Ep.3/ Where to Start With Your Mental Health?
Where to Start with your Mental Health?
Stacy Colgan, LCSW
The question I get most often when someone finds out that I am a clinical therapist is, HOW DO YOU KNOW WHEN YOU NEED HELP? As the entire world has just been through an incredibly traumatic time, there are lines of people who are interested in getting help. But, what does help look like and where do you start?
The very first place you can start is with your GP or general practitioner. At your annual checkup, your doctor will ask you some questions about your mental health and decide if you need additional resources.
There are a few different ‘players’ in the mental health world that we talked about on the podcast.
Psychiatrists-medical doctors who specialize in mental health and most primarily work with clients on prescribing medication.
Mental Health Nurse Practitioners- nurses who specialize in mental health prescriptions and tend to work with various mental health providers to help clients.
Psychologists-attended graduate school and obtained a doctorate in psychology. See clients to provide ongoing therapy. Typically works with a psychiatrist.
Clinical Therapists-attended graduate school and obtained a master’s in counseling, social work, or marriage and family therapy. Like the psychologists, sees clients to provide ongoing therapy.
Where do I find the above mental health specialists?
GP might have recommendations
PsychologyToday.com
Ask around!
Once I do some research and find someone, then what?
Give them a call and ask to talk in greater detail to find out if it’s a good fit. Ask some questions like, what is your niche? Do you see clients in person or virtually? Where are you located? How long have you been practicing?
They might also ask you some questions, like…tell me why you are calling today? Have you seen a therapist before? How long have you been experiencing these feelings?
Many people get nervous for the first session because they don’t know what to expect. This is another question you could ask over the phone. Typically, the first session is mostly the therapist just asking questions and trying to get to know you better in order to write some goals and determine your treatment recommendation. That just means, how often do you need to come to therapy and what you will be working on.
What questions do you want answered about getting mental health help? Please email: scolgan@watervlietcounseling.com.
