This office will conduct a psychoeducational process via email. This process is similiar to counseling, but does not provide for immediate feedback or face to face contact. Likewise, this process does not provide for the depth of emotional contact or rapport found in traditional counseling. However, the information provided can be as beneficial to you as in traditional counseling. Click here for further information.

For those who prefer the traditional psychotherapeutic process, the following suggestions are made to help you find a suitable therapist.

1. Comfort. Your personal comfort in therapy is about half of what makes for positive outcome. Whomever you obtain for a therapist, you and that person need to develop a positive rapport. Feel free to contact a potential therapist and ask questions relative to your circumstance. Questions might include:

a. Therapeutic Approach. Does the therapist dwell a lot on childhood and personal background or focus more upon present? Is the therapist insight oriented or focused upon behavior and cognition (thinking patterns)? Does the therapist focus upon the individual (you alone) or upon the system (family, couple, group)? b. Personal Considerations. Would you prefer a female or a male therapist? Does it matter about the therapist's attitudes regarding lifestyle, political views, religious views, etc. What is the therapist's fee for service? Does the therapist accept insurance, accept payment plan, or have a sliding scale?

2. Competence. The competence of the therapist is the other approximate half of what makes for postive outcome or benefit to you. Again, any solid therapist will happy to spend a few minutes on the phone or possibly in the office for you to ask questions before commiting to therapy.

a. Ask about training, experience, licenses, affiliations. A psychiatrist is a medical doctor (MD) who went to medical school and then received specialized training in mental/emotional disorders and treatment. A psychologist is a person with a doctoral degree (Ph.D. or Ed.D) who spent from four to eight years in graduate school studying human behavior, emotional/mental disorders, treatment, psychological testing. A Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) has a master's degree comprising two to three years of graduate training. A Marriage, Family, and Child Counselor (MFCC) has a master's degree with two to three years of graduate training. There are also others who have some training in counseling. Depending upon your situation and needs, any of these professionals may be able to help you, although the greater amount of training and experience allows for a greater range and depth of assistance. b. Ask a friend, your personal medical doctor, clergy, or others in whom you have confidence for any information they may have relative to selecting a therapist. Some areas have local referral sources you can contact. Usually these referral sources do not comment upon competence, but they can be useful to determine training, experience, licenses, specialties, etc.

3. Although the above are the major ingredients necessary to therapeutic assistance, there is a third ingredient. YOU. You need to assess your real or actual desire for counseling or psychotherapy. While the therapist leads the way, you are the one who will do the actual work to overcome the problem. May you do well!

4. To find an actual therapist, browse the following:

Therapist Directory Comfind. Enter "psychologist" in the search window and click the search button. Therapy Network: Each of these therapists has a webpage about themselves, their services, and other topics.