Hello All,
I've tried to bold-face the important parts:
I am looking for some help on find a therapist. I have heard the advice of 'find a good fit, and don't be afraid to switch if the match isn't good'. However, I don't find that general advice practical. I'm not looking for a friend or someone who I 'connect' with; I'm looking for someone that can help me figure out my problems.
I spoke to my primary care doctor about, and she gave me a list of places nearby. In fact, she encouraged me to instead use a free tele-counselor that my work offers it, to save money. However, I have written that off; I want to seriously commit/investigate this, and when I used a tele-counselor years ago (at the time a workplace requirement to check a box) it was very artificial; the guy was nice enough and maybe reasonably skilled, but I am skeptical of doing this without a face-to-face component, or at least a video option.
I looked at one of the local place's websites, and there are 50+ therapists there. Some are regular counselors, some PsyDs, 1 or 2 were PhDs, and a few were MDs (e.g. psychiatrists). I do not think I have clinical depression (though maybe some mild anxiety) so I figured a psychiatrist was not where to start. But, I do want to look at this rigorously to find out underlying causes/habits/etc... and determine an action oriented plan for me to improve myself. Therefore, maybe PsyD/PhD is the best match?
When selecting a therapist, what traits and characteristics might one try to identify to indicate you will have a productive experience with them?
I wont go into much detail, but I can give more if needed:
In short, I am having a 'third' life crisis of sorts (I am 35), and am struggling with finding meaning and purpose, including whether or not to have child (my wife is 35 so we are getting close to too late), as well as whether I want to actually retire early, and if so, what to pursue in 'retirement'. In fact, these feelings started when I left school and ended up in job I did not find satisfying, and ended up directing me towards the mustachian/FIRE lifestyle.
Happy to give more detail but don't want to make this too complicated.
Thank you!