How to Find a Therapist

In this irreverent and accessible handbook, licensed professional counselor and author Dr. Faith G. Harper provides information necessary for the process of finding a therapist. She begins by explaining the three things that matter most in a therapist-patient relationship: alliance, empathy-related constructs, and expectations. She then breaks down the different kinds of professionals who might provide mental health services, such as Licensed Professional Counselors (LPCs), Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists (LMFTs), psychologists, psychiatrists, life coaches, and more. Additionally, Dr. Harper also outlines how to choose between different types of therapeutic orientations, such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. Considering the questions: (1) ‘How do people develop emotional health issues?' and (2) ‘How do people recover from these issues?' is key to appropriately matching people to a therapeutic approach. Later in the zine, Dr. Harper delves into issues like referrals, distance counseling, and insurance vs out-of-pocket payments. She ends the zine with a list of crisis lines and hotlines. -- Alekhya