The Right Questions to Ask

A Therapist

Before you pay for therapy, request a free, short face-to-face or phone consultation to be sure you’re comfortable with the therapist. If he refuses, do you really want a therapist who is this inflexible? Also, therapy is a two-way street, so you should both want to see if it’s a good fit.

What to Ask

• Do you specialize in (issue X)? (Say, marriage or addiction.)
• How have you worked to solve it in the past? Can you give me examples of what you did?
• Do you focus on brief or long-term therapy? How long do you generally see a patient?
• What type of therapy do you practice? What’s your approach?
• How do you assess if I’m progressing?
• Can I get in touch with you between visits? What about in an emergency or after hours?
• Do you take insurance? Do you offer a sliding scale?
• What if I miss an appointment? Do I have to pay?