Posted by Toby on April 14, 1999, at 13:29:43
In reply to Re: Choosing a therapist ?, posted by Daniel on April 13, 1999, at 8:31:09
I work at a mental health center where therapists outnumber psychiatrists by a large margin. Generally the psychiatrists don't do therapy due to time constraints and seeing a large population. So when I see a person for the first time, I have to decide which therapist they are going to see on an ongoing basis. When the problems are general such as job or family issues or when the treatment will be aimed solely at a mental illness like OCD, then the gender of the therapist is unimportant with regard to making that kind of choice (please remember that to psychological people, EVERYTHING is important at some point). When the problem is specifically related to a sexual issue such as rape, homosexuality, sexual dysfunction, etc., I ask the patient which gender therapist they would prefer and try to accomodate that. In a case like yours, where you don't know who you would feel more comfortable with because there are issues surrounding both genders, I would just pick whoever is up next in the rotation for a new patient because all those issues you mentioned are going to come up and will be "grist for the mill" and you will have to work through them all and you will gain valuable insights and experience thereby. Bottom line is to research the therapists according to education, what form of therapy they use that you would feel comfortable with, cost, and those sorts of things, then pick who you feel (generally) comfortable talking to; because it doesn't matter which gender you pick, there will come a time when you are uncomfortable with certain topics and becoming comfortable and working through those things are what therapy is all about. Good luck.
poster:Toby
thread:4796
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/19990401/msgs/4872.html