Selecting a therapist is an important decision and should be done with great care, thought, and evaluation. We often first seek a counselor in times of desperation, which can cloud our judgment. Slow down. The relationship is often long-term, certainly influential, and even intimate in regard to the type of personal information revealed. Such a decision is best made by taking into account a variety of factors ranging from practical (finances, schedule, availability) to personal (faith, style, philosophy).
Recognizing the counselor as your employee hired to lead you from one psychological place to another is valuable in planning the selection and interview process. You are the best expert in what will be most helpful to you in a guide or consultant for your own personal journey. Below are some criteria and questions that you may find helpful as you consider hiring such a guide.
This downloadable Handout offers 14 different qualities you should consider in a therapist, along with prompting questions so you can think through exactly what you’re looking for.
NO PRINTER?
If your therapist has assigned you this handout and you don't have the ability to print it, we recommend the following. Download this file to your computer. Once you have it, open https://www.docfly.com on your computer. This is a free PDF editor you can use in your web browser. Drag-and-drop your handout file into this website and fill it out. When you're done save it and download the filled-out version to your computer. You can then email the completed handout to your therapist.
USE LICENSE
Downloading this PDF Resource indicates your agreement to this license: These PDF resources - including Client Handouts and Therapist Guides - are available free of charge to registered users, and we're glad to share them widely. You are welcome to use, print, and distribute these materials for personal, clinical, or family use, provided that appropriate credit is given to the original source. Therapists may use these guides freely within their own practice - with individual clients, as session supplements, or as take-home resources. Clients are welcome to share handouts with family members who are part of their support and healing journey. The one thing we ask is that these materials remain free: please do not sell them, charge for access to them, incorporate them into commercial products, or adapt them into derivative works without permission. If you are unsure whether your intended use falls within these terms, feel free to reach out - we want to find a way to say yes wherever we can.