How to Find an Individual Therapist Online, in San Diego, or California
Teletherapy vs. In-Person with an Individual Therapist
You should ask yourself in what capacity you are willing to see a therapist. Are you technologically savvy? Are you comfortable doing things online, or do you feel that having a physical presence is essential to you? It’s important to first figure out where your comfort level is and then start from that point. Several research studies have concluded that online telehealth is just as beneficial as in-person therapy. After starting with an online therapist, many individuals may prefer the ease and convenience of being able to see your therapist at the time of your choosing, in any setting: free of traffic, parking lot debacles, and commute time. This could be from your living room, in between meetings, during your lunchtime, etc. If meeting in person is important to you, start looking for providers in your area and start perusing their websites.
Specialties of Individual Therapists
Some individual therapists have subspecialties that they have certifications in, which means they have taken additional coursework and have gone through training and supervision for this particular specialty. This is important if there is something specific that you would like to work on. If your friends or family members know of an individual therapist, don’t be afraid to ask them what they know about this person, what they like about them, or if they specialize in anything in particular. This may give you some additional information you otherwise wouldn’t be able to determine from their website(s).
If no friends or family members have any information, or you wish to maintain privacy from them, start searching the internet for individual therapists along with any topics which might be of interest to you. Some examples of this may be if you are looking for an individual therapist who might be able to help you work on:
Your relationships with others, you might search for a relationship therapist
Your previous trauma, you might search for someone with PTSD treatments such as
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy
Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART)
Brainspotting Therapy
Listings of individual therapists.
There are several directories that may be helpful in aiding you to locate a therapist based on geographical location and/or specialty. These directories often have profiles of the therapists that they list, and those profiles may give you a better sense of who the therapists are and what specialties they have, or which populations they work with. Populations are often referred to as the group of individuals they serve, such as adults, adolescents, couples, LGBTQIA+, premarital, children, veterans, older adults (geriatric), special needs, families, or groups. Once you are able to read some of these profiles, you may find a few individual therapists to narrow your focus. You may then want to locate their websites if you need additional information or if you would like to know more about the services they offer. Most therapists, like myself (see link below), also offer free consultations for potential clients, and this is a great way to get a feel for how the interaction might be when you are working with them. Some directories to start with are TherapyDen, Online Therapy Directory, and TherapyTribe.
Consult with an Individual Therapist
Most therapists also offer free consultations for potential clients, and this is a great way to get a feel for how the interaction might be when working with them.
When you do a consultation, this will allow you to speak with them directly and get a sense of what it will be like to work with this person. Be sure to ask the therapist how they work with their clients and if they have a particular way of working. Individual Therapists vary in how they work and how they were trained. There are various modalities (ways of working) for each therapist, and they can explain this to you. Some of these modalities are narrative therapy, object relations therapy, art therapy, PTSD therapy, psychodynamic therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, and others. The therapist should be able to give you an idea of how they work with their clients and hopefully answer any questions you may have about what to expect and if they provide exercises between sessions, how often you might be scheduling with them, etc. You may also want to talk to them about their availability and see if the time slots available for a psychotherapy session work with your schedule as well.
Hopefully, this gives you a starting point on how to go about finding an Individual Therapist Online in California or San Diego.
Relationships Redefined specializes in helping couples and individuals find fulfillment, connection, trust, and healthy communication in their relationships and offers online counseling focused in couples therapy & marriage counseling, individual therapy, premarital counseling, and intimacy and sex therapy in San Diego and all of California. Book a free 15-minute online consultation with us here! Make Intimacy Your Reality!