Questions to Ask During the Consultation Phone Call
You’ve taken the first step to begin therapy and set up the free, 15-minute phone consultation that many therapists provide.
It’s okay and common to not have any questions to ask during this time and to follow the lead of the therapist, but here are some common questions I get asked during these calls:
What type of therapy do you provide? Some therapists focus more on thoughts in their work, some on emotions, some on behaviors, and others on your past. I’m always happy to share the way that I view the process of change and various things that I will focus on in our work to make sure it aligns with the type of work you are wanting to do. Even if you aren’t sure what area you want as the client, asking the potential therapist this question can help you get a sense of their focus and style and see if it sits well with you.
Do you work with my presenting symptoms? Therapists often have various diagnoses that they are comfortable with and trained to work with. For example, I do not have the training to work with substance abuse or eating disorders but I do work with anxiety, depression, and PTSD. It’s very appropriate to give a brief description of your symptoms and ensure they are areas that your potential therapist works with.
Are your sessions in person or over telehealth? As an effect of COVID, telehealth will likely be here to stay. Therapists have taken various stances on this and some do both in-person and telehealth, some do only in-person, while others have ditched the office settings and only do telehealth. Make sure you ask this question on the phone call to ensure that the potential therapist provides therapy in the format that you prefer.
Do you take insurance? Therapy is an investment. It can be overwhelming to see therapists’ session rates. A possible way to help with the cost is to see if the potential therapist is in-network with your insurance. If they aren’t the therapist can still provide documentation so the cost can go toward your out-of-network deductible.
How often will we meet? Therapists set their schedules differently and offer different frequencies for meetings. A standard is a weekly therapy and some will only provide weekly, while others will also offer more or less frequent sessions. Therapists will typically stray away from doing anything less than every other week, especially during the beginning of treatment. If you are unsure what your preference is, you can ask the therapist for their recommendation for how often to meet in the beginning and then make it an ongoing conversation throughout treatment to meet more or less often.
How long will I be in therapy? Many factors can contribute to you wanting to know how long you’ll be in therapy; money, wanting to feel better, or scheduling. Rarely can a therapist tell you an exact number of sessions that they will meet with you, but this can also be a way that you can get to know your potential therapist’s style and ensure it’s a good fit. Some therapists tend towards short-term therapy, others long-term, and others are somewhere in between.
If you have a question that you don’t see on this list, still ask it! The phone consultation is a way of ensuring that this therapist is someone you want to schedule a first session with. I treat the phone consultation and the first session as a sort of interview where the client is seeing if I’m a good fit and someone they’ll feel comfortable opening up and working with. Therapy is a very vulnerable and rewarding relationship and I’m always happy to answer potential clients’ questions to ensure they feel safe and comfortable stepping into our therapeutic relationship.
