10 Questions To Ask Your New Therapist
So, you’re in the market for a new therapist?
Good for you!
Finding a therapist is an important step in improving your well-being. However, it can also be a little intimidating. We share the most vulnerable parts of ourselves with a therapist, so how can we know we are scheduling an appointment with someone who will be a good fit?
We’ve put together a list of questions to ask a potential new therapist. You might ask these questions during your first appointment or during a brief preliminary consultation. If time is limited, such as during a consultation, we suggest picking 2-3 questions that are most important to you and focusing on those.
Interview questions for a new therapist might include:
What is your specialization or areas of expertise?
How many years of experience do you have as a therapist?
What is your general approach to therapy? What therapeutic techniques do you typically use?
How do you measure progress in therapy? How do clients feel after working with you?
How do you handle emergencies or crises?
How do you provide feedback to clients?
What should I do if I don’t feel like I’m making progress?
What are your strengths as a therapist? What are your limitations?
What issues do you most commonly work with in your sessions?
What could I expect during a typical therapy session with you?
Keep in mind, this is just a suggested list. If you have specific questions or concerns, bring them up! If a therapist seems uncomfortable with your questions or doesn’t want to answer them, that’s probably a good indication that it isn’t the right fit for you.
What if you decide to move forward and schedule a couple of appointments, only to discover that it isn’t going the way you hoped it would? Then what?
First, you could talk to the therapist and share your concerns. It’s always possible to make tweaks to the therapeutic plan.
Or, if it’s more of a personality or philosophical conflict, it’s ok to end the therapeutic relationship and find someone else! Therapists know that the quality of the relationship with the client is important to treatment, and chances are they will want you to work with someone that you feel comfortable with.
