Things To Know Before Choosing A Mental Health Counselor

Mental Health includes emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It has a great depth of effect on how we think, act and feel. It also influences physical health and has unfavourable consequences like suicidal thoughts and some other disastrous effects giving rise to life-threatening situations.

According to The World Health Organisation, 38 million Indians suffer from anxiety disorders, and around 56 million Indians suffer from depression.

Hence if you're facing any mental health conditions like depression, anxiety, panic attacks, etc., it is vital that you seek mental health service or emotional support via personal therapy. You can talk to a therapist free of any peer pressure and without worrying about anything.

However, before you choose a mental health professional, there are a few things you should keep in mind.

Your Concern Or Condition

Most mental health services would treat a range of mental health issues, but in order to get an effective treatment, it is important that you know the concern and then find a professional who is specialized and focused in that particular area.

For instance, for an eating disorder, you must see a psychologist who specializes in that area. But if you're having marital problems, then a licensed therapist in relationship counselling might be more appropriate for you.

Hence know your condition before you choose a mental health provider.

Figure Out Your Budget

Know your budget and request a quote from the therapist before locking down on a particular therapist.

While some mental health professionals accept insurance, others don't. Also, your insurance policy might only cover specific mental health providers. Hence, you must gather all information beforehand.

But the good thing is that many mental health professionals provide completely free online therapy chat rooms and calls. So even if you don't have insurance, you can always look for an online therapist that offers free online counseling services.

Consider Who You Might Work Best With

The following few factors might be important for some people in order to be comfortable with a therapist.

Gender - While some may be comfortable with a male therapist the others might be comfortable with a female therapist.

Age - Ask yourself which age group you think would be more suitable for you.

Religion - Though this should not affect your treatment, if it is important to you, you should consider it.

Credentials

See their full credentials before choosing them. However, these credentials might be a little confusing to figure out for laymen.

Here are some of the more common ones:

• LCSW — Licensed Clinical Social Worker
• LMFT — Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
• NCC — National Certified Counselor
• LCDC — Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor
• LPC — Licensed Professional Counselor
• LMHC — Licensed Mental Health Counselor
• PsyD — Doctor of Psychology
• Ph.D. — Doctor of Philosophy
• MD — Doctor of Medicine (physician psychiatrist)

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Initial based in Mumbai Graduate student of data sciences I used to write on different topics which I like most such as Technology, Educational, and Financial.