It is not always easy to pass the door of a shrink! We are often afraid of being labeled as “sick” and it is sometimes difficult to find our way through the maze of all the specialties and existing psychotherapies.

Finding a good shrink isn’t that hard. A few notions on the trade and a bit of common sense can be enough to find the “rare pearl”.

Here are some tips on how to choose an effective therapist …

Psychiatrist or psychologist?

The psychiatrist and the psychologist are two very different disciplines, both in terms of training and treatment.

To put it simply, a psychiatrist is a doctor trained in the Faculty who will do years of internship and acquire his experience during three years in the field.

He is authorized to prescribe medication and can also offer psychoanalytical or psychodynamic treatment methods.

Unlike the psychiatrist, the clinical psychologist studies thoughts, emotions and behaviors in a specialized school.

The psychotherapist who practices behavioral and cognitive therapy  (or CBT) offers effective methods with rapid results based on an overall assessment of his patient.

In addition to its two main specialties, there are professionals such as social workers, marriage therapists, family counsellors, etc.

These professions are legally regulated and, in addition to basic training, the professional can specialize in a branch such as sophrology, hypnosis, neurolinguistic programming (NLP), meditation, etc.

How to choose an effective therapist?

There are many therapeutic approaches, no less than 500! To find our way around, we can still classify them into three main categories:

Freudian psychoanalysis

This first technique, the most classic and oldest, was initiated by Freud himself. It consists in seeking in the analysis of dreams, childhood memories and the unconscious the keys to a therapeutic change.

This 3rd and latest method is called cognitive behavioral therapy. This practice consists of confronting a specific problem in order to solve it without really looking for the root causes.

This therapy has the great advantage of being fast and effective, which is encouraging for people who do not wish to invest in the long term, neither financially nor in terms of time.

And finally, some advice for choosing the right shrink…

Beware of ineffective or even toxic therapists. A good therapist is one who adapts to his patient without wanting to fit him into a mould.

He also has an advisory role and must help him solve his problems gently and with his consent.

The patient sets the goals, not the other way around! The first telltale sign of an unsuitable shrink is when you feel worse leaving your office than entering it.

Of course, the problems do not vanish with the wave of a magic wand, but the relationship of trust with his shrink is essential.

The right attitude to find a good shrink is first to ask him for a 5 to 10 minute interview by phone to ask him all the questions that seem important:

If this first approach went well and suits you, then the first date will be the second step.

If this contact is positive, the decision will come naturally, without asking questions: you have found the right shrink!