Posted by fallsfall on June 22, 2005, at 11:31:53
In reply to Interviewing therapists (poss TRIGGER?), posted by partlycloudy on June 21, 2005, at 20:34:10
http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20031213/msgs/290414.html
When I was interviewing therapists, I decided that I was going to jump right in and see how they handled the real issues of the day.
So I told them about how I was dependent on my therapist, and how I had googled her and she flipped out, and how I was frantic. And I waited to see what they would do. There were very different reactions from the different therapists. I can send you the notes I took after the sessions if you would like - so you can see how different they were.
So I guess my attitude was "Here I am, and this is my problem. You have 50 minutes to prove to me that you can help me".
Notably, the therapist I chose started the session by asking what I thought was most important in therapy (I answered "being understood"). And at the end he checked to see if I had felt understood.
There is chemistry in the room. You need to find out what kind of chemistry. Try to ignore the fact that you don't know this person. Don't worry about making a fool out of yourself - if you don't like them you will never see them again. Maximize the amount of information you can get from them by refusing to let the walls get in the way. At least that was my goal.
I was amazed at how quickly I knew whether I clicked with them or not. And there were some who I clicked with on a personal level, but they were doing CBT, and I didn't want that.
DO do phone interviews. And if they say "I think I should refer you to my collegue..." don't say what I said (which was "I was given your name specifically, so I want to talk to you"). She was trying to tell me that she didn't do Psychodynamic therapy anymore... I could have saved us both a visit (though I did learn some things about myself in that session).
And absolutely talk about how your therapists don't seem to be able to take good care of themselves and see what the response is.
poster:fallsfall
thread:516823
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20050622/msgs/517049.html