How do I find the right mental health provider for me?
Starting mental health treatment can be scary and overwhelming. Just the thought of talking to a complete stranger about your problems, worries, and/or trauma may cause you to question whether or not mental health treatment will even help!
Taking the first step toward seeking mental health treatment can be frightening, and researching mental health therapy and the different types of mental health providers may help you feel more comfortable when choosing the right mental health provider for you.
Research on Mental Health Therapy
We know that the biggest factor in whether or not mental health therapy works depends on whether you feel seen, heard, and understood by your therapist.
Here is a chart the explains the different factors that impact mental health therapy.
| Factor | Explanation | |
| Relationship with Your Therapist | Your relationship with your therapist is the most powerful tool in your mental health therapy toolkit. You need to trust your therapist and feel like you can talk openly about your problems. | |
| Therapist Characteristics | Your therapist's training, experience, and personality can influence how therapy works. Therapists with more graduate and specialized training are typically better suited to help you. A therapist with a personality that shows empathy and support usually helps you make better progress. | |
| You! | How motivated you are to change and engage in therapy is a big reason for how successful therapy will be. People who are more motivated often see better results. | |
| Treatment Schedule | How long and how often you attend therapy can also affect how successful therapy will be. Often, therapy begins with weekly sessions since people feel the most in need of help. Over time, as you start to use the tools taught in therapy, sessions can spread out to every other week, then once a month, and even once every three months until you feel like you have reached all of your treatment goals. It is important that you attend enough therapy sessions (typically more than ten) to see improvements in your mental health. | |
| Your Expectations & Beliefs | If you have positive thoughts about mental health treatment, then you are more likely to do well. Basically, if you trust therapy, you are more likely to benefit from treatment. | |
| Intervention Type | Different types of therapy (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, or Psychodynamic Therapy) can produce different therapy results. It’s important to ask your therapist if they are trained in the therapy that addresses your specific treatment goals. | Cultural Factors | Your background and culture can shape how you view therapy and how well it works. It’s important to find a therapist who is culturally aware and engages in therapy approaches that take into account your cultural factors. |
When searching for a mental health therapist to start psychotherapy, it’s often helpful to have a brief consultation phone call to get a sense of whether you are a good fit. Click the button below to schedule your free 15 minute consultation with Dr. Anna Cariello.
Mental Health Providers
Here is a chart the explains the different types of mental health providers.
| Type | Psychiatrist (M.D. or D.O.) | Psychologist (Ph.D. or Psy.D.) | Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner (PNP) or Psychiatric Physician Associate (PPA) | Mental Health Therapist (M.A., MFT, MSW) |
| Education | Medical Degree (M.D or D.O.) | Doctoral Degree (Ph.D. or Psy. D.) | Masters or Doctorate of Nursing Practice (MSN or DNP) Masters in Physician Associate (MPA) | Masters Degree in Counseling (M.A.), Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT), or Masters of Social Work (MSW) |
| Services | Assessing, diagnosing and prescribing psychotropic medication | Provides highly trained and skilled mental health therapy using evidence-based practices, psychological assessments, and can conduct research | Assessing, diagnosing and prescribing psychotropic medication | Provides therapy and counseling focus on emotional and psychological issues but typically do not conduct assessments or psychological testing |
| Training | B.S. (4 years) Medical School (4 years) Specialized Psychiatric Residency (4 years) Possible Psychiatric Fellowship (1 year) | B.S. (4 years) Doctoral training (5+ years) Specialized Residency (1 year) Possible Specialized Fellowship (1 year) | PNP - B.S. (4 years) RN (liscensed) MNP (2 years) or DNP (3 years), and Specialized psychiatric training (~ 1 year); PPA- B.S. (4 years) M.A. (2 years) and Specialized psychiatric training (~ 1 year) | B.S. (4 years) M.A. (3 years); MFT (3 years), MSW (2 years), and Specialized therapy training (~ 1 year) |
With this information my hope is that you can make a more informed choice on the most appropriate and best mental health provider for you.
Dr. Anna Cariello is kind and empathetic as well as a highly educated and trained psychologist. If you think she may be able to help you with your mental health concern (* and you live in the state of Utah), Click the button below to schedule your free 15 minute consultation.