BEFORE WE BEGIN ...
* A recent study by the National Institute of Mental Health shows that one American in five suffers from some type of psychiatric disorder: 50.5 million Americans have one or another of eight serious psychiatric disorders, ranging from anxiety disorders and phobias to depression and schizophrenia.
* Of these, only one person in five seeks professional help. More than 40,400,000 severely troubled people do not receive any treatment.
* An unknown number of healthy, emotionally untroubled Americans enter therapy for reasons of self-development.
* More than 130 distinguishable therapies now exist.
* These therapies are offered by a variety of health care professionals, including social work counselors, clinical and counseling psychologists, psychiatrists, biofeedback therapists, and others. Their backgrounds, training, fees, and durations of treatment vary considerably.
* These professionals practice in a number of different settings: in private practice, group sessions, public and private agencies, hospitals, newly established nonhospital inpatient facilities, and in the context of educational programs.
* Most people who enter therapy do not know what alternative approaches to therapy exist or how to choose among them. They usually locate a therapist in a more or less random way.
* Most people fear the idea of entering counseling or psychotherapy. They do not have a clear conception of what to expect: they do not know in advance what the experience of therapy is like.
* For a variety of reasons, many people who think of going to a therapist are concerned about whether their relationship with the therapist will really be confidential. If you are especially concerned about privacy, you should be aware of several ways that confidentiality may be broken, what the laws concerning confidentiality are, and, in particular (what few people realize), how insurance claims for psychological care can invade an individual's privacy.