Finding mental health treatment and services is an essential part of our well-being, but for many, finding the right therapist near them can be a daunting task. There are so many different types of therapists out there, and it can often be confusing and overwhelming to decide which one is the best fit for you. This blog will provide you with the information you need to make a better informed decision while in your search for a local therapist or maybe for one who lives further away, but who also offers online telehealth services. 

When it comes to finding a mental health therapist, there are many specialties and services options to choose from. Counselors, psychologists, social workers, marriage and family therapists, and clinical counselors are some of the most common types of therapists in the State of California. Each of these professions may offer specialized mental health services, such as talk therapy, couples counseling, family therapy, individual therapy, group counseling, and many more. 

The first step in finding a therapist is conducting an online search using specific keywords such as “find a therapist near me,” “find a counselor near me,” or “mental health services near me.” For those of you who have already done additional research and are interested in cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectic behavioral therapy, life coaching, behavior therapy, and etc, you may want to include these terms along with your therapist search. It is important to note that if you have very specific criteria about what constitutes a best therapist for you, you would want to also add those terms to your search. For example, if you were trying to find someone like me specifically because we may share the same background, you may want to include some related terms such as “asian therapy,” “asian therapist,” “asian couple’s counseling,” “Vietnamese counseling,” “Vietnamese therapist,” or “Vietnamese psychotherapist.” If you do not find the results you want with those searches then try making your search more specific to location, gender, and population. For example, you could search “bay area therapist,” “teen therapist in the San Francisco area,” “teen therapist near me,” “therapists in Dublin, CA,” “psychotherapist california,” or “male therapist near me.”

Online therapy, also known as telehealth or telemental health, has grown increasingly popular in recent years due to the normalizing of online learning and the benefits of online therapy conveniences and affordability compared to more traditional face-to-face sessions with local mental health providers. If you are a resident of California, you can find a therapist anywhere throughout the state as long as they are licensed to practice in California! This method of online therapy services has greatly increased accessibility to therapists. To find a provider offering online therapy, you could search the web using keywords such as “best online therapy in California,” “online therapy in California,” “mental health therapist in California,” “telehealth therapy in California,” and “online counseling in California.”

Once you narrow down your list of potential therapists from your searches, it is important to take time and research each person before making a final decision since this will be a great investment of time and resources. Some therapists offer free consultations so you have a chance to meet and talk with them to see if you both would be a good fit to work together. Factors to consider in your decision could include their qualifications, education history, professional experience, and specialty for particular issues or concerns you have about your symptoms. In your discussion with them, you may want to note how comfortable you feel talking with them since this will potentially be the person who you will be working with and opening up to about very sensitive and vulnerable topics. The relationship between you and the therapist could play a very important role in treatment outcomes and so approachability, warmness, and expertise may be very important factors to consider!

Finally, remember that seeking services and mental health help is only the first step in a journey towards better mental wellbeing, and that what and who may work for one person might not work for another. Thus, never give up even when things seem difficult or impossible.