How to Find the Right Therapist for Your Needs
Updated: Sep 27
By: Pia Quimson-Guevarra, DO
Originally posted: 8/2/26
Last updated: 9/26/26
Disclaimer: This blog is for informational purposes only. It is general information that Is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified mental health professional. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
The term therapist generally refers to a mental health professional who provides talk therapy, counseling, or psychotherapy. They are also identified as counselors, therapists, psychologists, and social workers. These professionals generally have either a master’s-or doctoral-level of training.
Master’s level trained therapists include:
Licensed Professional Counselors (LPC),
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists (LMFT)
Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LCSW).
Psychologists have doctoral-level training and may have Doctorate in Psychology (PsyD) or a Doctorate in Philosophy (PhD).
Psychiatrists, such as myself, are physicians (MD/DO) who specialize in mental health may provide psychotherapy, medication management, or a combination of both.
Where to start your search
Keeping the above in mind, where can you find therapists who are accepting new patients? Here are some places to start your search.
1. Insurance Panel
If you plan to use your health insurance to cover the cost of treatment, a good place to start is at your health insurance website. There you can search for providers who are covered by your insurance and are accepting new patients. Unfortunately, that is generally all the information you are given about the particular provider. Also that information may not be the most up to date.
2. Online Directories
These directories tend to be more up to date. Many have a search feature where you can use specific filters in your search including insurance coverage. Listed therapists have a profile where they explain their philosophy and approach to treatment. This can help you determine which therapists maybe a good fit for you.
Psychology Today is the most popular online directory.
Therapy Den
Specific directories
Many directories have come out in recent years around specific themes, such as location-based, BIPOC, and LGBTQ+ providers.
Location-based
OR counselors
Portland (PTC)
Group-based
College Students
Racial, LGBTQ+, Neurodivergence, and Disability Justice
Filipino/a/x
Therapinay
AAPI
Asian Mental Health Collective
LGBTQ+
LGBTQ+ Therapist Finder
3. Residency Programs/Graduate School Programs
Many resident physicians and graduate students have student clinics. There these student therapists engage in psychotherapy with clients while having supervision from faculty. Look for your local psychiatry residency program or graduate school programs in counseling and psychology to learn about their student clinics.
4. Community Mental Health Clinics
Most cities or counties have community mental health clinics that are run by county/city government and/or nonprofit organizations. They provide many services, including medication management and psychotherapy.
5. Primary Care Physicians
Many patients first see their primary care physician for mental health issues. While primary care physicians can help with medication management, they often refer to mental health providers for psychotherapy. If your primary care provider is part of a large medical system, such as Providence, they often have therapists and psychiatrists within their health system.
How to Narrow Down Your List
Good news! You have a few names you are considering. How do you narrow down your list?
First, do you want individual, couples, and/or family therapy? Even if you are considering couples and/or family therapy, it can be difficult getting other family members interested in therapy. So, if that is not an option, individual therapy is a good start. Moreover, having individual therapy helps you have your own space to process.
Knowing your budget is a good way to start logistically narrow down your list. Do any of the names take your insurance? If not, would their self-pay rates fit your budget?
Do you have a gender preference in your provider? Based your history, a particular gender would be better fit and feel more emotionally safe. For example, if you experienced domestic violence from someone who was masculine presenting, a male presenting provider may not be the best fit. On the other hand, if you have experiences from a domineering female caregiver, a masculine presenting provider maybe a better fit for you. Moreover, if you identify as a non-binary or trans individual, it maybe helpful to have a provider with a similar gender expression.
If you are part of the BIPOC, LGBTQ+, neurodivergent, and disabled communities, is it important for your provider to share some of your identities? There's something to be said about feeling seen and understood by your provider.
Do you want psychiatric medications to be part of your treatment plan? Selecting a psychiatrist (MD/DO) who offers both medication management and psychotherapy can be an option.
With the logistics out of the way, reflect on your ideal therapy session.
What kinds of issues do you want to tackle?
Common issues include:
Anxiety- frequent worries, stress, and overwhelm about the future, family, relationships, career/job
Depression- persistent sadness, hopelessness, low self-esteem, shame
Difficulty with executive functioning: low motivation, concentration difficulties, difficulties with planning and problem-solving
Difficulty with mood regulation: irritability, anger
Identity- self-image, gender expression, sexual orientation, imposter syndrome
Life transition- college/young adult transition, marriage, divorce parenthood, empty nest, aging, medical illness, grief/loss
PTSD- processing trauma and resetting your nervous system from hypervigilance and overwhelm
Chronic pain
What approach do you respond to?
Direct: Confronting, calling you out, asking the tough questions, "tell me what to do or what I'm doing wrong," concrete goal setting and frequent check-in on progress, therapy homework
Passive: Talking out problems/sounding board, gentle confrontation or questioning when appropriate
What therapy modalities are you interested in?
Mental health providers use many different therapy modalities. How do you know which one is right for you? Below is some information on common modalities:
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): exploration of the relationship between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Challenging negative thought patterns to improve feelings and behaviors. Mindfulness Based CBT also incorporates mindfulness practices, such as yoga, meditation, and breathing techniques.
Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT): managing distressing thoughts, feelings, and behaviors by developing skills in the domains of distress tolerance, mindfulness, interpersonal effectiveness, and emotional regulation. Reflecting on distress by balancing acceptance and change.
Psychodynamic Therapy:
A type of therapy that uses open-ended questions and free association to recognize negative patterns in the past to resolve them.
Trauma Focused Therapies, ie. Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR):
Therapy used to target PTSD symptoms and decrease the physical responses to trauma reminders.
Person-centered/humanistic therapies:
A client-centered, non-directed approach where the therapist listens with unconditional positive regard, empathetic understanding, and genuineness.
Somatic therapies:
Increase physical awareness of the mind-body connection and utilize deep breathing, yoga, meditation, and other physical exercises to relieve symptoms.
This is not to be meant to be an exclusive list of different therapy modalities. Moreover, therapists tend to use multiple modalities with their patients.
For more information about different therapy modalities, go to https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/types-of-therapy.
Read the profiles of therapists you are interested in. Which ones mention common issues, therapy approaches, or therapy modalities that describe your ideal therapy session.
Do they have videos or social media so you can get a sense of their personality and approach?
Schedule a consultation or appointment
The above steps increase your changes for a good fit, but it still maybe difficult to ascertain when reading someone's profile.
Some therapists allow for a free consultation. However, if that is not available, the first session or even the first few sessions can be used to test out if the particular therapist is a good fit. Should it not work out, be open with your therapist. Many therapists also view the first few sessions as a way to ascertain fit and will understand if you determine they are not the best therapist for their needs.
Using the above tips can increase your changes of finding a therapist that suits your needs. Good luck on your healing journey!
Sources:
Interested in becoming a patient?
If you are considering medication management combined with psychotherapy, contact Quimson Behavioral Health. Dr. Quimson-Guevarra provides combined medication management and psychotherapy sessions to a portion of her patients.
We are accepting new telehealth patients in Oregon and Washington on a selective
basis, allowing us to determine whether our clinical focus and services are a good fit for your needs.
Visit our New Patients or Contact Us
or leave a voicemail at 503-832-9293. Our clinical coordinator will reach out and help determine if our practice is the right fit for your care.
This practice does not provide emergency services. If you are in immediate danger, call 911 or go to
the nearest emergency department. In the United States, call or text 988 for crisis support.
Dr. Quimson-Guevarra is a board-certified psychiatrist in private practice. She offers virtual care across Oregon and Washington, with monthly in-person appointments in Portland. She blends thoughtful medication management with talk therapy.
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