Universities are scrambling to convert traditional courses into video conferencing or go-at-your-own-pace classwork. Faculty are struggling to modify their syllabi and figure out what to do with their own kids who are not in school any longer. College students are now back home too. Most have emptied their dorms and apartments and dragged it all home. One thing they didn’t take with them is their therapist.
If your college student has a therapist they can continue to work with virtually or over the phone, great! Keep that relationship since maintaining routine is vital. Even if they are not making a ton of progress, the relationship (for now) is important to carry-forward till someone else can be found. When it is time to find a new therapist, keep in mind many of us have moved to 100% non-office appointments. Even if we are willing to meet face-to-face, we may live in a state with a stay-at-home order. Anxiety, depression, and drug use are challenges are not taking a break and will likely increase if not morph into an uglier beast. Here are some suggestions on finding a good therapist remotely.
Test Drive
There should be a free consult! Every therapist in my opinion would serve their communities best by offering a test drive before anyone buys. A therapeutic relationship can last weeks, months, and sometimes several years. Whether you are getting support in-person or through virtual counseling, being able to consult with a therapist before committing allows you to get a sense of their personality, professional orientation and ability to connect. Even if a therapist does not advertise a free consult, ask them if they’d be willing to talk for 30 minutes so you can see if it would be a good fit.
Google Them
Search their background: If you google a therapist’s name I’d expect to see a bunch of presentations and blog posts related to their area of expertise. I’d expect to see their name, pics and community information to all make sense and tell a story of this person consistently serving clients. What I don’t expect and what I’d consider a red flag is sketchy pics from parties, mug shots from arrests and inconsistent lifestyle information. For example, though it’s not good or bad for someone to be a vocal NRA member and strong Second Amendment Rights advocate, I would expect that any of their online posts or references are all consistent – they all tell a story that adds-up and makes sense.
Review their Licensing
Every therapist is licensed through a state licensing board. My licenses are through the Indiana board and the North Carolina board. It’s important to verify first of all that they are in fact licensed. Next, licensing boards can sanction and discipline therapists that violate laws and practice codes of conduct so make sure they don’t have too many naughty transgressions in their file. Unfortunately, having a license is no indication of quality or ability so make sure to consider license verification just one of several standards that need to be met.
Do they Have a Lame Website?
My first website (and logo and intake form and office…) was sooo bad. It was cheap looking and I didn’t really take it seriously. I started out my career adopting the antiquated mindset most of us maintain within the behavioral health field. Since the good ‘ole days of the early 2000’s, I’ve caught up a bit more and view my website more as an interactive (kind-of?) portal rather than just a billboard.
A modern site often correlates with someone, at a minimum, who is aware that people use the internet (I know, it sounds really basic). A site with easy user interface, clean design and modern images means the therapist is thinking about his/her audience. Is their intake process easy? Do they communicate with previous providers/therapists? Do they accept online payments/credit cards or are they stuck in the stone age with paper checks you’ll have to mail to them? All of this is not just about convenience for you but also an indication they’re not 100 years old and might have some insights into contemporary obstacles.
Are they Willing to Meet Virtually?
On my Psychology Today profile, I have clearly stated my willingness to serve clients remotely. Not all therapists are comfortable with meeting out of the office. If they are willing to meet remotely, the next question is – Are they able and well-equipped to meet online or phone? They might be totally open to doing a virtual session but when you ask what platform they use, they may not know what you’re talking about. You definitely don’t want to be doing a FaceTime or Zoom session with a therapist as they’re holding their phone, walking around their home like a ghost hunters episode. Those of us that are now working from home will have a dedicated home office (or glorified walk-in closet) where we have as professional an interaction as possible. No kids in the background or yelping dog. No plate of food and no laundry hangin out in the background.
That’s it for now. Just some thoughts to get parents and college students started if they need to find someone to work with while we hunker down. If you have questions or topics you would like me to cover in upcoming posts related to college students, mental health and this new world order, jump over to my contact form and hit me up.