When you make an appointment with a doctor, you know they’ve been through medical school and are properly licensed. Set a time to discuss a matter with an attorney, and you can once again be confident they’ve passed the bar exam and are licensed by the state. But when it comes to seeing a counselor, it’s not always clear whether they have the expertise and professional training to help with your mental health needs.
As people learn more about the importance of mental health and seek help with their own challenges, the demand for therapists has grown. You can see that on many social media sites, where posts asking for therapist recommendations are increasingly common. It’s important to know that when someone describes themselves as a counselor, it doesn’t automatically mean they have the licensing or qualifications you needed to make a lasting difference.
That’s why it’s so important to make sure you investigate a therapist’s expertise before you choose them to work with your kids. For example, if you want your child to see a counselor because of behavior problems, it’s a good idea to find someone who has gone through the additional education and training from a research based model – For example, see if they have earned a certification in TBRI (trust-based relational intervention) or Theraplay. It’s also good to ask whether they’ve raised kids of their own and what stage of parenting they are in. College classes and textbooks provide valuable insight, but nothing can substitute for the perspective that grows from day-to-day parenting.
Learn about their experience. How long have they been a therapist and what advanced licensing do they hold? If they’re new to the profession, ask if they’re currently under supervision from a professional. That doesn’t mean they’re not capable, but it means they’ll have someone who has done more counseling double-checking to ensure they’re doing the right things.
Talk with them about how they typically approach counseling for the issues your child is having. Every child is unique – and there’s no magic solution that works for everyone – but the counselor should be able to describe how they go about earning your child’s trust. Remember counseling is more than just learning coping skills and adjusting stuck thinking. It’s about getting to root causes, knowing how the brain is wired, and what brings about lasting healing and connection in relationships. Ask the counselor about what they know about the brain, attachment, and child development stages.
Also, ask how involved they’ll expect you to be. While parents often want to sit in on their children’s counseling sessions, most counselors will tell you that’s not helpful, especially when issues are often rooted in family relationships. Seeing your child alone doesn’t mean they’re trying to hide something from you. It just means they know kids are less likely to be completely open and honest in the presence of their parents. But parental involvement is important, because you are the one raising your child.
And while it’s impossible to predict exactly how much time they’ll need to work with your child, ask them how long it typically takes to achieve meaningful progress with kids, so you have a better sense of what you and your child can expect.
True professionals won’t be surprised or offended if you ask about their education, experience, licensing, and how they work. In fact, most will be pleased that you’re making the extra effort to find the right match for your child. They do what they do because they want to help others find more joy and satisfaction from life and their relationships with others.
Care to Change’s website includes professional and biographical information about each of our professional counselors. We hire only those with experience and who have been trained in evidence based methods. You can use the search function to find areas of interest, and then look through the profiles to see who the most comfortable choice might be. You can also call us, describe your child’s needs, and ask about who might be the best person to help. After all our goal is the same as yours – helping your child or teen enjoy a happier, more successful life.