Therapy may be covered by your insurance; you will have to check. Mine is; I pay a $15 co-pay with every visit. The client information my insurance company sent me had a phone number to call to get referrals. I was given several names, and I was allowed to choose. If none of them worked for me, they told me to call back. If you saved the information you received on your insurance benefits, you should easily be able to figure out the answer to this. Check under “mental health.”
To give you some background on me so that you know where my opinions are coming from: I’m skeptical of therapy and psychoactive drugs. However, I’ve been in therapy twice. I suffer from recurring clinical depression.
In my experience, your rapport with your therapist is very important. If it’s not good, you probably won’t make much progress. When it is good, however, it can make a difference.
I was a psychology minor in college, and have read extensively on the subject on my own. I thought for a long time that since I was educated and relatively self-aware, I would not benefit from therapy. I was wrong. In the last couple of weeks, through my conversations with my therapist, I have realized that I have some perceptions that are not particularly rational or founded in fact. Exposure to other points of view have helped me to realize that I have a lot more options for the direction of my career and my personal life than I originally thought.
Right now, I have a very good therapist. We have a good rapport. Last year, I saw a therapist I thought was good at the time. Since then, I have realized that we did not have a good rapport, and I got nothing out of our sessions–no insights whatsoever.
If you decide to look for a therapist, I hope you will shop around and be picky. If you don’t feel a rapport, don’t be afraid to move on and find someone you feel you click with.
As for what therapy is like: both times, we were alone in an office, and first they took my history–information about me, my background, my mental health history, my family’s mental health history. This process generally will lead the therapist to ask questions about things he/she thinks are significant. Both of my experiences with therapy were in this format–therapist asks questions, and I answer them and share my own resulting thoughts.
I do not know what the practice is with most therapists, but I’ve had about 6 visits, and now that the initial crisis has passed, we are going to put together a treatment plan. While I haven’t done this yet, I imagine that it’s going to involve goal-setting and a plan for how to achieve the things I want to accomplish.
Biology and environment both play a part in many mental illnesses. The problem can be somewhat ameliorated by finding ways to reduce stress and resolve situations that are making you unhappy or aggravating your condition. The same is true for a lot of other mental illnesses. Therapy helps you do this, often showing you issues of concern and ways to improve them that you never even thought of.
Therapy is, for me, a fresh perspective on my problems. It also serves to ground me–when you’re seriously mentally ill, you’re usually not the best judge of circumstances and the best way to cope with them.
People who do not have a diagnosable mental illness can also benefit from therapy–a fresh, professional perspective is often helpful at difficult times in one’s life. My sister’s friend is not mentally ill, but is seeing a therapist to help her deal with some tough problems that she’s facing.
As for different approaches to therapy (behavioral, cognitive, etc.): often, you will talk to your therapist on the phone before you decide to make an appointment. Ask then what their orientation is. As for what approach will help with what problems: it varies from person to person. A good therapist will be able to advise you about the best therapeutic style for your problems/concerns. If they don’t, and you don’t feel like it’s working, quit and find another therapist.
Good luck.