PhD/PsyD Finding a therapist as a psychologist

[rainedallnight]

Interested in any thoughts on connecting with a good therapist when you yourself are a psychologist. I feel a bit silly even asking, as it seems anecdotally like most psychology trainees I knew were in therapy - so it shouldn't be a big deal for me to start seeing someone. (I did see a LCSW for a while on internship but otherwise somehow made it through grad school without any therapy.) But I have a couple hangups.

One, I'm now on (neuropsychology) fellowship in the city where I hope to live and work long-term. I'm worried about effects on relationships with current or future colleagues. For instance, there's a large therapy and neuropsych practice I haven't contacted for therapy, because I may want to work there after fellowship. Is my level of concern here silly? (hint: probably)

Two... I think I have this irrational/narcissistic/entitled feeling that I have to find a really amazing therapist, or else I'll just be critical or skeptical towards them? Like, I have to find someone who's a "better" or "smarter" psychologist than I am? (I think this might be colored a bit by a session I had with a psychologist who was, in my opinion, truly awful.) I don't think I'm articulating this quite right, but can anyone relate?

Three, any specific resources out there for psychologists / other mental health providers for connecting to therapy? Aside from my specific neuroses supra, just the garden variety barriers of finding someone who takes my insurance and can see me when I'm not working has been hard. Anything else I should be thinking about? Should I just get over myself already?

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[bmedclinic]

In short, I think you need to get over yourself. But, having said that, I think your hangups are quite literally all of our shared hangups. So, its all of us that need to get over ourselves really.
Only when I've helped close family/friends find a therapist did I discover how incredibly hard it is, from a consumer perspective. Geez.
Its tough to get in. In regards to not contacting the practice that you may want to work for, I had the same irrational concern when my wife was looking for a therapist postpartum and I was prepping to go into pp and looking for the best situation. But, after only being in PP for a few months, I have to say from the other side, no one would even have known. I literally have no idea who others in my practice see, and vice versa. I live in a city > 1 million and my wife called most practices who had very few people really qualified to help with postpartum issues, and then, most had a > 4 month waiting list. And she tried like 3-4 practices.

As far as finding a smart therapist or someone to "out-smart" you, I'd almost make the opposite argument: assuming you're competent yourself, you're likely not requiring some eloquent technical skill from the person you're seeing; I'd image you're requiring a caring and compassionate, supportive relationship. To that end, even your run of the mill kinda terrible poor training therapist would probably be sufficient, provided they werent more annoyingly terrible. To avoid someone, like you said, who is "truly awful" I'd suggest doing your research prior. Look them up on their website, read, and see if you think the odds are low they'll be terrible. There's findapsychologist.org and a few others, too.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

You can contact your state board, as they may know of clinicians who deal in this niche.

 

[researchgirl]

Re: The irrational/narcissistic feelings you described (which I also have experienced somewhat in the past): When I had therapy as a trainee, I found it relatively difficult to work productively with a therapist who had excellent credentials and a very different theoretical approach to clinical work than myself; I found it relatively easy to work with a therapist whose credentials were more "average" but who took a similar approach.

Re: finding a therapist: I know my hospital has an EAP program which is run by my psychology service. If ever a psychologist required EAP, they are able to fee-for-service it out to the community to avoid conflicts of interests. If your fellowship has any similar program, you might see if you can get the contact information for who they might use in a similar circumstance.

 

[Doctor Eliza]

I had some success using social workers who had practiced 30+ years. We generally traveled in different professional circles because of the different degrees. Their experience made me feel like they had something unique to offer me (perhaps that "better" and "smarter" you are looking for). Good luck!

 

[smalltownpsych]

Some of my best therapeutic experiences/insights were gleaned during practice sessions during grad school. Ultimately, it is up to the patient to do the work anyway so the skills of the therapist become less relevant as you progress in your understanding of how to use therapy. I also tell my patients that when they are moving and are concerned that the next doc won't be as good as me. I always appreciate the validation , but the truth is that they will likely learn something different from the next experience.

 

[PsyDr]

I've had similar experiences, if it makes you feel better.

First, if you have obsessive tendencies, you'd look through the literature and find a wealth of information about the who/what/when/why of psychologists seeking psychotherapy. Norcross' 1988 article about psychiatrists, psychologists, and social workers experiences with psychotherapy, indicate that the majority sought psychoanalytic based psychotherapy . Replication in 2009 saw a shift to CBT. Most stayed within their preferred treatment modality.

Second, if you're looking into psychotherapy as a growth process rather than for treatment of an underlying Axis I pathology, bringing this stuff up is grist for the mill. IMO, this is where psychoanalysis and functional analytic psychotherapy excel. Gets weird expressing these beliefs, and the underlying emotion. But it leads to a lot of self reflection. "I'm afraid that I might be smarter than you" "... and this won't be successful"; "I feel like I am entitled to a XXXX psychologist". etc. All good stuff.

Third, keep your receipts for taxes,