Chicago Psychotherapy: Tips for Consumers

Chicago is a city with thousands of psychotherapists. Finding a good one can be daunting. Consumers often have little idea about what to look for when seeking a therapist. This article provides guidelines that will help clients navigate the complex landscape of Chicago psychotherapy.

Within Chicago there are a number of schools that offer degrees in psychiatry, psychology and social work. These three degrees are the best recognized and most widely known within the Chicago psychotherapy community. The University of Illinois, Loyola University, The University of Chicago and Northwestern University offer programs that are highly regarded and that rigorously screen applicants to their programs. Graduates finish these programs with one of several degrees. Psychiatrists have an M.D., psychologists usually have a PhD. and social workers have an M.A. or M.S.W.

Clients who are looking for a therapist should ask where the therapist received their degree. Unfortunately, there are more and more online degree programs that require no supervised internships and offer students no clinical supervision. While graduates of these programs have paper credentials, they do not have the necessary clinical experience or supervision to be psychotherapists.

It’s also important for clients to ask how long someone has been in practice. Psychotherapy is an art and a science. The longer someone has been providing psychotherapy, the greater the likelihood that they will be skilled at their craft.

Clients are often encouraged to look for a therapist with whom they ‘have a good fit.’ However, this doesn’t mean just finding someone who’s a likeable person. Most therapists are nice people but not all therapists are skilled at what they do. Clients should look for someone they like AND who they trust in terms of their level of experience and skill. Skill is something that can be readily determined. It doesn’t take long to know whether a therapist understands you and the challenges you’re facing problem and has some idea about how to help you address your issues.

Choosing a therapist in your insurance network shouldn’t be the only criteria for deciding which therapist to see. In the Chicago psychotherapy community, the most experienced therapists are often out-of-network providers. These therapists frequently have a sliding scale in order to accommodate those clients who aren’t able to pay their full fee but who would like to work with them.

Therapists have many different approaches to working with people. Some are focused mostly on reducing a client’s symptoms – e.g. eliminating conflict in a relationship or reducing anxiety.  This therapy tends to be short term and the relationship between the client and the therapist is secondary to reducing the symptoms the client came in with.

Other therapists have a focus on personal growth and change. This type of therapy tends to be deeper and longer lasting. Therapists with this type of focus tend to develop relationships with clients who come to see them off and on for many years.

Over the past twenty years, the Chicago psychotherapy community has experienced a radical shift. This shift coincides with the proliferation of managed care and insurance panels. Presently, there is a much greater emphasis on short term psychotherapy and symptom reduction. The client-therapist relationship has a secondary role and those therapists who provide the deepest work and highest quality treatment are increasingly difficult to find.

It is important to be clear about your expectations for psychotherapy and to communicate this to your provider. This tends to lead to greater satisfaction with therapy.

Johanna
http://www.johannascouch.com/