Serious personal, marital, or family problems or goals: You, you and your spouse, or members of your family need help soon but can wait for an appointment, if necessary, for a number of weeks.
Moderate need: There is no urgency. You are interested, before you consider formal therapy, in exploring some alternatives—perhaps by talking with a minister, priest, or rabbi or by trying one of the adjunctive approaches to therapy (such as therapeutic exercise, meditation, relaxation training) on its own, without individual therapy.
This chapter is intended primarily for people in the well-populated middle category, people who have serious problems or goals and are able to weigh alternatives carefully and without extreme pressure.
The seriousness of the problem and the cost of treatment go hand in hand. The range of treatment alternatives is shown in the table below.
Condition Cost Treatment by: ---------------------------------------------------------------------
more serious more expensive Psychiatrists
| |
| | Psychologists
| |
| | Social work counselors
| |
| | Adjunctive therapists:
| | biofeedback, bioenergetics,
| | exercise, meditation, etc.
| |
| | Religious counselors
| |
less serious less expensive Self-help
In general, the less serious the problem, the lower the potential cost of treatment. Also, the more serious the condition, the more advisable it is to have at least a preliminary evaluation by a psychiatrist.
Similarly, the settings within which therapy is available vary widely:
Condition Cost Setting: ---------------------------------------------------------------------
more serious more expensive Hospitals
| |
| | Residential treatment
| | centers
| |
| | Private practice
| |
| | Agencies: private, state,
| | county
| |
| | Academic sources:
| | individual counseling for
| | enrolled students
| | vocational guidance
| | counseling
| | classes or workshops
| | adult extension or
| | continuing education
less serious less expensive programs
FINDING A THERAPIST WITH A
PARTICULAR SPECIALIZATION