Finding the Right Psychologist for Psychotherapy
For a psychologist to be able to master their trade and correctly assess their patient’s mental health, diagnose the condition, treat it and learn behavioral changes, they have to have specialization in psychotherapy which they can acquire after completing training that focuses on mastering their skills and broadening their knowledge. Truth is, a psychologist is not yet a psychologist even after they have graduated in a 4 year program in college or university as they still have to take another 7 years of education and training prior to earning their degree. As a matter of fact, this degree could be anything from an EdD, PsyD or PhD.
As part of professional training that they have, aspiring psychologists need to finish a supervised clinical internship in organized health setting like hospitals. In various states, they have to complete extra year of post doctoral supervised experience prior to getting permission to independently practice their profession in any field of health care. In reality, it’s this form of clinical internship and doctoral level training that have made a psychologist one of a kind from other mental health care experts.
All psychologists have to pass a national examination and should be licensed by the jurisdiction or state to which they’re practicing. Licensure laws are designed to protect the public by way of limiting licensure only to those who are really qualified to practice psychology. Many different states have mandated psychologists to secure certain number of hours for continuing education credits yearly to keep their license and continue working as one.
If you plan to make use of your employee assistance program or insurance to pay the session for psychotherapy, then you may need to find and choose psychologists who are part of the employee assistance program or insurance. On the other hand, there are many different ways that you can do in finding a trusted and reputable psychologist like what is discussed below.
Tip number 1. Ask for referrals – as a matter of fact, your gynecologist, primary care physician, pediatrician and several other health care experts can be a great source in finding reputable psychologist. If you are involved in legal matters such as divorce or separation, your lawyer can also give you some referrals.
Tip number 2. Call the local state psychological association – these sources are presenting the list of psychologists to people based on geographic area or specialty, which undoubtedly make your search less stressful.
Tip number 3. Visit an online directory – if you want to find prospective psychologists who are near you, there are online directories that are specifically catering such need which you can depend on.
Psychologists may be working independently, with other psychologists or teaming up with other health care providers be it in hospitals, schools, colleges and so forth.