What should I look for in a Quality Online Counselor or Therapist?
7 Things to Consider in Searching for a Quality Online (Teletherapy) Counselor:
Sep 29
By Samantha Woo, LCSW, Certified Anxiety Therapist
It’s a daunting task to look for a counselor or a psychotherapist online. Whether you are doing a cold search online, or you have been referred by word of mouth, you might be wondering what you are supposed to be looking for in a quality counselor.
The following questions are listed for your consideration as you search for a therapist or a counselor.
It is not in any necessary order. Some questions you may feel comfortable directly asking the therapist in question, or others you may want to consider as you begin trying some sessions, and others you may research on your own:
1. Privacy & safety
Are the platforms used ( including phone, text, email, video) HIPAA-compliant, protecting your privacy, or inform you of risks when they are not? This is very important in telehealth counseling.
2. Informed Consent
Are you informed of processes, risks, benefits, and given choices before and during session, and given opportunities to give feedback when uncomfortable? Do you feel comfortable enough to give feedback?
3. Clinically Licensed and Qualified Training
Is the therapist clinically licensed in your state, and trained in delivering therapy/counseling? When you look for a therapist you may just google “psychologist” or “psychiatrist”, but these do not necessarily turn up mental health counselors and psychotherapists. Some psychologists may have done their PhD dissertations on very specific non-therapy related areas, and have been trained academically more than clinically, while others may do more psychological testing. Psychiatrists (medical doctors) these days mostly do medication-management and fewer are actually doing psychotherapy. Masters level therapy schools such as Professional Counselors or Marriage and Family Counselors, Masters in Social Work, even after graduating, in most states, require 3000 hours of supervised clinical work to sit for a clinical exam. For example, for a social worker, the clinical license would be LCSW (clinical), rather than the LSW (recent grad). Yet some people open up shop as soon as they graduate. How many of these hours were learned doing therapy? Again, if they have not been trained as therapists during those 3000 hours, these are probably not the best choice for therapy.
4. Experience of the Therapist
This is important for the quality of experience you are looking for. Quantity does not necessarily mean quality. I have heard of many “jaded” clinicians who have been burnt out through the system and lack of self-care, even after so many years, even decades of experience. This is something you could probably pick up from your interaction with them. (This may be related to the next question in #5). On the other hand, you may have a fresh graduate who is excited, but not as experienced in the area you are looking for. Finding the right balance is important. If they are relatively inexperienced, a question would be: are they duly diligent in getting training /supervision and humility for feedback, supervision, and working with you, or are they defensive, if a client notices something? But the next question is probably more pertinent...
5. Do you feel they are “present”, empathic, and compassionate?
WITH you in the moment? at an emotional, and deeper mental /psychological level, and able to read the parts that are not stated or are they more focused on their own agenda/modality, too technical, getting through something? This may seem harder through the computer screen online, but it is possible. You cannot read every part of the body, but you can read the face, the eyes, the attention, responses, and how they run the session (multitasking while out on a grocery run is a “no-no”). Even if you are looking for practical skills, this ability of the therapist to be present with you and look beyond the surface will be key in being able to see the skills that will be more helpful rather than hurtful. Of course some of these things depend on the external limits the therapist may have due to the place of their employment, insurance, etc. They may have proper training, but unless that connection is there, it will be hard to do good work.
6. Is the therapist in therapy?
I would rather trust a person that is humble enough to do some work on themselves over one who may have issues with being on the couch themselves. If a fresh graduate has been in therapy most of their lives, I would much rather go to them, than one who has decades of experience, per se, but has not been in therapy themselves. Most of the real “work” in therapy is happening in the unconscious being made conscious in the therapeutic space , but, how can this awareness be helpful if the therapist is not becoming aware of their own unconscious playing out in the space?
First hard lesson in therapy and in other areas of life I learned was that no matter our intentions, we really cannot share or give what we do not have. It is a parallel process. How can a counselor support growth without living it themselves?
7. Your needs, their needs
Logistical concerns are legitimate. If you are needing to use insurance, and the therapist is out of network, there may have to be a conversation in compromising a sliding scale, or cost. If you are looking for an online therapist, and the therapist is wants to do face-to-face live sessions in person, that will be hard. Or vice versa. What about parking, distance to the office? Schedule is an obvious logistical issue as well. A quality therapist will be in tune with the needs of the client, even if they cannot meet them.
If you would like to see if quality online counseling at SW Counseling & Wellness may be a good fit for you, please get in touch by clicking the button below: