risk of feeling overwhelmed. Those feelings can stem from issues at home, problems with friends, or what they have seen on the news. School counseling sessions often take place in a school setting and help students have a positive educational experience. They are often called upon to provide social-emotional support.
Mental health counseling professionals provide psychotherapy treatment to individuals, couples, families, and groups. The main role of a mental health counselor is to promote mental and emotional health and they are often well-versed in a wide variety of topics spanning from marital problems to self-esteem and stress management.
Substance abuse counselors work with clients individual or in a group. They also might work alongside nurses or doctors to coordinate care and to develop treatment plans. These professional may choose to specialize in providing services to specific populations, while others will work with individuals who are in treatment programs.
How do you know if a counselor is right for you?
Once you have decided that you want to begin counseling, you’ll have to find a counselor that is right for you. While there is likely an abundance of mental health professionals in your area, finding the right one can be time-consuming and is a highly personal process. Here are some tools to use when looking selecting a counselor
First, it is important to look for a licensed therapist who has experience working within your area of concern. Like most health professionals, therapists have areas of expertise. There is a wide array of mental health professionals, including licensed clinical social workers, licensed mental health counselors, and therapists with doctoral degrees. All counselors are typically able to treat various issues, such as anxiety, depression, and stress.
Second, you’ll want to know whether the counselor’s approach is right for you. Some therapists are very active during the session, whereas others are passive or take on a non-directive role. Therapists who are trained in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy tend to be more goal-directed, active, and collaborative. During a Cognitive Behavioral Therapy session, you can expect your therapist to help you articulate your personal goals, both short term and long term, for treatment so that you can start to work towards those goals together during your sessions. Therapists who draw from other training experiences, such as a Person-Centered approach, will take a more passive role and avoid offering tools, techniques, and assignments. There is no benefit or detriment to either approach. Rather, it is finding the most compatible approach with what you hope to get out of your sessions.
Another consideration is how available the counselor is. Some issues require more frequent therapy meetings. Some people may value having a therapist who has more flexibility in their schedule than others. Some individuals might believe that therapy is best online, whereas others prefer in-person sessions.
You should also find out if the therapists work best online or if they prefer to meet in person. If a therapist’s preferred treatment style does not align with the type of options you are searching for, it might not make for an excellent long-term relationship.
Finally, if you have a diagnosis that is also being treated by a health care professional, it might be important to find a counselor who is willing to collaborate with your treatment team.
Overall, it is essential that no matter who you choose as your counselor, you’ll want to make sure that they are someone you feel comfortable discussing and working on personal issues with.
How much is a typical counseling session?
The cost of counseling sessions vary. Some therapists charge as much as $250 per hour, whereas other charge less. The average 45 to 60-minute session costs between $60 and $120. Many health insurance providers offer high-quality coverage where therapy is either entirely covered or you will pay an amount equal to your current copay. It is always recommended to check with your insurance provider to see if therapy is one of the services covered.
What are the five stages of counseling?
The five stages of counseling are relationship building, assessment, goal setting, intervention, and termination. Relationship building is the time where rapport is built between the client and therapist. Relationship building is crucial to the success of the therapeutic relationship as it determines how open the client will be about their problems. Given its important role, relationships building continues throughout the entire therapeutic relationship.
Assessment centers around determining what the problem is and involves three factors. The first is the counselor’s theoretical or philosophical orientation. The way the therapist conducts therapy will play a part in how they determine what the issues are that need to be addressed. The second is how the condition presents in the client’s specific situation and the counselor’s understanding on the condition as it relates to the individual. Finally, the client’s cultural frame of reference and the conditions that frame of refence imposes on the client’s world view are taken into account.
Goal setting involves the therapist working with the client to determine what steps should be taken to address the issue. The goals that are set determine the direction for the counseling process, measure progress, and determine when it might be time to end the therapeutic relationship.
Interventions are derived from the counselor’s theoretical orientation, assessment of the problem, personal view of human nature, and change processes. Interventions are the strategies the therapist and client develop together to help the client achieve their stated goals.
Successful termination with the client is the ultimate criterion of the counseling being successful.
What can I expect from a Counselling session?
Your first counseling session will be different from future visits because the first visit is a chance for you and your therapist to get to know each other and figure out the best way to proceed. Future visits will be more therapeutic in nature, because you’ll be able to explore a specific symptom or problem that you mentioned in the initial session. Future sessions will build upon various symptoms or problems that you have mentioned, and you and your therapist will be able to work together to address those issues.
What is the difference between therapy and counseling?
