A USER'S GUIDE TO THIS DIRECTORY FROM SOMEONE WHO NEEDED IT

If you are looking for someone to talk to about your problems and work on making them better, it might seem like you couldn't swing a cat without hitting a "therapist."  (Swinging a cat is NOT recommended for long term mental health for you or the cat.)

Finding the right therapist can be complicated.  Right off you'll find that only psychiatrists can prescribe drugs, which have taken more and more of a starring role in treating mental illness.  This type of treatment primarily focuses on the physical and chemical natures of the problem.  the other types of professionals in mental hel\alth treatment and therapy are usually not as focused on the medicine (and often consult with a psychiatrist for that aspect).  They usually concentrate more on the mind, thoughts, and feelings than the brain and chemistry.  This is a simplified sketch of the overall pattern, and there are great differences between many and all of them.

One of the most important things to find out about a therapist is whether or not you can "work" with him or her.  The interaction between personalities is VERY critical in therapy.  Personal philosophies are also important.  If you are an atheist and your prospective therapist wants to do faith healing that might be ground for concern.  That's just one example.  The important thing is that to do the work of "therapy" you have to have some sort of rapport with your therapist, as two-way communication is essential.  And, remember, you don't have to impress your therapist or entertain them.  That's not the purpose of therapy.

Some of the details to remember:  Figure out what financial resources you have:  insurance, Medicaid/Medicare, part of an employment package.  Knowing this before an appointment is invaluable.  Some therapists have a sliding scale to make payments easier.  In some cases, the public mental health system is the only or best option.

At any rate the general rule can be to reduce or remove barriers that keep you and your therapist from working together on you problems.  Hopefully, this Directory will help get things underway.

Stephen E. Haebig