Choosing a mental health provider is different from choosing the doctor for any type of physical treatment. When patients choose a physician for a specific condition, they often ask to see credentials and experience in a requested field. Also, the communication style is essential when making the final decision. On the other hand, mental health care can involve different cases and healing methods. In this case, you have to be able to assess his personality and whether his techniques will match your needs. But, before selecting the one, we have a couple of questions you can ask him.
Do you have a medical background and required training?
Why is this essential? It’s simply because your health depends on his medical skills. Mental health providers come from different backgrounds; they can be psychologists, physicians, social workers and many others.
But, only therapists who majored psychiatry can be a solution to your problems. Also, it is vital that your counselor has a license for work, in this way he has permission to prescribe you the necessary drugs.
What are your treating methods?
Many mental care providers decide that drugs are the only solution and they often neglect other things that can be beneficial for the patient’s health. In this case, people who suffer from some mild mental disorders might not need a drug treatment.
On the other hand, depending on your condition and severity of your illness, you need to talk with your counselor and determine whether his methods work for you. If you decide he is not a good match, move one and look for another. It is better to find a doctor who will be able to help you, then to waste your time.
Do you have a good reputation?
It is very challenging to verify his reputation because you can’t ask his patients due to doctor-patient confidentiality. But, you can research the web and visit various forums where people express their opinion.
Also, in every community, you can find the list of prominent doctors, who have a lot of experience in this filed.
