How to Find a Good Psychotherapist - who will see you on a sliding scale

Psychoanalytic institutes frequently offer low-fee psychotherapy through their clinics. The American Psychoanalytic Association has a list of institutes on their web page. Call an institute in the city in which you live and ask if they offer low fee psychotherapy. Often psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers and nurses, in training to learn how to conduct psychoanalytic psychotherapy, offer low fee treatment. If you do not live in a major city, call the institute nearest to you. They may have mental health professionals in your city. Another alternative is to seek treatment within a Department of Psychology or Psychiatry. These clinics are devoted to training psychologists and psychiatrists.

Should I see someone in training for psychotherapy?

This is a good question. Clinics committed to training vary dramatically with respect to quality. Psychology and psychiatry departments typically train beginning psychologists and psychiatrists. Treatment may begin and end with the vagaries of the academic calendar and/or the end of the therapist's training experience. My experience with psychoanalytic clinics has been uniformly positive. Typically, only professionals who have ALREADY completed their training are admitted. Also, in my experience, clinical work is supervised quite closely. However, this may vary from city to city. I would advise anyone seeking a therapy from a clinic to carefully clarify the nature of the supervision that their therapist receives. Specifically, how often are they supervised? (Once a week is an excellent amount) Does the supervision take place individually or in a group? If the supervision occurs in a group, how much time will be devoted to discussing you? Who is the supervisor? What are his or her credentials?