Selecting a Therapist
Prepared by Francis A. Martin, Ph.D.

Any time we see a new health care provider, we have questions.  We should have questions, simply because we wonder what may happen to us and how our needs may be met by someone we don’t know.  So, whether, the need related to a broken bone or an unusual blotch on your skin or too much anxiety, questions arise.  This is good.

Tip #1: Keep your needs in mind.

As you anticipate getting help from a mental health care provider, the most important thought is this one: Based on your needs, you have questions.  The list of questions below are simply a way to help you to clarify your own questions.  

The primary obligation of a professional therapist is to help you. Therefore, getting your questions answered—before therapy begins—is important.  In anticipation of speaking with a therapist, prepare your questions.

Tip #2: Visit the website of a prospective provider.

You will likely have many of your questions answered.  

Tip #3: Ask questions… lots of questions.

The questions, below, come to you as suggestions.  Some of them may be important to you, while others may not.  View them carefully and select the ones that you believe will likely help you to identify a therapist who meets your needs. This list of questions very likely includes more than you should ask — select those for which you need answers.  

Keep in mind that you should ask and receive satisfactory answers to your questions before you authorize treatment. As Tip #1 states, your needs matter. Keep them in mind and ask questions that will help you to meet them.

Education, Experience & Treatment Style:

• Would you describe your education? 
• Are you licensed to practice in (my) the state? 
• How many years have you been practicing?
• What are your special areas of practice?
• I’m here for ____________ (your problem).  Would you describe how your education and training relate to this problem?
• Have you worked with people who have my problem?  Do you have any special training with this problem?
• Can you describe your experience in working with clients with my kind of problem?  How long have you been treating people with this kind of problem? 
• Do you have any certifications for treating my kind of problem?  While there are numerous certifications out there, they are not available for most mental-emotional problems.
• Would you describe your treatment style?
• Do you involve me in a treatment plan?  How do you do this?
• How do you make treatment decisions?  Do you use measurable criteria to make treatment decisions?
• Do you use treatment standards from published clinical practice guidelines to guide your treatment? 
• Would you describe your treatment approach?
• What kinds of treatments do you use?  Have your preferred treatments proven to be effective with my kind of problem?How do you work with other health care providers, including physicians?  (This question may be important, if you need both counseling and medication. In this case, your counselor and your physician should know what each other is doing.)  
• If you are overseeing the treatment of your child, you may want to know how your child’s mental health care may need to be coordinated with school-related personnel.  This kind of question may be asked in many different ways.  You may need to ask, “How will you work with my child’s school and teachers?”  You may want to add questions about how the counselor will work with coaches, too.
• I hope that we do not have any emergencies, but if we do, how do you handle emergencies?
• Based on my problem, how much therapy do you recommend?
• If I need a referral to someone else, such as a specialist who can help me, is this something with which you help?

Fees, Medical Insurance, Privacy

• Do you charge a fee for phone calls?  
• If we exchange e-mail messages, are there fees for them?  If there is a fee for them, does insurance cover the cost?
• I have __________ insurance.  Do you take this kind of insurance?
• Who deals with my insurance company?  What do I need to do, to ensure that my insurance company pays for treatment?
• How do you handle insurance claims?  Do you file claims?  Or, do I need to do this?  
• If you are covered by a managed care organization: Do you work with my managed care organization? 
• If you have Medicare or Medicaid: Do you accept Medicare or Medicaid?
• Who has access to information about me?  Under what conditions would you share information about me or my child? 
• What are your fees?  Do you provide services at a discounted rate?  

Understanding an Informed Consent Document

Your mental health care provider should provide an informed consent document for you to sign so that you authorize the provider to treat you.  The informed consent document should give you details about the benefits and risks of treatment, approximately how long treatment will last, and more.  The informed consent document or another document that your provider gives you should include information about fees and charges, if any, when appoints are missed.  The informed consent document will answer many of your questions.

Also, the informed consent document will likely tell you about the rare circumstances under which information about you may be shared with others.  Except under rare circumstances, your provider cannot share information about you, unless you authorize such sharing.  If your provider sees a need to share information about you, your authorization is necessary.  Typically, your authorization is issued in a release of information document that you sign.