When I started my journey towards mental wellbeing, I was scared and didn’t know where to turn. After months of internal dialogue, I eventually decided to seek out professional help. Finding a therapist was really intimidating at first, but fortunately it turned out I had a lot of resources available to me.
I talked with my primary care doctor about my concerns, and they connected me with local mental health services. From there, I could pick and choose among therapists that specialized in depression. It was important for me to find someone who I felt comfortable talking to - the relationship between patient and therapist is delicate, so it’s important that you feel like the person you’re seeing is a right fit for you and your mental needs.
Once I had narrowed down some potential candidates, I scheduled an initial consultation with each one. Using my own personal assessment criteria (did they seem competent? Was the setting suitable? Did we share any common values?) I chose the best option for me. After that process was finished, I could finally begin my therapy sessions in earnest and begin working towards recovering from depression!