Practical guides to finding therapists, psychiatrists, and other mental health providers in the United States — from matching with the right specialist to evaluating credentials before your first appointment.
When 19-year-old Marcus Bell first walked into a therapy office in Austin, Texas, he had already been turned away by two providers. The first told him he needed to “wait until he was older to be sure.” The second insisted on a 12-month exploratory phase before discussing a referral letter for hormone therapy, even though … Read more
When Mei-Lin Chen, a 34-year-old software engineer in Sunnyvale, California, finally decided to seek therapy after months of insomnia and silent crying spells in her car, she expected the hardest part to be admitting she needed help. It turned out the harder part was finding someone who could understand her. The first English-speaking therapist asked … Read more
When Mei-Lin Chen, a 34-year-old software engineer in Sunnyvale, California, finally decided to seek therapy after months of insomnia and silent crying spells in her car, she expected the hardest part to be admitting she needed help. It turned out the harder part was finding someone who could understand her. The first English-speaking therapist asked … Read more
Robert, a 58-year-old accountant in Cleveland, was six weeks past his triple bypass surgery and could not understand why he felt worse than before the operation. The surgery had gone well by every cardiac measure. His ejection fraction had improved. But he was waking at three each morning with chest tightness that the cardiology workup … Read more
Robert, a 58-year-old accountant in Cleveland, was six weeks past his triple bypass surgery and could not understand why he felt worse than before the operation. The surgery had gone well by every cardiac measure. His ejection fraction had improved. But he was waking at three each morning with chest tightness that the cardiology workup … Read more
Elena, a 41-year-old literature professor in Chicago, had cycled through three rounds of brief CBT for what her doctors called recurrent major depression. Each round produced a few months of relief and then the same heavy weight returned. After her third relapse her psychiatrist suggested something different. He referred her to a candidate at the … Read more
Elena, a 41-year-old literature professor in Chicago, had cycled through three rounds of brief CBT for what her doctors called recurrent major depression. Each round produced a few months of relief and then the same heavy weight returned. After her third relapse her psychiatrist suggested something different. He referred her to a candidate at the … Read more
Yusuf, a 28-year-old graduate student in Houston, had grown up in a tight-knit Pakistani Muslim family and was struggling with depression after his father’s sudden death. He tried a campus counselor first, but each session ended with a quiet frustration he could not name. The counselor was kind and competent, but she had asked him … Read more
Yusuf, a 28-year-old graduate student in Houston, had grown up in a tight-knit Pakistani Muslim family and was struggling with depression after his father’s sudden death. He tried a campus counselor first, but each session ended with a quiet frustration he could not name. The counselor was kind and competent, but she had asked him … Read more
Hannah, a 19-year-old college sophomore in Minneapolis, had been losing weight for nine months when her mother finally drove from Duluth to take her to an outpatient assessment. The first therapist Hannah saw — a kind generalist who advertised eating disorder treatment on her website — used cognitive techniques and weekly weigh-ins but did not … Read more