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If you decide to seek professional help for agoraphobia, you won’t want to waste valuable time and money with a therapist who doesn’t know what he or she is doing or doesn’t have experience treating agoraphobia. Below are seven suggested guidelines to help you choose a good therapist. 1) Get a recommendation. If at all possible, get a recommendation from a friend, family member, or someone you trust. If you know someone who got help for agoraphobia and recovered, ask who he or she went to for therapy. If you can’t get a recommendation from someone you know, you might ask your family physician or another health professional for a recommendation. Another good referral source is the website of the Anxiety Disorders Association of America (ADAA). Just go to www.adaa.org, click on “treatment,” then click on “find a therapist.” Don’t always settle for the first therapist you find. It’s good to get the names of several therapists and do some comparing. Call each one and get more information. Start by asking about the therapist’s credentials. 2) Find out what credentials the therapist has. Your therapist should have the credentials to qualify as one of four types of licensed therapists as they are regulated in the United States. - Psychiatrist: a medical doctor (MD), or physician, with basic training in medicine and three years of specialized training in psychiatry. A psychiatrist has the training to prescribe medication legally and practice some forms of psychotherapy. - Psychologist: a mental health professional that may have a master’s degree, PhD (Doctor of Philosophy), or PsyD (Doctor of Psychology). The master’s degree may require two to three years of graduate study whereas a doctorate may take five or six years. Psychologists with PhDs or PsyDs can call themselves “doctor” but are not trained to prescribe medicine legally. However, they can work in conjunction with your family doctor who can prescribe medicine. Depending upon education level, psychologists may have specialized training in psychology equivalent to the training a psychiatrist has in psychiatry. Typically, a therapist with a background in clinical psychology has more training in treating panic disorders and agoraphobia than a marriage and family counselor or social worker. - Marriage and Family Counselor: A counselor with a master’s degree (M.A. or M.S.), although some have doctorates (PhDs) in counseling psychology. A marriage and family counselor may or may not be trained to work with panic disorders and agoraphobia. - Social Worker: A “clinical social worker” is trained to provide individual therapy, although as in the case of marriage and family counselors, the level of training to work with panic disorders and agoraphobia may vary. A clinical social worker usually has a master’s degree in social work (MSW) although some have doctorates in social work (PhD). Therapists in each of these four categories are licensed to perform therapy in their state. Since licensing requirements in each state can vary, you should probably ask your therapist what the licensing requirements were in your state. This will give you a good idea what kind of education and training requirements your therapist has met. But remember, education and training does not always equal competence. You’ll want a therapist who has successfully treated people with agoraphobia. 3) Find out how much experience the therapist has with agoraphobia. Find a therapist who has experience in successfully treating agoraphobia. If your therapist has never worked with an agoraphobic before, it would be best to find someone who has. Don’t compromise on this. 4) Ask about the therapist’s basic approach to treating agoraphobia. No single approach to therapy seems to help all people with agoraphobia, so it is best to find a therapist who is familiar with multiple forms of treatment. Choose a therapist who is familiar with both cognitive and behavioral approaches to agoraphobia. Cognitive therapies all focus on helping you change the way you think. Behavior therapies include techniques called flooding and systematic desensitization (which will be discussed later) and focus on helping you learn the skills necessary to cope with fearful situations as they occur. According to current psychological literature, the most successful form of treatment for agoraphobia is the combination of cognitive therapy, behavior therapy, and medication. A therapist who is versatile enough to practice this combination will be most likely to provide the combination of techniques best suited for you. 5) Ask how long the therapist’s treatment program should last. Most therapists who treat people with agoraphobia offer a cognitive-behavioral program for therapy that can be accomplished within 20 weeks. It’s up to you how much time and money you want to spend in therapy, but 20 weeks is a reasonable amount of time for a therapist to give you the insight and tools necessary for recovery. Psychodynamic approaches (free associating and unraveling your past) and other therapies can last longer. However, current psychological studies have demonstrated cognitive-behavioral therapy to be the most effective. Warning: Be wary of treatment programs that promise a miraculous or overnight cure. Most research-proven treatment programs for agoraphobia take at least eight weeks. There are lots of people offering “quick fixes” and “miracle cures” but there is no empirical evidence that a “magic bullet” for curing agoraphobia has been discovered. When an overnight cure for agoraphobia is found, you can be sure that psychiatrists and psychologists everywhere will be using it. 6) Talk to your therapist about the goals of your therapy. It is important that you agree with your therapist about the goals of therapy and what success will look like. The more you agree on specific goals for therapy within specific time frames, the more you will know if the therapy is worth your time and money. 7) Choose a therapist you are comfortable with Ultimately, you are the one who can tell if a therapist is compatible with you – so it’s ok to go ahead and use your intuition. Choose a therapist you feel comfortable talking to. Even if your therapist meets all the above criteria, if you don’t feel comfortable talking to your therapist, it will hurt your chance of success.
Article Source: http://www.agoraphobia.net
Stephen Price is a recovered agoraphobic with a master’s degree in psychology. His informational website on agoraphobia featuring a free newsletter can be found at: www.agoraphobia.ws
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