Seven Signs that You Should Find a New Counselor-From Elgin, Wauconda and Cary
Here is a quick quiz: Does this sound like your relationship with your current psychologist or psychiatrist?
1) You list your symptoms; the psychiatrist prescribes a psychotropic medicine, but does not suggest or provide any counseling or psychotherapy to deal with the underlying causes.
2) Your counselor or psychologist just sits there, not saying much of anything.
3) Your therapist gives his or her opinions too freely and too quickly, without really understanding your feelings.
4) Your therapist does not return your calls, or does not do so promptly. When you have something urgent to discuss, it takes far longer than it should to get a return call.
5) You are certain that there are drug-free ways of reducing your anxiety or depression but your therapist never suggests any to you or dismisses them out of hand.
6) You occasionally read up about new therapeutic techniques that may help you, but you have to hound your therapist to give you any advice about them and/or he or she has never even heard of them.
7) You find yourself wondering whether you are really getting good value for your money. Why exactly are you paying all that money to your shrink? Surely, you should be able to get more expert feedback and advice than you have been receiving!
If any, or all of these sound familiar to you, then it really is time for you to consider changing the psychotherapist or mental health counselor you use.
Thankfully, there are counselors out there who will return your phone calls in a timely manner, who are proactive in giving valuable feedback and expert advice and who do - honestly -offer good value for your money.
Luckily, changing therapists is not the arduous process you might think it is. Both the American Counseling Association (ACA) and the American Psychological Association (APA) have strict guidelines to which their members must adhere.
Among other things, these guidelines suggest how their members must behave if a client wishes to replace them.
Your current therapist must provide all the relevant documentation and your clinical history to your new counselor in a timely and efficient manner.
This means that, if you are fed up with your current counselor or therapist and he or she is a member of one of those associations, you just have to find a replacement; then contact your old therapist and ask him or her to pass on your clinical history to your new therapist.
Before contacting your old therapist, your new counselor will probably provide you with a list of details regarding his or her counseling techniques and expectations; then the process of getting your old records sent to your new therapist takes place almost automatically after you request the transfer.
Even if you are in some sort of dispute with your current counselor,this should not prevent you from making a switch. The ethical guidelines of psychologists and mental health counselors state that your current therapist should not be able to hold your records hostage.
So, do not feel that you must stick with a mental health professional who is not meeting your needs. Changing is not that difficult and you will almost certainly develop a rapport with your new therapist in just a few weeks.
Dr Shery is in Cary, IL, near Algonquin, Crystal Lake, Marengo, Woodstock and Lake-in-the-Hills. He provides day and evening appts and accepts all insurance. Call 1 847 516 0899 or learn more at: http://www.carypsychology.com
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