I’m not ashamed to admit I’ve gone to see a counselor or therapist. Sometimes, when you’re struggling with issues, and life, seeing a professional can really put a whole new spin on things for you, or at least give you some tips on coping with things. I found that it really helped me to talk it out with someone, especially when that someone was a professional who wouldn’t judge me or attempt to promote their own agenda. I found my therapist by asking my mom – she’s a registered nurse, and has worked in the area we live in since before I was born, so 30+ years. That makes her pretty qualified to recommend someone to me. However, I realize not everyone has a mom in nursing, or a relative in the medical field to ask for advice. Or, even if you do, you may not want mom to know you’re seeking a therapists help. If that’s the case, you can use this searchable directory of mental health professionals. They’re sorted by treatment area, or area of specialty, language spoken (ideal for areas with a high immigrant population), gender (sometimes, you want someone of the same sex. Or not), location (self explanatory!), mode of treatment (talk therapy? Or something else), and the type of care, e.g. managed or insurance coverage. This site actually invented and perfected the therapist finder concept, and it’s been rebuilt and relaunched with a more powerful search function. It’s definitely easier to use than asking around for referrals, because let’s face it – most people probably don’t want to admit they see a therapist. And it’s certainly better than staring at ads in the yellow pages.
In addition to finding a therapist, you can also view all of the resources on the site, from psychology news and research briefs. I just finished reading an article there on the Autism genome project – two possible sites have been linked to the development of autism though the project. I have a good friend who has a son with autism, so I always find it interesting (and exciting) to read about new finds relating to autism.
February 23rd, 2007 at 4:52 pm
It’s a pity that more people don’t have your positive attitude – there would be a lot less misery around. There again perhaps I’m being influenced by my current book [Shadow Syndromes] In any event, I came by accident because of your autism posting – what did we do before the web!
Best wishes
February 27th, 2007 at 2:17 am
I’ve always thought I needed to talk to a therapist to help me sort through my emotions and feelings. Some times it’s just overwhelming and it’s hard to do it by yourself. :-s
But then again… my sister thinks she has an undiagnosed mental disease. So maybe I should talk to one sooner or later.