吃瓜达人, NM
Looking for a Therapist?
I was looking for a therapist. (And I have heard my story from countless others鈥)
I looked on my insurance company鈥檚 page, 鈥淟ooking for a Therapist”, or something like that. There鈥檚 very little information, maybe a photo (too often from 10 years and 30 pounds ago), and a long checklist of stuff they claim they work with, from Asperger鈥檚 to Traumatic Brain Injury, to Transgender to Trichotillomania.
I鈥檓 like, really? NOBODY knows all 26 of those things you checked, so already I don鈥檛 trust you. You need clients. You鈥檙e willing to work with ANYTHING听just to get them in. I get it. But I鈥檓 not calling you.
So I find a handful of prospective therapists, and look them all up in Social Media, Linked In, Google, and so on. Mostly, I get nothing. Not a peep. So now I go the opposite direction. I鈥檓 like, really? You are so full that you don鈥檛 even need to have a web page or a LinkedIn profile? I鈥檓 still not calling you.
Actually, what I听REALLY听think is that these are conservative, probably somewhat fear-based, hyper-boundaried therapists that do not want ANYTHING about them out there on the web. (OK, that is a joke, my FBI friend tells me鈥擜nybody can find out anything about anybody, if they have a few bucks and the motivation.)
Therapists Have to Be Willing to Be Transparent
So here鈥檚 the punch line: I want to read about you, hear how you talk about your work, how you think. I want to see at least a picture of you, preferably a video. I want a sense of who you are.
That鈥檚 not easy to get.
PsychologyToday.com ads allow for a couple of paragraphs, so that helps some.
I see therapists’ big cards around town, and I see Deb Heikes鈥檚 web site. These folks are available, transparent, real. That鈥檚 what I want to see.
Think about it.
Conclusion
More and more, the world (especially the millennials and the Digital Natives) do not want Great Wall of Freakin鈥 China boundaries between them and their therapists. That is an old, psychoanalysis-informed position that is pretty archaic to these days. Them days are over. There is a new sensibility in the country. Authenticity, transparency, letting yourself be seen and known.
I鈥檓 thinking that鈥檚 the way to go anymore. How do听you听show up online?
Might want to think about it. Your clients will.
–Jim Nolan, Former President
吃瓜达人 the Moderator
