Lauren Leising, MA, LMFT-S

When choosing a therapist, I think the main thing to keep in mind is your comfort! If you are not comfortable with a therapist after the first few sessions, do not hesitate to seek a second opinion or try another therapist. The genuineness of the therapist has been shown time and time again in research to be one of the main (if not the most important) contributing factors for clients' improvements. Remember, just like in choosing a family doctor, you are not "stuck" with a therapist just because you did the initial paperwork with them.

The duration and frequency of therapy typically depends on the theoretical approach of the therapist and can vary significantly from one client to another. I tend to use the first session to set goals for therapy together and then use those goals (and clients' perceptions of their progress) to determine the frequencyduration of therapy. I encourage most clients to try to have weekly sessions until they notice some progress on their goals, tapering sessions to every other week when it appears that goals are being met.