What is Right for Me?

Finding the right therapist is crucial

Once you have decided to try a particular therapy, the next step is to find the right therapist to help you with your treatment. It is important that you have confidence in the therapist you are working with, as successful therapy is the result of collaboration between therapist and patient.

There is no one feature that shows that you have found the perfect therapist, as there are a mix of factors that all contribute to making the right choice. We can guide you through some of the key indicators, but in the end you are using your own intuition to make your choice. And don’t worry about offending any therapists you reject in your search!

There are some practical considerations that should guide you as you search through our Therapy Directory:

Although therapy can be conducted remotely, most of us find it useful to have face-to-face contact, at least at the start of the process. Just finding the right therapist is not enough if you find that they are too far away to work with, so you need to add location into your formula.

Personality fit

As you look at profiles of therapists that are local to you, try and imagine talking to them about issues that you would not normally discuss with anyone. Some people find it easier opening up to a stranger, are you like that? The therapy process touches on a lot of sensitive issues, and if you are nervous and hold back the therapy is likely to be less effective.

Choosing a male or a female therapist is another area to think about – would you be more comfortable with someone of your gender?

Would you prefer to use a therapist who speaks your native language? Therapy depends on effective communication, and works best if you can fully articulate your issues and understand the therapist’s input.

Another consideration in your choice of therapist is their experience dealing with problems like yours. Therapists will often specialise in areas such as depression, addiction, stress or anxiety and so may be more experienced in the issues associated with a particular condition.

As well as experience of working with your problem, therapists may be used to working with your social group. This might be another factor that influences your decision.

Experience with different therapies

There are a number of different types of therapy, and there is no one type that is definitely ‘better’ for dealing with different issues. The therapists at Uticopa work with a range of different methods from cognitive behavioural to psychotherapy, from motivational counselling to art therapy. All can be extremely effective, depending on what particularly appeals to you. If you want to learn more about therapy methods, see our Therapies Available page.

Making contact with therapists

Contact a therapist who seems to suit your needs, and book an initial appointment. Telephone or email them and they will get back to you – and if they’re not there please leave a message with details of who you are and how they can contact you.

Your first therapy session

At your first session with your prospective therapist, don’t feel pressured or nervous. You need to feel comfortable for the process to work – and if you don’t feel comfortable, you can just try another therapist. You need to be able to build a relationship for the therapy to work, and you need to feel safe to discuss your issues without being judged.

Evaluating the therapeutic process

Once you have made contact with a therapist who seems to be the right person to help you deal with your challenges, it is up to you to assess the process.

You should trust your therapist and be able to discuss the problems that are holding you back in life. Your therapist shouldn't be too eager to please you; they need to understand yet challenge you, set you goals, appraise your progress. If you are on the right path to treatment you will feel the changes; but therapy is rarely a magic bullet. You are usually looking for a steady, sustainable progress with long-lasting results.

It will be hard work for both of you, but the results will be worth it.

When you feel you have found the right therapist and the right therapy for you, the changes it can bring to your life can be amazing. But remember that therapy puts you in control of these changes. With the right therapy, you can take charge of the problems that have been stopping you from reaching your goals, and get to those goals and beyond. Therapy should not be a daunting prospect, just think of what it can help you to achieve.

Good luck!