Therapy San Diego 101: How to find a therapist in San Diego, CA?
Every now and then I hear that just 30 to 40 years ago, living in San Diego used to be much more “manageable.” With its gorgeous beaches, only a handful of growing neighborhoods, and perfect weather, it was a dream city to settle in. Sadly (for some), those days are long gone. Nowadays San Diego is a metropolis with traffic that is sometimes like that of LA! Living in a metropolis undoubtedly adds to everyone’s stress level: The pace is fast, the competition is steep (try renting a room or buying a house!). To ease the stress, to learn some helpful coping skills, and to receive support, you may wish turn to therapy. But how would you find the right therapist for you in a big city like San Diego?
Here are some tips for finding a therapist in San Diego
There are thousands of therapists in San Diego. So how do you decide which one might be a good fit for you? How do you narrow down that long and overwhelming list such that you can make a positive match with a therapist? Below is a list of important questions, that I suggest you review and answer; doing so will help you narrow down your search and make it more specific to your personal needs and preferences.
1) Identity of my therapist: How much do I care about the identity characteristics of my therapist? For instance, is it important to me that my therapist is a man, a woman, or non-binary? Does their racial or ethnic identity matter to me? Should it be the same as mine, or would I feel more comfortable talking with someone outside my community? Do I want my therapist to identify as LGBTQ+, such that I need to explain less? What other identities matter to me?
2) Language of therapy: Do I want my therapist to conduct therapy in my mother tongue, which is not English? Some therapists are bi-lingual or multi-lingual, and you can search for that.
3) Area of expertise of the therapist: Most therapists are well trained and have substantial experience treating anxiety and depression. Beyond that, some therapists have specialty areas, which they focused on during their training, and preferably have been addressing in therapy for many years, such that they have become domain experts in those areas. If you know that your struggle falls in a specific domain, you can search for a therapist whose specialty falls in that domain. For instance, there are therapists who specialize in treating people with an eating disorder, or various addictions, or marriage or relationship problems, or problems with attention, or trauma, and so on. What is your area of struggle that a therapist can help with? Some people may not be clear about that, and this is OK too. Your therapist can help you explore and clarify your area(s) of struggle.
4) My insurance: Another important question is whether you plan to use your medical insurance to help cover the cost of therapy, and if so whether your insurance has rules about who you can and cannot see for therapy. There are a few scenarios here: (a) Some insurance plans contract directly with specific therapists. These therapists are considered “in network” or “paneled” with the insurance. If you have that insurance plan and are in therapy with a contracted therapist, the plan will pay the therapist directly (with some co-payment on your part) for the therapy you get from them. However, you can only see those therapists who are contracted with the insurance plan for therapy to be covered by the insurance. (b) Other insurance plans allow you to work with a much broader pool of therapists, including “out of network therapists” whom you would pay upfront, and the insurance would partially reimburse. (c) Some people pay the entire cost of the therapy out of pocket.
Whether you fall into this category or that category would determine which therapists would be accessible to you.
5) Search Engines and Directories: Once you answered these questions and determined your preferences and options, you can indicate them in search engines or directories for therapists. This would narrow down your search results, and significantly improve the fit between you and the therapist you seek. For instance, you may realize that you would like a female therapist who is Hispanic and LGBT-identified and who specializes in treating alcohol abuse. This therapist should be contracted (or paneled with) Anthem Blue Cross. Now plug those characteristics into several search engines or directories and see what therapists come up. Search engines you may want to look at include but are not limited to the following:
The directory of your insurance company.
Google
A free therapy consultation in San Diego
I hope that those tips helped you identify your needs and preferences such that you can find a therapist in San Diego. If you are still unsure and would like to have a FREE 15-min phone consultation where we can discuss your therapy needs and whether I can help, please contact me at 858-330-0065 or press here.