Choosing a Therapist in Portland

When choosing a mental health therapist you may want to keep some things in mind. Portland has a lot of therapy and counseling to offer. Portland may have even more options than most cities just because it is so diverse and open minded in it's thinking. There are many traditional therapists here that employ classic and empirically backed psychological theories. Along the usual vein of therapy you will find counselors who practice such theories as the psychoanalytic theory, cognitive and behavioral based models, narrative approaches, dialectical behavior therapy, also known as DBT and other more popular or mainstream psychological forms of thought. These types of therapy have been practiced for many years and all have positive results depending on the skill of the therapist and the determination of the client.

Adjunct Therapy

Portland also has some adjunct therapies that may compliment a client who is a bit more spiritually based or is interested in mindfulness as a way towards health and healing. These types of counselors and therapists may focus on being present in the moment and guiding your thoughts into a more positive or neutral way of thinking. At times guided meditation and visualization is performed by the counselor in order to break free from negative thought patterns or to gain insight into the root of the problem.

Other non-traditional therapies that are starting to turn into traditional therapy here in Portland are eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) and the emotional freedom technique (EFT). All three of these healing methods share the similar goal of re-training your thought processes and belief systems in order to replace them with more healthy and positive ways of thinking.

Both traditional and non-traditional types of counseling here in Portland work well with clients. However, a client needs to ask themselves which type of counseling resonates with them in order to go into therapy with at least somewhat of a positive belief system about the technique that is utilized by the therapist. Being open to the process is half the battle.

After Choosing a Few Therapists

Once a client has chosen a few therapist that they are interested in it is smart to go ahead and give that counselor a call and speak with them over the phone for just a bit. Some typical questions clients have are based on issues regarding the fee. You should feel free to find out if the therapist accepts insurance, provides a sliding scale and how much a normal session would cost. You may want to ask if they work regularly with couples, families, individuals or groups or if they have any specialities that they tend to focus on. You can also ask the counselor how long they have been practicing in Portland. If you get a good feel for the therapist on the phone it would be wise to schedule an initial consultation or intake. Most often counselors offer initial consultations at no cost.

What to Do When You Meet

When you meet the therapist you should know that no questions from the clients are off limits. Feel free to ask the counselor anything you want. If the question feels inappropriate than the therapist will say so but you may be surprised with how open and honest a counselor can be. It is important for the client to feel as comfortable as possible in order to start counseling services. If you want to shop around and try out different therapists you should simply ask for a few referrals to some different Portland counselors. When You do choose a therapist be sure to keep communication up between you two. Try not make too many assumptions about what the therapist is thinking. If you want to know what he or she is thinking feel free to ask. As long as the work feels like it is brining you insight and understanding than you are probably on the right path.

Check out Portland Therapy Center to see other practitioners in the area..