5 Things To Ask a Therapist on the 1st Call
Once you have received the names and telephone numbers of a couple of therapists (see my Blog titled How to Find a Good Therapist) then you will want to call each one with a clear set of questions. The initial conversation should be short -- no more than 15 minutes maximum. For this reason you will want to be clear and concise and get your questions answered.
Let the therapist know who referred you and generally why you are seeking counseling. This is not the appropriate time to relay your entire story but you may want to say something like, "My husband and I would like to come in to discuss our relationship" or "I have been extremely depressed lately and would like to talk to someone about it". Below are 5 important questions to ask during that initial phone conversation.
1. What is your availability?
If you are working and need to come in the early morning or after work then you need to make that clear. If a therapist can see you for 1 session in the evening but doesn't usually work late then it doesn't make sense to start the process with that person even if they encourage you to do so. You may want to ask how flexible they are with scheduling if you are not able to commit to the same time each week because of job or family obligations. Some clinicians are very strict about maintaining a regular weekly session at the same time.
2. What are you fees and do you work on a sliding scale?
Obviously it is important to know in advance what your financial commitment will be but therapy fees do vary and some therapists are willing to work with you on price. They should tell you what their fee is upfront, and if that is too high for you, then you can ask them if they are willing to slide. Some therapists will reduce their fees greatly and others, depending on their availability, will stick to the stated price. It should be noted here that this is not a statement about how good they are as a therapist but simply their own personal financial situation and schedule.
3. Do you take insurance?
If this is a concern for you then by all means ask it in this initial phone call. Therapists work with insurance companies in different ways. Some are providers and bill the company directly others will be "out of network" but still bill the company directly. You need to determine if the "out of network" therapist will accept what your insurance company pays or if you will be responsible to make up the difference. Many therapists will simply provide you with a bill and a working diagnosis and require that you submit the forms. In this case, you will need to know if the therapist wants payment at the time of service or are they willing to wait until you have been reimbursed from your insurance company.
4. What is your therapeutic style (or orientation)?
This question refers to the type of therapy that a clinician practices such as Behavioral, Analytic, Existential, Narrative, or Solution Focused which can all be very different experiences. It would behoove you to look up a brief summary of these and other types of therapies, prior to your call, so you will have a better understanding of what you are looking for. The answer to this question may give you a clue as to how long the therapy could last. Many therapists are "eclectic" which means that they draw from several different schools of thought depending upon the individual case.
5. Do you require a commitment of a certain number of sessions?
This is another area in which therapists can differ greatly. Some will require as long as a one year commitment and even ask you to sign a contract that you will continue weekly session for a designated amount of time. On the other extreme is what is called an "open door policy" meaning that you can come and go as needed and not be expected to attend a weekly session. Most therapists will want to see you weekly, at least initially, to establish a relationship and begin to understand your concerns. After that initial time phase some therapists may be amenable to seeing you every other week.
These are the basic pieces of information that therapists should be willing to take some time to answer on that initial phone call. You may have other pressing concerns that you would like to ask at that time and you should feel free to do so. Keep in mind that it should be a short phone call so organize your thoughts and questions beforehand.
Categories: Tips, Personal Opinion, How To
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6
I feel that one of the questions also should be, especially with sexual abuse is if the therapist has worked with sexual abuse survivors. I went to a therapist that I eventually quit because I did not feel she was helping me. Prior to going to this therapist I had gone to therapist who did have experience with sexual abuse. That is why I could compare this therapist with others I had gone too. After a few sessions with this therapist I knew I made the right decision. I had listened to a panel of therapist at a training and they said not all therapists deal with sexual abuse so ask and interview the therapist before you make that decision. I had asked that question of this particular therapist but found her to be inept as far as digging deep and asking questions about my past.
By jeanette474 October 3, 2008 6:22am
5
Very helpful. I am trying to get an appointment with a new therapist, thanks for the insight.
By Goosegirl June 28, 2008 9:37am
4
how would i cite this as a source in a paper?
By nitestarz June 24, 2008 11:08am
3
Thank you for this column. It is very helpful. Perhaps you could write a second column that does outline briefly the different approaches you mention. It seems that you would be move knowledge about them than anything that I may find through Google. Thank you again.
By Cynthia35 June 2, 2008 7:03am
2
In the never ending odessy as a male attempting to obtain therapeutic intervention for childhood sexual assault by a female therapist, I soon discovered it necessary to develop my own 'litmus test', if for no other reason, to narrow down the field into safe and unsafe categories.
After the brief introduction with each other, I explain to the potential counselor, I was used sexually as a young child and then pose the question, " Just when is it ok for children to have sex? "
It would take more bandwidth than DS has here to cover all the ungodly responses I have received through the years from some of the freaks I have been exposed to in the counseling industry. And some of them practitioners with pretty high levels of education and accreditation.
Bottom line is this; If I do not receive a knee jerk 'never' of some form in their response, I simply cover my ears and head for the door, hopefully before they have a chance to process my insurance providers information.
A potential clients first line of defense is their own states board of professional registry. It's like the sex offenders registry for medical professionals.
If you do not see your referred practitioners name in good standing on your states board of registry....... ............Don't Make The First Call !
You have no recourse for disciplinary action later against anyone who does not posses a professional license, should the need arise. This also applies especially to title VI programs like rape crisis centers and etc which employ largely unlicensed lay people and volunteers who might have underlying motives.
Finally, a question that I always found cute, devised by a close friend of mine relates to #4 above. During the interview, she always asked the potential practitioner how closely their therapeutic style resembled the "Dr. Laura" model.
Be safe and ALWAYS trust your instinct FIRST, despite the credentials a person might have.
Tom S. in Tn.
By TomSinTn May 31, 2008 10:16pm
1
Thank you very much for this piece of information. It certainly will come in handy when I make an appointment next week. Question: I've heard that people interview therapists to see if it's a good fit, is this common practice?
By mom of 3 May 30, 2008 3:05pm