Musings of Matthew Kluger

Everyone can benefit from seeing a therapist, but finding a mental health professional can feel overwhelming: Every therapist has their own style, specialty, and yes, price. Here's what you should know before you try to find a therapist. Start the search. You have a few options for first steps. Your insurance company can provide a list of in-network practitioners or you can solicit recommendations from friends or family. Even though referrals may seem like the smartest option, some therapists may prefer to keep clients unaffiliated to avoid conflicts of interest or having to keep track of who said what. If you're totally overwhelmed and need to offload the search, it might be worth hiring the services of a firm, which provides a phone consultation and then takes care of the search for you. The cheapest and most surefire avenue to find your own professional: Turn to a reliable, national database like GoodTherapy.com  or PsychologyToday.com . It's a little more work