Starting Your Mental Health Journey
It’s never a bad time to start your mental health journey, and sometimes that means finding a mental health provider. But, finding therapy that works for you, your wallet and your schedule can be an intimidating task involving research and dead ends, and plenty of people delay treatment for this reason. Reduce some of the strain by asking yourself a few preliminary questions about what you’re looking for.
What mental health concern(s) do you hope to address?
What kind of treatment are you looking for? For example, do you want to pursue traditional counseling, group sessions, intensive in-patient program, virtual (online) services or text-based therapy?
Are factors like race, gender and background important to you in a provider?
Do you feel like your concerns might resolve in a few sessions or are you looking for long-term services?
How important is your mental health provider’s location and would you consider remote treatment?
Have you explored your health insurance coverage and know what’s offered? Does your workplace provide an employee assistance program?
Finally, do you feel ready?
It’s okay if you don’t have answers to all of these questions, or if you need more time before starting treatment. However, by brainstorming these topics, you can narrow your search and make finding the right type of mental health service a little easier.
