All Therapists are not equal, and sometimes you have to find one that is the right fit for you, your personality, and your unique struggles.
So, when you start to look for a therapist, what do you look for?
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 two 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. And today we’ll be talking about finding the right therapist for you.
What are some of the most important factors for a client when looking for a therapist? So what I’ll say is one of the most important things is really what the client wants, right? So I would say that, you know, a lot of times when a client is looking for a therapist, they’re looking for some commonalities, right? So what would draw them into seeking therapy? So they may be looking for someone that may be of their same race, their ethnicity, you know, just anything that really would draw them into initially seeking therapy. Yeah, I would just echo that same segment. I think that understanding what your preferences are is really important.
And even maybe just like one thing that you want to work on. So then that way you can find a therapist that maybe has that as something that they specialize in or just one of the things that they can help you with. So at least one thing you want to work on.
Therapists, you know, get offended when a client may have a personal preference and they don’t fit that. So no, as therapists, we understand that the relationship between ourselves and the client, that’s the most important piece of it. So we understand that sometimes it’s not the right fit for whatever the reason.
And so we strive to really respect those preferences, the relationship, all of that. So most of the time, a therapist will help you try to find someone else that actually does fit your preference. Absolutely.
And I think it goes both ways, right? So sometimes it may not be a right fit for therapists. And is that okay? Or, you know, are you allowed to say to the client, hey, this may not be a good fit, I recommend someone else? Oh, yeah, absolutely. I think the main goal is always to, you know, look out for the best interests of the individual, right? And so sometimes if we feel like we can’t meet their needs, we’re going to make sure that we link them to the appropriate therapist, because healing is the overall outcome.