does anyone have advice in finding a rational therapist?

Good luck, most therapists are wing-nut social workers; rationality isn't part of the equation.

krispy kremlin wrote:

Good luck, most therapists are wing-nut social workers; rationality isn't part of the equation.

This ^ is on point.

Basically, rational people go into real fields - science, engineering, business...

Therapists are just grown up versions of little nosy Suzy who you couldn't stand in 7th grade because she thought her role in life was to mind everyone else' business. Well, she still thinks that is her role in life, only now she is getting paid for it. Sadly, she is no more rational now than she was back then.

I've had good ones, but in my current location (Southern US)

I either had a string of bad luck or there aren't many good ones. How I found one that looks like a keeper:

My husband asked a colleague, who is an observant Jew, for a recommendation. He picked him because he has a mentally ill brother, which turned out to be irrelevant. He recommended someone he knows from Temple.

Another idea is to get a recommendation from a psychiatrist who is at a medical school, if one is nearby.

Good luck.

Look for clinical psychologists, not therapists. Clinical psychologists have to go through a degree program, PHD or MA, and there are certifications that correspond to their practice. Or psychiatrists. There are differences between the two, but both can act as therapists. "therapy" could mean just about anything, so unfortunately you come across all those alt medicine types as well.

I am a very concrete, rational type of person and I found a therapist that used the Three Principles (Sydney Banks) to be extremely helpful.

Some of the literature is very poorly written but the content is very good.

Look for someone who does CBT. Strong research base. Goal/action oriented. Good stuff.

Isaiah 55:6-7

6 Seek the Lord while you can find him.

Call on him now while he is near.

7 Let the wicked change their ways

and banish the very thought of doing wrong.

Let them turn to the Lord that he may have mercy on them.

Yes, turn to our God, for he will forgive generously.

Been there myself. First of all, good for you for looking for help rather than trying to "tough it out." Therapy does make a difference.

There are no absolutes, but:

- Look for a therapist with an MD or a PhD from a "non new-agey" school. Google is your friend here.

- Look for a man. As a first approximation, men are better therapists for men (assuming you're a guy) than women are.

- Interview the therapist. A great therapist will not be offended if you ask tough questions - an insecure therapist will be. My therapist was first in his class at an Ivy League med school. I know lots of therapists. Most are more touch-feely than rational, but he is clearly smarter than I am, and that's great.

- Therapists who are qualified to do psychoanalysis (even if that's not what they're doing for you), tend to be the smart ones.

- Stay away from the ones doing EMDR, art therapy, music therapy, somatic therapy, and above all transpersonal therapy.

- Good therapists are unfortunately very expensive.

- A lot of therapists, especially male therapists, are a bit narcissistic. Watch out for that.

- Trust your gut. You don't just need a "competent" therapist - you need someone with whom you have excellent rapport.

All this is from my own experience. Good luck.

you can't infer credibility from credentials

Asking your physician is a better start than letsrun .

longtimeintherapy wrote:

- Stay away from the ones doing EMDR, art therapy, music therapy, somatic therapy, and above all transpersonal therapy.

Ha ha ha! I'm a music therapist, and I also know music therapists are NOT who you want to go to for something like this. Music therapists are good for other things (won't get into it here), but not psychotherapy. Also not art therapists. It says therapist in our job title but we are not psychotherapists.

I second staying away from social workers. They are not qualified. A licensed psychologist has hundreds of hours of training and classes before they can do psychotherapy. A social worker in most states only needs one class and they can hang out a shingle and call themselves a therapist.

Go to a teaching hospital that has a medical school (usually one of the major universities, but not always). Go to OUTPATIENT PSYCHIATRY. Try to get a fellow (someone who has won a fellowship) who is an MD or a Ph.D. Do not settle for less than this or you will not get good help.

Try to get a schedule where you go 3 times a week for an hour. Put in the time.

Also, teaching hospitals usually have sliding scales and are more affordable if you don't have a lot of money.

We "Eastern" Orthodox get our therapy for free, it is called Confession. Non Christians have to pay big bucks to lefties to try convince themselves that they aren't sinners and that all their problems are their parents fault.

You will need to meet with several. Good ones should be willing to do a 30 min consult. It is worth the effort.

You just need to call a few and talk with them. All of them expect to spend time on the phone with prospective clients. Some will do a free initial session. Credentials don't mean anything in terms of outcomes. I used to teach in a counseling psychology grad program and this was something I spent some time on in my classes. There's been considerable research done on this topic.

Obviously if there's something in someone's add that puts you off you shouldn't bother getting in touch. But once you've eliminated the people you don't find appealing because of what they put in their ads, you need an actual conversation.

Psychology Today.com has good lists.

look for a clinical social worker- they have MA's and almost all do free consultation over the phone.

I don't know if social workers are different in the USA to the UK but over here my social worker was one of the better professionals I saw.

Social workers are the most deranged excuses for people on the planet.