Everyone knows someone who is affected, and honestly, most everyone struggles at some point in their lives. As a society, we are approaching a place where a mental health specialist should just part of a family’s health care team: MD, Dentist, OB-GYN, Optometrist, Therapist. Sure, we’ve all just muscled through it before, but that doesn’t mean that’s the best way to do it. Have you looked around at the world lately?
Find a professional you feel you can talk to. It may take time, in some cases, it may take some pharmaceutical help to get you back on your feet. There may be side effects and frustration, but you can get there. If you see a professional and you don’t feel comfortable with that individual, or something about the setting – that is totally fine! Just find someone else that you click with. Treat it like any other relationship and you don’t just settle for the first one you come across.
Similarly, different techniques will work for different people as well. For example, I would be more partial to “cognitive behavioral therapy” or “CBT” – which is a more pragmatic approach to things.
There are tons of acronyms, and they can be overwhelming, so here’s a handy little breakdown:
- LPC (Licensed Professional Counselor) is your standard license.
- LCPC (Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor) or LCSW (Licensed Clinical Social Worker) is ideal.
- Someone with a Ph.D. is awesome but not often found in your standard counselor settings.
- Psychiatrists are typically the medicine part and are usually separate from the therapists/counselors who are the talking part.
- And yes, they’re typically different specialties with different functions (and different rates).
Find a professional in your area with one of the buttons below:
Don’t sweat about finding the “perfect” match – you may not be on the first try,
but it is normal, understood, and won’t be a “bad” experience.
Leave a Reply
Want to join the discussion?Feel free to contribute!