What to look for (and avoid) in a therapist
Searching for a therapist can be a daunting task. Whether you’re searching Psychology Today or Therapy Den, looking through your insurance portal, or just Googling, a lot of options may show up with no way of differentiating between them! Laws around health information protections also mean that most therapists don’t have online reviews you can read to decide.
From the perspective of a therapist who is also a therapy client, here is a non-exhaustive list of things that can be considered as green, yellow, and red flags when looking for a therapist or counselor.
Green flags when looking for a therapist:
They are located in or licensed in your state:
If you are not open to trying virtual/telehealth therapy, are they located in your city?
If you are open to trying virtual therapy, are they located or licensed in your state? Therapists’ licenses are state-specific.
They are licensed, period:
Being licensed means they are held to profession-wide standards of clinical training, education, experience, and ethics.
Some licensure abbreviations can look like this; most use the letter L somewhere in them: LPC, LPC-MHSP, LMHC, LPCC, LCPC, LMFT, LCSW. Just because they have a Ph.D. or M.A. or M.S. after their name does not necessarily mean they are licensed for clinical practice.
Words like “associate,” “temporary,” and “intern” usually mean folks have completed a masters degree but are still earning their hours to be able to qualify for full licensure in their state. You can still receive good-quality care from someone not yet fully licensed, but it is something to be aware of.
They have a good-quality picture of them posted, and they look friendly and/or kind in it.
They use identity-related language, if that is important for you:
If you’re in the LGBTQIA+ community, do they specifically state that they are affirming of this population or a member of the community themselves?
If you are a neurodivergent person, do they mention any training or expertise in working with neurodivergent folks?
Directories like Psych Today, Therapy Den, and Inclusive Therapists often have therapists share any identifiers they use as well as any identities they have expertise in working with.
Their specialties are listed and they fit what you are wanting to work on:
if you believe you have experienced trauma, for example, you would want to look for a counselor who mentions some kind of specific trauma trainings or trauma expertise.
If you are looking for couples counseling, do they specifically state that they do couples counseling?
Also, most therapists who truly are experts in their specialties, will not have more than 3-4 listed at most.
You get good vibes from their online profiles/your consultation.
If you need to use your insurance, it’s a green flag that they take your insurance!
If you are open to self-pay/private pay, any non-insurance therapist should have their fees listed clearly.
If they do not take insurance, it’s a green flag if they talk at all about how they provide low- or no-cost services in other ways or get involved in their community.
Yellow flags when looking for a therapist:
They do not list a license or any information about their professional status
They do not list their location or it’s hard to find
Their picture is poor quality
They only list 1 type of therapy (e.g., Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy or CBT):
CBT can be life-changing for folks, but someone who only uses 1 type of therapy to understand all their clients, whether it’s CBT or something else, can be limited in what issues they effectively work with.
“When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.”
They don’t have any sort of website linked to their information
The information about them contains a lot of “jargon,” or special words or expressions that are used by a particular profession and are difficult for others to understand:
Just because they’re using a lot of impressive-sounding words doesn’t necessarily mean they’re more of an expert. And if they can’t talk about their work in a way non-therapists can understand, they might have trouble relating to clients.
You feel confused for any reason while reading their information.
They imply they can fix ALL of your problems, or totally eliminate pain or symptoms from your life. While it definitely sounds attractive, that’s just not something that is really possible.
They finished graduate school before 2000:
This is a YELLOW flag, not a red one - there are some awesome folks who have been practicing since before I was alive, and they take their responsibility to stay up on current research seriously.
But there are also folks who do not really put in the work to learn much new stuff after they finish school/the licensure process, or to ever question what they were taught in their graduate program.
They remind you of a person in your life who has hurt you:
Again, a yellow flag, not a red one, because sometimes that is something that can actually be beneficial in therapy, but that requires a therapist who is REALLY good at their job and at the interpersonal process of therapy. It also means that therapy might be more challenging for you.
Red flags when looking for a therapist:
If you “get the ick” or feel uneasy while reading their profile or speaking with them on the phone.
If, during a consult call or first session, you don’t feel like you can ask questions, or if you ask questions but they don’t really have good answers that make sense to you.
Any arrogance or condescension you can pick up, whether from their written or verbal communication
Talking about their personal beliefs in great detail - especially if they differ significantly from your own.
Therapists are people too, and part of marketing ethically means being clear about any biases you may bring into your work, so it doesn’t mean they are not a good therapist if they share this.
But, for example, if you have experienced religious trauma and this therapist is talking about incorporating beliefs or practices into therapy that come from a religious background, they likely aren’t a good fit for you.
Their fees are not listed or are not provided in a clear, written format.
Their fees are listed or provided but seem very low or very high with no explanation of why.
TL;DR on what to look for and avoid in a therapist
You can trust your intuition about the vibes you’re getting.
Don’t be afraid to ask “awkward” or direct questions.
Know that a good therapist for you does exist and you don’t have to settle for someone just because they take your insurance, they have 14 specialties listed, or a friend recommended them.
Google their name and look up their licensure status.
Even if you’ve met for an intake session, you can still leave therapy at any point, and you don’t owe the therapist an explanation - especially if you’ve been getting bad vibes.
About the Author
Karen Chambless is a licensed professional counselor (LPC) in the state of Tennessee with Mental Health Service Provider (MHSP) designation. This means she has completed a masters degree in counseling from an accredited school, completed over 500 hours of training and clinical work while in school, passed two national examinations and a state exam, and practiced for over two years under supervision by an already licensed counselor, accruing at least 3,000 hours of experience and 150 hours of supervision. She is also a Nationally Certified Counselor from the National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC). Karen has been practicing therapy for 5 years, but spent the first 25+ years of her life as a quintessential eldest daughter and the “mom friend” of her friend group, so she’s had a long time to hone her listening and supportive-question-asking skills.
Karen Chambless is an expert and clinical specialist in religious trauma. She has advanced training and experience in treating both complex trauma and religious trauma, as well as training and experience working with folks figuring out their queer/trans identity and/or neurotype (Autism, ADHD, Highly Sensitive, etc). Karen identifies as Queer & Highly Sensitive and is passionate about supporting folks with LGBTQ+ and neurodivergent identities to grow and heal and be their whole magical selves.