How to Find a Mental Health Clinician

Searching for professionals that support mental health can be confusing and tiring! In this post I’m aiming to tackle a few of the most frequently asked questions that I’ve had from patients seeking mental healthcare for the first time.

1. What is the difference between a psychologist and a psychiatrist?

   To put it very simply there are clinicians that do primarily therapy and clinicians that primarily prescribe medications for psychiatric conditions. There are also some that are trained in both. If you are looking for someone to talk to and work on skills to address your symptoms you may consider a psychologist, therapist, counselor or clinical social worker. These individuals primarily offer therapy. These individuals also typically do a full evaluation and formulate a diagnosis. Some examples of times a person may seek therapy could be if they are experiencing anxiety, depression, loss, or relationship stress. If you are looking for an evaluation for medication (for mental health condition/symptoms) you may want to look for a psychiatrist or a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner. These individuals are trained in evaluation and diagnosis as well as psychiatric medication management. In their training they also learn therapy. Depending on how they run their clinic some psychiatrists and psychiatric nurse practitioners do both therapy and medication management with their patients. Alternatively, some only do medication management. You can always ask when you are calling their office what they offer.

2. How to I find a clinician?

   • Explore Psychology Today’s Directory : use the drop down to select if you are looking for a therapist, psychiatrist, support group or treatment center. Note: psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners are listed under the psychiatrist tab.

   • Ask a trusted friend if they have a clinician they have liked working with

   • Ask your insurance to send you a list of mental health clinicians in their network (specify if you want a therapist, psychiatrist, etc)

   • Use this google formula: (your greatest concern) (clinician type) in (your area)

     • For example: “Anxiety therapist in Los Angeles” or “ADHD Psychiatrist in Denver”

3. How do I know if someone is right for me?

   My recommendation for this one is actually very simple.

   • Ensure that they are the type of service you want (therapy, medication)

   • Ask if they specialize in what you are wanting help for (anxiety, ADHD, trauma)

   • Go with your gut! This is the most important of all. Look at their picture, read their about section, call them and listen to their voice. Just like any relationship, trust between you and your mental health clinician is the most important. Research actually shows that patients that have better rapport with their clinicians have better outcomes. What is rapport? Simply put it is feeling understood and cared for. Sharing your inner emotional world is something that requires vulnerability. So pick some you feel safe with. It is okay to take time to find the right fit.

4. What does it mean if my clinician doesn’t take insurance?

   Many mental health clinicians choose to not work with insurances for a variety of reasons. If your clinician doesn’t take your insurance ask them if they can provide you with something that is called a “superbill”. This can be submitted to insurance for them to reimburse you after you have paid for the session. Ask your insurance what is the “deductible” and what does coverage look like after the deductible is met. An example of this could be: a patient has a 1,000$ deductible and then services are covered 80% after that. This means that in a years time your visits would be paid for by you up to 1,000$ and then after that insurance will reimburse you for 80% of visit costs. This would start over again every year.