How To Choose The Right Psychologist

The time has come . For some reason, you have decided to seek psychological help. But you do not know how to choose the right psychologist out of all the psychologists out there. How can you choose the right one?

After all, we all know someone who has gone to a psychologist and has not seen results. Your friend went to his appointments for a few months and the only thing he did was shut emotions out. He did not learn to deal with discomfort or deal with situations more appropriately . Keep reading to find out how to distinguish the good from the bad and choose the right psychologist!

“All people talk about the mind without hesitation, but they are confused when asked to define it.”
-BF Skinner-

What are the signs of an unreliable psychologist?

One of our biggest problems is the amount of people who provide psychological counseling, without a degree in psychology. Therefore, if we want to choose the right psychologist , the first thing we need to look at is their qualifications and education.

We need to pay special attention to looking at their qualifications, given all the alternative movements that emerge, to treat emotional issues like anxiety. There are new “miraculous” therapies that “heal” without doing anything. Reiki Healing and Bach flower remedies are examples of types of therapy that have not been scientifically proven to be effective.

Even when looking for a therapist who is a psychologist, one should be careful. There are many who are not good. I myself have seen many patients who have been in therapy in the past, but according to them it did not work at all.

How did they describe their sessions to me? They said they talked and talked without the psychologist contributing anything to the conversation. Clients feel relieved after talking, but over time, they see that nothing changes. In the long run, the problem is still there; it just went away at the moment in the office.

Logically, the therapist has done something. But just not asked questions. Psychologists who only do this are not good either . A good psychologist does more than ask questions. He or she also explains how mental processes work and gives clients the tools to manage them.

What questions can we ask to choose the right psychologist?

In group therapy, I have found participants who, after I explained all this to them, have asked me: How can we know before we try if a psychologist is bad ? It is very simple. To choose the right psychologist we can ask questions.

You do not have to be embarrassed. In the end, you will spend money on these sessions. It’s your right to make sure you get something worth your money.

First, they need to inform you about their education and qualifications. Then you need to find out what kind of psychology they practice. If the psychologist says he is practicing cognitive behavioral psychology, that is a good sign. The techniques of this method are proven empirically. That is, they have stood up for scientific control.

“The great discovery of my generation is that people can change their lives, by changing their mental attitudes.”
–William James–

This is a very important aspect as there are many psychological schools that use methods that do not actually help clients . In fact, some of them create a bigger psychological problem than what the client had in the beginning.

But be careful. Although I practice cognitive behavioral psychology, I can be a bad therapist . Therefore, we must also ask about their specific methods and treatments when choosing the right psychologist. We have the right to know what the plan will be, as well as the goals we are pursuing.

What should therapy look like?

When we ask the psychologist how he performs the treatment process, there are certain answers that will indicate whether he will really help us solve our problem. First, therapy should be structured.

A good psychologist does an evaluation and then comes up with a treatment plan. In general, the evaluation takes place in the first two sessions, and based on the results, they come up with some goals to be achieved and the funds to be used.

“I think it’s tempting to treat everything as if it were a nail if the only tool you have is a hammer.”
– Abraham Maslow–

An example of a good therapeutic process is if the psychologist says they will use behavioral activation for a depressed client. He should explain to the client what is happening to him and what techniques need to be used to overcome his problem. That is, you need to know what the psychologist is working on with you and why. If the psychologist tells you all this before starting treatment, it’s a good sign.

We need to keep in mind that choosing a suitable psychologist means that we need to hire a professional who will give us the tools to learn how to deal with our problems ourselves. The therapeutic process can take time. But if the client follows the plan, improvement should be evident little by little.

This improvement should give us greater freedom and control. It should lessen the impact of the disorder in our daily lives, with the ultimate goal of restoring full well-being. If this is not the case, it is logical to consider changing psychologist. Remember, even within a group of good professionals, there are psychologists who are better with certain types of disorders than others.

Pictures by Juliette Leufke, Kelly Sikkema and Sebastian Mantel.