When searching for a good Marriage Therapist there are a few ways you can go about it.
· Heath Insurance
Check your provider list for a Therapist in your area who will take your insurance
· Referral
Ask around. Many family members or friends either have had a personal experience with a Therapist or know others that could help provide a recommendation.
· Yellow Pages or Internet Search
Many Therapists advertise their services locally and information is readily available for you.
Fees
Most Therapists will offer a sliding scale where fees are concerned. This means that they will ask you the appropriate questions regarding size of your family and income level to determine where the most realistic fee lies for you. If you are using your insurance, check prior to going to the Therapist’s office with the insurance company regarding fees.
Psychologist or Therapist?
In California we have Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists. This means that the Therapist had to go through a Master’s program for Counseling Psychology for at least a few years in addition to doing a 3,000-hour internship, then finally taking a license exam. Psychologists hold Doctorate of Psychology etc and they will have taken further education and had more hours of experience and supervision than a Marriage and Family Therapist. Both are competent in their field. Make sure when you are searching for a Therapist or Psychologist that you make sure they specialize in working with couples. It is common to ask the Therapist or Psychologist in your initial interview:
1. How many years have you been in practice?
2. What are your credentials?
3. What is your theoretical orientation?
4. What can I expect from you as a therapist?
Theoretical Orientation
It is important in some cases to ask prospective Therapists what their theoretical orientation is. This helps give you insight into their thoughts on how we think and what determines our actions and motivations. The Internet is a wonderful place to get information on various orientations and what they involve. Theoretical orientations include: Relational Psychotherapy, Existential Psychotherapy, Humanistic Psychotherapy, Object-Relations Psychotherapy, Self Psychology, Transpersonal Psychotherapy, Jungian psychotherapy, Gestalt Psychotherapy, Family and Systems Depth Approach, Constructivist Psychotherapy, Psychoanalysis and Psychodynamic Psychotherapy.
It is very important to find someone you feel comfortable with. If you do not feel comfortable talking with them over the phone or when you meet them for the first time, it is time to keep searching.
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