What Should You Ask a Therapist Before Booking?

Picking a therapist that is a good fit can be a particularly daunting task.  There may be hundreds of options in your area, with all kinds of experience and all kinds of fees.  Here's my list of all the questions I think are important to ask or find the answer to when searching people out online.

1. What is their background and training?  Do they have and specialties or areas of focus?  If you are looking for someone to assist you managing and addressing your trauma history, you will want to ensure that they are qualified in this area.  Are they offering you choices and options when you speak with them or seeming to be quite directive? If you are looking for a therapist that can help with your child's recent diagnosis, you will want someone who has training in working directly with children. Do they have training in Play Therapy?  Be as clear as you can about what you are hoping to get out of attending sessions so that they will know if they have the skill set to assist you.

2. What are their professional affiliations?  This field has several different professional paths to reach it and it may be important to you to know designation of the therapist you decide to book with, particularly if insurance will be covering some of your sessions.  Everyone practicing should be affiliated with a governing body.  If they are a Social Worker clinician, like me, in Ontario they will need to be registered with the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers.  You can also search their registration to ensure that they have not had any discipline sanctioned by their governing body.

3. It will be important to know all things finance related.  Therapy can be a large financial commitment and it is best to go into it knowing roughly what your expenses will be.  So what is their fee?  Do they offer a sliding scale?  Do they accept insurance and are they able to direct bill?  What fees are associated if you cancel or do not attend your session?

4. What can you expect from the sessions? How many sessions might you expect to attend? How frequent do they typically book sessions? What is the general structure of their sessions?  Mostly talking, or do they incorporate skill building like meditation, yoga, art, etc in sessions?

These last few questions are a bit more personality and personal fit based.  Not all therapists will be comfortable providing you with answers.

5. Personal background.  What religion are they, if any? Do they have their own history of trauma or addictions? Do aspects of their identity match yours in a way that you feel is important? If you feel strongly that you would like a therapist that is coming from a similar perspective or background as you these questions could be important.  It is also important to remember that they may still be a really good therapeutic fit for you, even if they have not experienced the same things that you have.  

6.  Their own self-care.  Do they access clinical supervision regularly?  Are they connected with their own therapist?  We are all human and those in helping professions need to be diligent about their own mental health and self-care because of the nature of our work.  

My hope is that this list gives you some ideas about how to approach interviewing and selecting a therapist that will be a good fit for you and your needs.  Most therapists will also offer a phone or in person consultation to discuss your hopes for therapy and determine if they may be able to assist you.  Are there any other questions that you think are important?