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Instructions
Travel Distance
Begin by entering your zip code and specify the distance you’d be willing to travel. Remember that you’ll see more professionals listed if you’re willing to travel a greater distance. For example, 30 miles may not be all that far for you to go if you can find the perfect person who meets your needs.
Age Group
Some people specialize in handling particular age groups or simply may not work with other age groups such as very young children. Who is the intended patient? Specify that here.
Problem/Issue refinement
Now you can check to see if there are therapists who specialize in working with certain problems/issues. Scroll down to check out the even larger list of specific problem areas to capture the most accurate description of your problem.
Our goal is to help you get to a smaller group of professionals that are best suited to you. We have taken care not to overload you with too many general conditions that wouldn’t help you narrow your search. Similarly, we don’t need you to diagnose yourself in order to help you find a group of professionals.
Gender
Please remember that this is the gender of the professional you’re looking for. While you may prefer to work with a professional of one gender or another, research has shown that the connection you form with the therapist is far more important than the gender of the person you work with. Don’t fall prey to the faulty assumption that for a therapist to understand your experience, he or she has to share certain similarities, like gender. Well-trained therapists are... well... well-trained to help you explain your feelings, thoughts, and experiences so they can understand the nature your problems and how to help. It’s not wrong to want to have a therapist with certain important characteristics, but keep an open mind and be careful of prejudgments.
Professional Degree
AgoraMHN profiles only licensed mental health professionals with specific graduate training to perform the functions of their profession. You may not know the difference between the different disciplines of professionals, or that may not be important to you. What’s most important is that you find a professional who has the expertise to help you and with whom you are able to form a strong relationship.
Please remember that there are important differences in training for different kinds of therapists which can affect the kind of treatment they deliver. Below is a just a brief description of the training obtained by professionals in different mental health disciplines. All of these professionals are trained to diagnose and treat mental health issues but they differ in the focus and emphasis of the training they receive and in their approaches to intervention. All of these types of professionals might conduct psychotherapy with individuals, couples, families, or groups.
| Mental Health Professional | Degree and Formal Training |
|---|---|
| Clinical Psychologists apply the findings of psychological research, including what causes mental health problems, in order to diagnose and treat mental disorders and behavioral problems. They conduct psychotherapy and work with the widest variety of problems and disorders. They are trained to use many kinds of psychological tests to understand emotional, behavioral, neuropsychological problems as well as to assess intelligence. |
Clinical Psychologists hold a doctorate degree (Ph.D, or Psy.D.) which requires four years of graduate study including two years of supervised clinical practice, and a one-year, full-time clinical internship. To get licensed requires an additional year of post-degree, supervised clinical work. Psy.D. programs aim to train practitioners, whereas Ph.D. programs train scientist-practitioners, who are trained to do scientific research as well as to provide treatment. |
| Clinical Social Workers approach mental health from a broader environmental perspective. Social work itself focuses on environmental factors that both contribute to a person’s problems and help to produce change. As a specialty within social work, clinical social workers are trained to assess, diagnose, treat and prevent emotional and behavioral problems. | Clinical Social Workers typically hold a masters degree (MSW) which requires a two-year course of graduate study, including supervised clinical practice. Requirements to be licensed vary by state, but usually include up to two years of post-degree supervision. |
| Marriage and Family Therapists understand and approach emotional and behavioral problems from a systems perspective, that is, by looking at a person’s network of important relationships (marriage, couples, and family systems). They are more likely to include family members in treatment, even if the problem seems to lie with one person. | Marriage and Family Therapists hold a master's degree (MFT) which requires a two-year course of graduate study, including a year of supervised clinical practice. Requirements to be licensed vary by state, but usually include at least one year of post-degree supervision. |
| Professional Counselors have traditionally focused more on the strengths and adaptive strategies a person had across his/her lifespan. In therapy, they look to remove obstacles and improve strategies to promote emotional well being and help to reach career goals. | Professional Counselors typically hold a master’s degree which requires a two-year course of study including supervised clinical practice. Requirements to be licensed vary by state, but typically include at least one year of post-degree supervised experience. |
| Psychiatrists are physicians who specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. Their medical orientation helps them understand the physical and psychological causes of mental health problems. While psychiatrists are able to treat problems with medication, they may also use psychotherapy, alone or together with medication. | Psychiatrists hold a medical degree (M.D.) which requires a four-year course of study in general medicine, followed a one-year internship in psychiatry and three years of post-degree, supervised residency training in psychiatry. |
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