The terms counseling and therapy are often used interchangeably; however, there is a difference between psychotherapy and psychological counseling. Counseling typically focuses on specific issues and is designed to help a person address a specific problem. The focus may be on problem solving or learning specific coping strategies. Counseling also tends to be more short-term than therapy. Therapy on the other hand tends to be more long-term and focuses on a broader range of issues. The thinking with therapy is that a person’s thinking and behavior affect the way that person interacts with the world. There are various forms of psychotherapy that are used and each therapist typically has a type that they use more than others. Depending on the type of psychotherapy used, the goals can be to help people feel better equipped to manage various issues, understand patterns in their behavior that may interfere with personal goals, have more satisfying relationships, and better regulation their emotions and thoughts.
What are the 4 types of talk therapy?
There are many different approaches used by licensed mental health counselors. The four main types of talk therapy are psychodynamic, humanistic, behavioral, and cognitive behavioral.
Psychodynamic counseling evolved from the work of Sigmund Freud. The approach dives into unconscious meanings and motivations of feelings, thoughts, and behaviors.
The humanistic approach recognizes that every individual is unique and aims to help clients explore their own thoughts and feelings and to work out their own solutions to their problems. This is often referred to as client-centered counseling. The main them of client-centered counseling is the belief that we all have inherent resources that enable us to deal with whatever life throws our way.
The behavioral approach focuses on the assumption that a person’s environment determines their behavior. Behaviorists believe that once a behavior is learned, it cannot be unlearned. Therefore, the goal with a behavioral-focused approach to counseling is to help people modify unwanted behaviors.
Cognitive behavioral therapy focuses more on what a person thinks rather than what they do. Cognitive behavioral therapy is a combination of cognitive and behavioral therapy techniques and emphasizes the important role of how our thoughts impact how we feel and what we do.
What is the best type of therapy for anxiety?
About 19% of U.S. adults and 31% of adolescents age 13 to 18 experience anxiety each year, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. Regardless of the specific disorder that a person is diagnosed with, the underlying processes that drive them often follow similar patterns. The choice of therapy that a therapist chooses to use will depend on a person’s diagnosis and the severity of symptoms, however, the most commonly used therapy for anxiety is cognitive behavioral therapy. Cognitive behavioral therapy, or often referred to as CBT, focuses on how a person’s thoughts affect how they feel and subsequently behave. The goal of CBT is to identify and understand how negative thinking and ineffective behavior patterns impact a person’s life and replace them with more realistic thoughts and effective actions and coping mechanism.
Can I trust a therapist?
In most cases, a therapist is required to keep information discussed during therapy confidential. Those instances include if a client poses an imminent threat to themselves, the therapist, or a third party. However, beyond that trust is highly personal. Trust is incredibly important to the success of the therapeutic relationships, which is why it is so important to find a therapist whom you feel comfortable talking about personal issues and concerns with.
Do therapists judge you?
No matter what you say in your sessions, therapists are supposed to be non-judgmental. It should not matter how many mistakes you have made or how many bad experiences you have had, a therapist should never judge you. If you feel your therapist is judging you, you should consider talking to your therapist first about how you are feeling and if the behavior does not change and you continue to feel judged, you should consider finding a new therapist.
Will a therapist tell you your diagnosis?
It depends. Some therapists will tell you your diagnosis if they feel you would benefit from feeling like it will be helpful to your treatment goals.
Is therapy worth the money?
Therapy provides an emotional relief that can be both immediate and long lasting. Since therapy is rooted in research and therapists use evidence-based treatment to address their clients’ challenges, it is a type of emotional relief that you won’t be able to get anywhere else. Therapy is an investment of both time and money and the decision of whether it is “worth it” is one that ultimately comes down to your personal feelings and your readiness to invest both time and money into the endeavor.
How much does a therapist cost a month?
In-person therapy generally costs between $65 and $250 per hour per session. If you see your therapist weekly the monthly range is between $260 and $1,000 a month. The cost does vary depending on the therapist’s credentials and the type of therapy you are seeking. In comparison, the cost of therapy from BetterHelp ranges from $60 to $80 and is billed monthly. The pricing at BetterHelp is based on your location, preferences, and therapist availability.
What do you do if a therapist is too expensive?
As helpful as therapy may be, it can also be expensive. Fortunately, there are affordable and even free sources of counseling available. While counseling is not always a replacement for therapy, in many cases it can be helpful. Online counseling is gaining in popularity and usually entails signing up for an account, getting paired with a counselor, and then chatting via instant messaging, email, phone, or video. Some other free counseling options include free counseling hotlines, support groups, counseling through work or places of worship, counseling through government help and programs, and counseling through training clinics and universities. While these options all have many benefits, also check with your current insurance provider to see what exactly it is they offer as far as mental health care goes. Many people do not realize they are covered for a certain number of counseling or therapy sessions each year at no cost to them. Overall, there are many free options out there if counseling is something you need but cannot afford.