Have you taken the incredibly brave step before to start therapy? If so, then you know choosing a therapist can be challenging, not to mention confusing. If you haven’t yet taken that step but you’re considering it, then you probably also know how overwhelming starting the process of therapy can be. There are many, many options for therapists out there. However, you might not know what characteristics or specialties you should be looking for, much less what all those letters behind their name mean. I believe therapy should be as accessible and simple as possible, so I want to share a few tips to help you pick a therapist that’s a good fit for you. One important thing is to look for someone you would be comfortable opening up to. This might involve the way a potential therapy looks, how they speak, and the information they put on their website. Look for those who put you at ease during your first conversation, since this means they likely will be able to do when you’re talking about all of the really hard stuff in future sessions. Next, ask questions about their training and experience with other clients. You’re the one looking to hire them, so be sure they have adequate experience in working with people like you or treating problems like you are wanting to work on. This doesn’t mean they have to have a vast amount of specialized training on every single issue you want to address, but the therapist you choose should be able to describe how they’re qualified to work you’re your concerns. Last, but definitely not least, ask potential therapists about what they do for their own personal work. Good therapists genuinely believe in therapy and take part in their own therapy work as clients. They may not always currently be in therapy, but they should be open to sharing how they consistently do some type of therapeutic work.

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Arielle is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in Florida and Georgia, as well as an AAMFT Approved Supervisor. She specializes in working with anxiety, depression, and relationship concerns.