Finding the right therapist or coach
Sometimes even the labels can be confusing, I mean what is the difference between a therapist, a psychotherapist, a coach, and a counsellor? These labels have different meanings to different people. For instance, I was on a call today and the person speaking had this view that a therapist meant working with someone on a weekly basis for a long period of time, which does not fit with what I think a therapist is.
There are some more obvious considerations such as:
Location
Therapy type
Cost and availability
Gender (this can often be particularly important)
Specialisms (such as weight loss, anxiety, or depression)
Finding the right help for you is an important factor in the success you will achieve. More often than I would like to hear is clients saying to me that the person, they used to work with, just did not ‘get them’. In other terms, this is called rapport, so my first tip would be:
1. Make sure that there is a connection between you and the person you choose to help you overcome your issues and challenges. You both must have a good ‘fit’ for your relationship to be positively fruitful.
There is this adage of ‘know, like and trust’ which I use as a gauge to live by. For someone to work with me I’d like them to know that I have an idea of what is going on for them and how I may be able to help them, that they like me as a human being and that they can trust that I am committed to helping them make positive steps towards overcoming their issues. I would hope that they know a bit about me and how I may be able to help them, that they like me as a therapist/coach and that they trust that I am credible and authentic in my skills and ability to help them.
I once asked a client why they chose to contact me, and their answer was more unusual – because your photo was the only one that did not look freaky!
The next factor to consider is the credibility. Apart from psychologists and counselling, the business of coaching, therapy, including hypnotherapy, and a multitude of other modalities is that it is unregulated. That means that anyone can set up a business and say that they are qualified. Those who are credible and professional are usually registered with a regulating body and have comprehensive insurance to practise, which brings me to my next tip:
2. Do your homework, look up the person you are interested in working with, see what others have said about them, word of mouth is a powerful recommendation but in the absence of personal recommendation, look to see what their online footprint says about them. Things such as Google and Facebook reviews, collaboration with other organisations or other records of the work that they have done.
Do they offer a free consultation or initial chat? This can be invaluable in your decision-making strategy about who to work with. If you are going to part with your hard-earned cash, then you want to be sure that you and the professional are on the same page. Each person will have their own individuality and having that first call can be insightful as to whether you would be a good fit together. So, my next tip is to have some questions to ask the professionals that are important to you. I love being asked about how I work, what I do, not because I like listening to my own voice but because it indicates to me that the client has thought about what they want to achieve from the appointments.
3. Be confident and ask the professional that you are considering working with them how they think they might be able to help you. How do they work? What can you expect from the appointments? Perhaps have a list of question prepared so that you are not caught on the hop.
Above all, keep an open communication, if you choose a therapist that you later feel is wrong, that is ok. In my opinion, a therapist, counsellor, or coach should be there to serve you so that you can get the best out of your appointments and overcome your issues or challenges.
