Starting Therapy
Questions to Ask a Therapist
Useful questions cover five areas: license and training, experience with your specific concern, how they work session to session, practical details like fees and availability, and how progress is reviewed. Any established therapist will expect these questions.
License and training
What license do you hold, and what training does it involve? Do you hold additional training in any specific method?
Experience
How often do you work with concerns like mine? What age groups and populations do you usually see?
Approach
What does a typical session look like? Is there work between sessions? How directive are you?
Practical details
What is the fee per session? What is the cancellation policy? What is your current availability, and how do you handle messages between sessions?
Progress
How will we know whether this is helping? What happens if it is not?
This article is general information, not medical advice or a diagnosis. If you are in immediate danger, call 911. In the United States you can call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.