How to Choose a TMS Therapist

We at the TMS Wiki aren't experts on choosing a therapist (we aren't experts on anything other than our own experience, really!), so we thought that we would start a page about how to choose a therapist and see what the community would add. If you know of a helpful resource, please add it here.

Hasanna Fletcher, LMFT, has written a short essay for us on how to choose a TMS therapist.

The Psychology Today website

A section of the Psychology Today website is devoted to how to find a therapist and has some very helpful information. The following sections may be particularly helpful for TMSers.

• How do I choose a psychotherapist?
• Insurance for psychotherapy
• Types of mental health professionals
• Different approaches to psychotherapy
• A glossary of credentials

The October 2004 Consumer Reports survey

In their October 2004 issue, Consumer Reports reported on a survey of over 3000 of it's readers regarding the care that they had received for depression and anxiety. One conclusion was that outcomes were practically identical for care from different types of professionals:

Regardless of how ill respondents were when going into therapy, their outcomes were virtually identical whether they saw a psychiatrist, psychologist, or social worker. “This shows that if you leave people to their own devices, they're going to come up with a therapist they like and who helps them,” says William Sanderson, Ph.D., professor of psychology at Hofstra University, in Hempstead, N.Y., our other consultant.

They also found that taking an active approach to your therapy was very helpful:

Survey respondents who were most satisfied with their care and had the best outcomes were more likely to:

• Research their problem in advance of seeking help.
• Interview more than one professional.
• Ask therapists whether they had experience treating that problem.
• Bring a family member or friend to an office visit.
• Keep a written record of their treatment and emotional state.
• Apply what they were learning in treatment to their daily lives.

That last step, which involves working hard at therapy and putting suggestions into action, was the best predictor of a good outcome.

Other Tips and advice

• From Selfhelp Magazine
• Editor ForestForTreesTMS adds, "A friend of mine, who is a psychotherapist, mentioned that research has shown the specific methodology employed by the therapist to be less important than how well clients connect and relate to that therapist."
• Information about therapist degrees and what they mean can be found at PsychCentral and at Psychology Today.

About therapy over the phone

An August 2004 study in the Journal of the American Medical Association randomly assigned 563 depressed people who had started taking antidepressant medication to receive eight sessions of structured behavioral therapy by telephone, periodic phone calls reminding them to continue taking their medication, or the usual care, involving medication but no therapy. In the 30- to 40-minute phone sessions, therapists and patients discussed ways to reverse negative thoughts, increase pleasant activities, and handle daily affairs. In general, behavioral therapy isn't seen to be the best approach for TMS, but the study can still be helpful in understanding whether therapy works over the phone.

After six months, 80 percent of the phone-therapy group reported that their depression was “much” or “very much” improved compared with 66 percent of the reminder group and 55 percent of the usual-care group. Still, researchers say in-person therapy is generally preferable when possible.

See below for a discussion about checking on licensure.

This page is a place to exchange ideas and is just a work in progress. Please add information to help make it better! To begin, click on the "Edit" tab in the top right portion of the screen. As usual, if you have any questions, feel free to email forest for trees at ymail dot com.

DISCLAIMER: The TMS Wiki is for informational and support purposes only and does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment recommendations. See Full Disclaimer.