Does my counselor need to specialize in my exact issue?

Jonathan: Does my counselor need to specialize in my exact issue? I've got some thoughts on this, too, but I think I first want to hear from you. How do questions about specialty show up in the intake process? Do you hear people asking about that stuff?

Martha: Yeah, so there are a lot of counseling practices where the whole practice specializes. So maybe they'll specialize in eating disorders, or they'll all use CBT, or everyone in the practice works with couples. And so because of that, sometimes people will just assume all counselors specialize, and so they want to know, like, okay, I want to come to the counselor at your office who, this is what they do every single day, every session. And our counselors don't specialize to that degree, but that doesn't mean they don't have a lot of good experience with what the person's asking for.

Jonathan: Specializing means it's the only thing they do. They have one thing they do.

Martha: Yes. So I want to understand: what are they looking for when they're asking for a specialty? Because most of the time it's experience. They want to know, do you have experience with this issue? Because we feel like we really want someone who has experience.

Jonathan: You don't want to work with someone who has no experience.

Martha: Exactly.

Jonathan: I think this is an interesting question. I'm glad we're talking about it. Counselors think about it differently. I don't know if it's a semantics thing, but we use similar terms, and we don't all mean the same thing. So, I'm not saying this is the right way, but in my mind, counselors eventually develop an interest in something. Maybe they're passionate about a particular issue: I'm passionate about OCD, or I'm really interested in how dialectical behavior therapy works. And so they gain some experience. But that passion and interest is really more of their self-study. Another level up the spectrum is someone who's really put in some training.

Martha: Yeah, getting certifications and things like that.

Jonathan: Yeah, and that usually takes a process. On our website, when we say a person is trained in something, it means they have formalized training from a reputable body. But it doesn't necessarily mean they're full-on certified. Most therapy organizations or modalities, at least the most reputable ones, have some kind of formal certification process, and for many it takes years.

Martha: Yes, and people do get confused about that, if they're saying, “I really want to have a certified EFT counselor for marriage.” That does take years.

Jonathan: It takes a long time. Or with Margaret Kay, being a certified child-centered play therapist. I think when I hear specialty, I think someone who really has a specialty. But it's actually really good to hear that another way of thinking about it is: do they exclusively do that? And while we don't exclusively do it, I think we have specialists in a variety of things.

Jonathan: I also use a metaphor of going to the doctor. Not all issues require a true specialist. If you've got the flu, or you may have strep throat, you're fine. Go to your primary care physician. If you need brain surgery, you probably need someone that's really got lots of training and specialty in that.

Martha: Exactly. So when people are wondering, do we have people who treat anxiety, trauma, depression, marriage issues? The answer is yes, we do. They all work to varying degrees in those areas, for sure.