Mental Health Searching for a Therapist (ADHD/GAD)

[NawdybyNature]

I recently started looking for a therapist (Midwest, USA) and I was curious if anyone has any tips on what to look for/stay away from. In other words, are there any common red flags that you would avoid in the future when searching for a new therapist? I should mention that I'm primarily trying to get help with (what I imagine is) adult ADHD. I have never been diagnosed with ADHD but I've never really had a therapist before, so I can't be sure. I received a print out of 10 or 15 local mental health organizations from my physical therapist upon request. Not sure what I should be looking for on their respective websites. I would imagine they would advertise ADHD specialists, right? Anyway, any help would be much appreciated as I am in unknown territory when it comes to this sort of thing.

 

[Jerry Atrick]

I guess it depends on what you are looking for. How do you want to go about treating your ADHD? If you want to treat it with talk therapy, then yes, you should start the search with that list. If you want to treat your ADHD with medication, you should look for a psychiatrist instead of/in addition to a therapist. This is because therapists cannot prescribe medication. If you find a psychiatrist willing to treat you, they may refer you to a clinical psychologist to test you for ADHD to make sure you aren't just sourcing for recreational or sellable drugs.

Just go to the therapist's website and look for a bio or about page. They will usually list what they treat. For instance, if they say they are an MFT (marriage/family therapist) or a couple's sex therapist, you will be barking up the wrong tree. How do you plan on paying? Because you should also consider and ask them if they are in network with your insurance provider. If you have no insurance, ask if they offer a sliding scale fee based on income.

 

[patchoulirose]

I will add that some places will not see you for ADHD with a referral from either the GP or the insurance company. Usually going through your GP can be quicker. If a place wants money up front, look elsewhere because they will keep asking for more. This happened to me and I didn't bother to research them first before making an appointment, however, I was desperate.

Whoever you go to, please research them first, just because they are legitimate, doesn't mean they are any good. Do your homework.

I hope you can find someone soon.

 

[NawdybyNature]

I guess it depends on what you are looking for. How do you want to go about treating your ADHD? If you want to treat it with talk therapy, then yes, you should start the search with that list. If you want to treat your ADHD with medication, you should look for a psychiatrist instead of/in addition to a therapist. This is because therapists cannot prescribe medication. If you find a psychiatrist willing to treat you, they may refer you to a clinical psychologist to test you for ADHD to make sure you aren't just sourcing for recreational or sellable drugs.

I definitely would like the option of medication to be on the table. I have experimented with Dex (Adderrall IR), Dex/Lev (Adderall XR), and Methylphenidate (Concerta) pretty extensively in the past and always had great results. But I'm past the point of pretending I can self medicate myself out of my problems so medication paired with talk therapy/CBT/whatever would be an ideal situation. I dont really want someone that is JUST throwing pills at me every month. They can throw pills at me but they gotta lend me an ear as well .

Just go to the therapist's website and look for a bio or about page. They will usually list what they treat. For instance, if they say they are an MFT (marriage/family therapist) or a couple's sex therapist, you will be barking up the wrong tree.

Gotcha. Most of the names on the list I was given say therapist, substance abuse counselor, and EMDR certified next to them. I'm assuming when I asked for a list of therapists in the area my PT assumed I knew the difference between a psychiatrist and a therapist lol.

How do you plan on paying? Because you should also consider and ask them if they are in network with your insurance provider. If you have no insurance, ask if they offer a sliding scale fee based on income.

Insurance. The first thing I did was go thru the list to make sure they accept my insurance plan and they have a telehealth option. I prefer to see someone in person but my remote location is going to make that tough if I need to see someone more than once every week or 2.

I'll get back to googling and see what I can find before I bombard you with more easily searchable info .

Thanks for your time bud, you have been very helpful!

 

[NawdybyNature]

I will add that some places will not see you for ADHD with a referral from either the GP or the insurance company. Usually going through your GP can be quicker.

