Deciding you might want therapy is one thing. Finding a therapist who feels like the right fit can be another.
A search for a therapist in Texas can bring up hundreds of names, directories, specialties, credentials, and approaches. It can be difficult to know what actually matters — especially when you’re already feeling overwhelmed.
You don’t need to find the “perfect” therapist. But there are a few things worth considering before you schedule your first session.
Start With What You Want Help With
You don’t need to know exactly what’s wrong or have a diagnosis before looking for a therapist.
Start with what you’ve been noticing.
Maybe anxiety is taking up too much of your day. You feel emotionally overwhelmed or exhausted. Something from your past continues to affect you. You’re going through a major life change. Your teenager is struggling and you’re not sure how to help.
Having a general idea of what brings you to therapy can make it easier to narrow your search.
Look at the concerns a therapist actually works with rather than choosing someone simply because they’re nearby or available.
Consider Who the Therapist Typically Works With
Therapists don’t all work with the same populations.
Some primarily work with children. Others specialize in couples, families, adolescents, adults, or particular groups or concerns.
This can be especially important when you’re looking for therapy for an adolescent. Working with teens involves not only building a therapeutic relationship with the adolescent but also navigating parent or caregiver involvement, privacy, communication, and the teen’s developmental needs.
For adults, you may want to consider whether the therapist regularly works with people experiencing concerns similar to yours.
A therapist doesn’t have to specialize in every part of your life. But their practice should make sense for what you’re looking for.
Look at Their Areas of Focus
Terms like anxiety, trauma, depression, emotional regulation, grief, and life transitions appear on a lot of therapist websites.
Take a little time to read beyond the list.
Does the therapist describe experiences that sound familiar to you? Does their explanation of therapy make sense? Does it feel like they’re speaking to the concerns that actually brought you there?
If you’re seeking therapy for trauma, for example, look for someone who works from a trauma-informed perspective. If you’re seeking help for anxiety, look at how they describe anxiety and the ways they approach it.
You don’t need to become an expert on therapy modalities to choose a therapist.
You Don’t Have to Choose Based on Therapy Acronyms
Therapist profiles can sometimes look like alphabet soup: CBT, DBT, EFT and a long list of other approaches.
Those approaches can matter, but you don’t necessarily need to know which one you need before you begin.
It’s reasonable to ask a therapist how they typically work with the concern you’re bringing to therapy. A therapist should be able to explain their approach in a way that makes sense without expecting you to already understand clinical terminology.
Often, it’s more useful to understand how the therapist works than to count how many modalities appear after their name.
Decide Whether You Prefer Online or In-Person Therapy
When looking for a therapist in Texas, you aren’t necessarily limited to therapists located in your city.
Telehealth can make it possible to work with a Texas-licensed therapist from another part of the state. That can be particularly helpful when you’re looking for a therapist who works with a specific population or concern and your local options are limited.
Online therapy can also eliminate travel time and make it easier to attend sessions from a familiar, private location.
Other people simply prefer being physically present in a therapist’s office.
Neither format has to be the right choice for everyone. Consider where you would feel comfortable and what works realistically with your life.
Understand the Basic Types of Mental Health Providers
You may come across several types of professionals during your search.
Licensed Professional Counselors (LPCs) provide counseling and psychotherapy for a variety of mental health and life concerns.
Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LCSWs) may provide psychotherapy and have training that also considers individuals within their broader family, community, and social systems.
Psychologists generally have doctoral-level training and may provide psychotherapy, psychological assessment, testing, or a combination depending on their practice.
Psychiatrists are physicians who specialize in mental health and can prescribe medication. Their individual practices vary, and some also provide psychotherapy.
You may encounter other licensed mental health professionals as well.
Rather than assuming one credential is automatically better than another, consider the provider’s scope of practice, training, experience, and whether their work aligns with what you’re seeking.
Check the Practical Details
Before scheduling, make sure the basics work for you.
You may want to check:
- Whether the therapist works with your age group and concerns
- Whether sessions are online, in person, or both
- Whether they accept your insurance or are private pay
- The cost of sessions
- Their general availability
- Whether they are licensed to provide therapy where you are located
These details may seem less important than therapeutic approach, but therapy also needs to be realistically accessible and sustainable for you.
Pay Attention to How the Therapist Communicates
A website can’t tell you everything about what it will be like to work with someone, but it can give you clues.
As you read, ask yourself:
Does the way this therapist talks about people and their experiences sit well with me?
Can I understand what they’re saying, or does everything sound overly clinical?
Do I feel talked down to?
Does their approach sound rigid, or does it seem like therapy will be tailored to the individual?
If faith or spirituality is important to you, you may also want to know whether the therapist is comfortable incorporating that into therapy when requested.
Give Yourself Permission to Decide It Isn’t a Fit
Sometimes a therapist can be qualified and still not be the right therapist for you.
You may need a little time to become comfortable, particularly if therapy is new to you. But you should also be able to talk with your therapist about how therapy is going, what is or isn’t helping, and whether something needs to change.
Finding a therapist isn’t about choosing someone and then being obligated to stay indefinitely.
Therapy should be collaborative.
Finding Online Therapy in Texas
If you’re open to virtual therapy, your search doesn’t have to stop at your city limits.
I provide online therapy for women and adolescents throughout Texas, with a focus on anxiety, trauma, emotional overwhelm, and difficult life transitions. I also work with concerns including burnout and depression when they’re part of what a client is experiencing.
My approach is collaborative and individualized, drawing from CBT, DBT skills, emotion-focused therapy, narrative therapy, somatic strategies, and person-centered therapy based on the needs of each client.
If what you’ve read throughout the site sounds like the kind of support you’re looking for, you can learn more about therapy services, review session fees and insurance information, or book your first session.
