Choosing the Therapy that Fits Your Needs, Desires, and Goals
So you've decided to begin therapy and you want to be an informed consumer, but all the different therapy options seem so confusing. Where do you begin?
Many mental health consumers quickly become overwhelmed with the many different options and just let their therapist decide which approach is best for them. While this is understandable, for many, this is not a wise choice. Therapists are often highly invested in their approach to therapy and tend to think it is the best approach. If it doesn't fit your idea of therapy, they will often try to sell you on it. However, if they try too hard, they are focusing more on their values and needs than yours.
Let's also consider the other side of the coin, though. If your therapist isn't excited enough about his therapy to try to sell it to you to some degree, then this is also a concern. It is interesting to note that some research suggests that the therapists commitment to an approach to therapy (often called an "therapy orientation") has a greater impact upon successful therapy than the actual type of therapy used! In other words, it is important that your therapist believes in their approach to therapy and operates from a consistent approach.
So what should you look for? Generally, it is best to find a therapist who seems to believe in their approach to therapy and be excited about it, but not so excited that it doesn't seem to matter if it is the right fit for you. If you therapist is not willing to discuss other options which may be a better fit, this should be red flag.
In the end, it is often best to try out a few sessions and see if it is the right fit. If not, discuss this with you therapist. They may be able to make some adjustments to help it become a better fit while staying true to their approach. Otherwise, they may be able to suggest some other therapists who may be a better fit.
Several of the articles in this section are geared to help you find the type of therapy which is best for you. You may also want to view some overviews of different types of therapy, such as the ones listed at the Depth Psychotherapy Network's Consumer Page.