what type of therapist do/would you use?

[MommyHawk]

I've been to a few different kinds of therapists/counselors - a pastoral counselor, a social worker counselor - and although I didn't really notice a real difference in their style, I was wondering what other people thought. What about a psychologist? or a psychiatrist? or a Marriage and Family Therapist?

which do you like or would be more likely to use?

[Ninjinmama]

Right now I'm seeing a Cognitive Behavioral Therapist who specializes in anxiety/ocd/panic disorders.
She'll helping me work on managing my anxiety and depression through changing my thinking and behaviors. I like that I'm held accountable, and it helps me a lot to have an active part in my therapy.

[MommyHawk]

Originally Posted by Ninjinmama

Right now I'm seeing a Cognitive Behavioral Therapist who specializes in anxiety/ocd/panic disorders.
She'll helping me work on managing my anxiety and depression through changing my thinking and behaviors. I like that I'm held accountable, and it helps me a lot to have an active part in my therapy.

what kind of schooling/license does a Cognitive Behavioral Therapist have?

[elizaMM]

"Cognitive Behavioral" refers to the technique the therapist is using. They could have any kind of schooling.

I tend to be a bit of an academic snob, so I like to go for the Psychologists. But I weigh the financial cost highly in my decision too. In most cases I think your success is going to be more related to the individual's personality/style, than to their schooling.

Psychiatrists are for prescribing medications. I think they only do therapy in extreme cases. And they're Super pricey.

If you feel you know what your problem is, you could seek out someone who specializes in it, or whose studies focused on it. Likewise if you're deeply religious you might do better w/someone on the same wavelength as you (I'm assuming that's what "pastoral" means?). You also might look at the techniques they use, e.g. "cognitive behavioral" (the most common, now, as opposed to, like, psychoanalysis or biofeedback or lots of others...) . Narrowing it down this way takes a lot of research though. If you need help now, just get some.

Otherwise, your gut is your best guide.

Good Luck!!

[Shantimama]

The most important factor in a successful therapeutic realtionship is the quality of the actual relationship between therapist and client. That accounts for something like 40% of what contributes to client change and satisfaction. The next biggest factor? The personal qualities the client already has and the things going on in their life that help them. Therapeutic techniques and style only account for about 5% of what makes one therapist good and another not so helpful.

If you have particlar issues that you want to work on finding a therapist with special skills to help that is a good idea, but you have to connect with them for therapy to be most effective. For example, a therapist with EMDR training woul be helpful for trauma issues, etc.