Introduction
Psychotherapy is nothing but a partnership between the person and the psychologist, who is designed to help the person in overcoming whatever issues he or she is facing. This provides a supportive environment to share one’s feelings and worries in a confidential and honest way.
A professional psychologist always follows a strong code of ethical standards along with abiding by all the state’s laws, which regulate their profession. But finding a good psychologist is really a tricky one. So, here I will tell you 5 questions that you should ask psychologists before you start seeing them.
5 Questions To Ask A Psychologist Before You Start Seeing Them
Whenever you are planning to visit a psychologist and choose a good professional, you can ask these 5 questions at a very early stage or even before you start seeing them.
1. Do You Have Active Licence For This Profession In This State?
However, the title of ‘psychologist’ or ‘psychiatrist’ can only be used by persons with an advanced degree. Other persons can call themselves a ‘ therapist‘ or ‘counselor.’ So, it is really important for you to make sure that whoever you are starting to visit has an active license to conduct the treatment.
An active license ensures that the person has an advanced degree and is trained to offer therapy services. On the other hand, you will also be sure that the professional activities are regulated by a state board.
2. What Are Your Areas Of Specialization?
Most psychologists are generalists. They see people with a wide range of different difficulties. On the other hand, some psychologists only treat people with certain types of issues. They only work as per their specialization.
So, before you start attending therapy sessions conducted by a psychologist, get an idea about whether the professional has any area of specialization or not. You can contact any psychologist in Dubai to get more detailed information.
3. How Many Years Have You Been Seeing Clients?
Apart from asking how many years of experience a psychologist has in seeing clients, you can ask for how many years they have been working or practicing. And both the answers can be different as a result of the length of the training for different disciplines.
Let’s take an example; due to the lengthy training program; a psychologist resident may just have received his or her degree recently only after seeing clients for the past 4 to 5 years. So, apart from the degree, the person has more clinical experience.
4. What Is The Approach That You Will Use For Therapy?
A range of different theoretical orientations are there, and psychologists practice from that. Some pay attention to help a person gain insight through exploring the past. On the other hand, some believe in helping individuals to make solid behavioral changes in their present life.
And to know more about this, there is no other way than to ask the psychologist about it. If the sessions of therapy are not helping, no one will want to be in ongoing endless therapy. So, it is really important to know about the evidence that the psychologist is taking will be actually beneficial for you or not.
5. What About Confidentiality?
Trust is an important part of your relationship with your psychologist. You should know whether your psychologist maintains proper confidentiality or not. Whatever will be said in a therapy session should only be in the therapy session.
And you have 100% right to know about it. This also can be in the documents that you have signed before starting your session without reading it. So, make sure that you have read and asked about the terms of confidentiality frankly with your psychologist.
Conclusion
So, next time when you are searching for an appointment with any psychologist, you need to make sure that you have the answers to all the questions mentioned above. These will not only help you to choose a great psychologist but also build a trustworthy relationship between you and your psychologist.
