By Ingrid Pedre

Without a doubt, starting a therapeutic process is an act of courage that has nothing to do with madness or many other things that we have been socially made to believe. If one of your goals is to start your psychological process, here we tell you, what happens? What does a therapist do? and even the entire process and studies carried out by a therapist, so you can rest assured knowing that you will be in the hands of professionals. We hope that this text is useful to you and that it gives you the opportunity to live your process.

We will start by talking about Therapist and counselor are terms used to describe a health professional who is trained to provide psychological therapy. 

In the United States, in order to provide psychological therapy, the therapist/counselor must have a license endorsed by the state mental health committee. There are different types of licenses that certify and endorse providing therapy. Some examples are: LMFT, LPC, LCDC, LMSW. 

Licensed and certified therapists/counselors are regulated by a committee that enforces laws and ethical rules to protect patient integrity, confidentiality, and well-being. 

Therapists study a bachelor's degree of at least 4 years, a master's degree of at least 2.5 years, they do 1000 hours of practice in the master's degree which are supervised by other therapists with more experience, and they take a professional exam. The first license you have is under the supervision of a therapist with greater clinical experience who accompanies the therapist to carry out an excellent practice of approximately 3000 hours. 

To keep their license in good standing, therapists must have continuing education. This is regulated by each license's mental health committee. 

Some of the laws they must follow are 

  • Take care of patient confidentiality. 
  • Patients under 18 years of age must have consent from both parents to attend therapy. 
  • The confidentiality of minors is also taken care of 
  • We cannot have any type of relationship outside of the therapist-patient relationship in the office. 

What happens on the first date?

During the first session your therapist will explain any questions you have. It is the therapist's duty to explain that any questions you have, the sessions will be completely confidential except in very specific circumstances which will also be explained. The most important thing in therapy is that you feel in a completely safe and secure environment.

During the first sessions, the therapist will ask many questions about the past and present in various areas of your life such as work, your relationship, your relationships with your children, academics, etc. 

Therapists do not judge but conceptualize your problems, trying together to understand the nature of them and what their emotional experience is. Whatever the problem, our job is not to criticize but to understand why the problem could not be resolved.

It is important to know that you can change therapists if at any time you feel that the therapeutic relationship is not working. It is advisable that you first communicate your feelings to the therapist because very commonly there is a solution.

What don't therapists do?

Therapists don't offer advice. This is a common error of thinking for many people. Therapists offer information and educate, but therapeutic work is aimed at precisely understanding your problem and finding the solution with the guidance of your psychologist.

Therapists must abide by certain rules of the profession. A therapist should not be your friend on social media, or accept gifts that exceed a certain value, or accompany you in community activities that are not related to the therapeutic process.

When does therapy end?

It ends when you and your therapist decide that the goals for

which you arrived. 

Now yes, you are ready to start your therapeutic process, educate yourself, look for the right therapist for you and above all, take the risk of seeking help when you need it.