Are you looking to start therapy or counseling?
You may not know that Virginia has an extensive network of public mental health clinics that offer services to people in our communities called Community Services Boards.
But should you go to a CSB, or stick with private clinics?
Leslie and Jamal from WT Talk have you covered!
Check out this episode of WT Talk to learn about what to look for in a therapist is from special guests Justina Lambert, LPC and Michelle Moore, LCSW.
Hi, my name is Leslie and I’m Jamal and welcome to WT Talk. I want to introduce today to licensed therapists. Hello, I’m Justina Lambert and I’m an LPC here at Western Tidewater.
Hi, I’m Michelle Moore, I’m an LCSW here at Western Tidewater. Today we’ll be talking about finding the right therapist for you. So, you do work at a CSB.
I’m curious, where are the differences, if any, between a CSB therapist and one that has a private practice or works for a private practice? So, what I’ll say is that there is, you know, in private practice there is some autonomy, right? So, you have the ability to, you know, make your own schedule. You have a little bit more flexibility and, you know, maybe some hours and, you know, maybe some weekends and things like that. But what I do like about a CSB is that you have that community, right? And so, you may be working with an individual and you say, hey, you know, you may need some case management or you may need some other services and we have that all here, right? And so, it’s some easier community-based services that you can also link them to and support them all at the same time.
And you don’t have that flexibility in private practice. What are your thoughts, Jessica? Well, I would echo everything that Michelle just said. I would just add, too, that CSBs might be a little bit more solution-focused, whereas in private practice you have kind of free range to have your therapist for as long.
There aren’t as many, like, time constraints in private practice as there are with, like, a CSB. So, just depending on what you’re coming into therapy for, your own time needs, a CSB having that kind of more solution-focused way of adjusting needs might be what the client needs versus private practice where, you know, it’s, like, a range of things you just kind of want to explore for a little bit.