Got it. Ya waiting on authorization from the insurance company can be a nightmare.

If a place wants money up front, look elsewhere because they will keep asking for more. This happened to me and I didn't bother to research them first before making an appointment, however, I was desperate.

I did notice the "cash up front" or "cash for evaluation" on a couple places websites. Thought that was weird.

Whoever you go to, please research them first, just because they are legitimate, doesn't mean they are any good. Do your homework.

I hope you can find someone soon.

Will do, and thank you!

P.S. Love your handle

 

[Jerry Atrick]

I definitely would like the option of medication to be on the table. I have experimented with Dex (Adderrall IR), Dex/Lev (Adderall XR), and Methylphenidate (Concerta) pretty extensively in the past and always had great results. But I'm past the point of pretending I can self medicate myself out of my problems so medication paired with talk therapy/CBT/whatever would be an ideal situation. I dont really want someone that is JUST throwing pills at me every month. They can throw pills at me but they gotta lend me an ear as well .

Gotcha. Most of the names on the list I was given say therapist, substance abuse counselor, and EMDR certified next to them. I'm assuming when I asked for a list of therapists in the area my PT assumed I knew the difference between a psychiatrist and a therapist lol.

Insurance. The first thing I did was go thru the list to make sure they accept my insurance plan and they have a telehealth option. I prefer to see someone in person but my remote location is going to make that tough if I need to see someone more than once every week or 2.

I'll get back to googling and see what I can find before I bombard you with more easily searchable info .

Thanks for your time bud, you have been very helpful!

I forgot to mention in my post above that there are a couple of websites that allow you to apply search filters for location (even if it's remote online video chat, they still have to be in your state), type of mental health provider (therapist or psychiatrist), or even the gender of your provider. I'm a dude but prefer female therapists for some reason. Maybe I sense that they have more empathy than male therapists, I'm not sure. One male therapist I had got too buddy-buddy with me and it made me uncomfortable.

The two websites I've used are psychologytoday.com and zocdoc.com. It is also worth it to search your insurance company's website since they should have a database of mental health providers who are in network.

 

[NawdybyNature]

I'm a dude but prefer female therapists for some reason. Maybe I sense that they have more empathy than male therapists, I'm not sure. One male therapist I had got too buddy-buddy with me and it made me uncomfortable.

I'm the same way man. Not sure why but the thought of a male therapist seems so foreign to me.

The two websites I've used are psychologytoday.com and zocdoc.com. It is also worth it to search your insurance company's website since they should have a database of mental health providers who are in network.

I actually found psychology today when searching around on google and it worked great. An organization that has facilities all over the state got back to me first thing yesterday and we set up my initial session for tomorrow via telehealth. Knocked out all the paperwork yesterday so hopefully I'm good to go. I'll report back afterwards.

 

[NawdybyNature]

First session went well I think. I like the lady well enough. I dont feel awkward or like I need to hold some of the crazy back so that's a good first sign I think .

It was just an initial visit so I didnt expect to make much headway in actually solving any of my problems, just kinda got an idea of where we wanted to go. She asked the Basics like what I'm looking for in therapy and what I hope to get out of it, pretty standard stuff. She does something called ART, can't remember what it stands for (something about bilateral eye movements?) but we are going to try it out next session.

She is an LAC, LPC-MH, QMHP (MS degree, no PhD), so I dont think she can prescribe meds. But there is someone on the staff that is a medication manager. When she asked me what I wanted to try out I said I'm open to everything, including medication.

I guess I'm curious of how I can steer the conversation towards medication without throwing up any red flags for drug seeking. I'd like to try a combination of what she has to offer (CBT) as well as medication because I have benefitted greatly from adderall and concerta in the past. Based on the state I'm in (upper midwest) I assume they are not going to send you down the medication route immediately, so I'm going to try and be patient. Any tips or talking points would be greatly appreciated.