Things to Ask Your Therapist

Their training:

  • How long have you been practicing?

  • What licenses and certifications do you have and which professional organizations do you belong to?

  • What settings have you worked in?

  • What are your current clinical interests and what did you focus on during your training and education?

  • If therapist is a trainee, how long have you been a trainee?

  • Have you worked with individuals that are experiencing similar concerns?

  • Do you specialize in…{your presenting concern)?

Financial Questions:

  • How much do you charge?

  • What if I get into a financial situation?

  • Do you have a sliding scale?

  • Is there flexibility with a payment plan?

  • What information is given to insurance?

  • What are your policies related to insurance, cancellations, and no-shows?

Them as a Therapist:

  • What are your strengths and limitations as a therapist?

  • What is your general philosophy and approach to therapy? Evidence-based?

  • What are you like in therapy (e.g., directive, guiding, talkative, etc.)? What is your modality?

  • What are the pros and cons of this modality?

  • In the past when there has been conflict with a patient in the past, how have you handled it?

  • How often do you seek supervision/consultation?

  • What do you include in your progress notes?

  • If I spot you in public, what should I do?

  • What is your protocol if I’m experiencing a crisis? How do you manage suicidality?

  • Why do you do this work? Can you tell me about why you decided to become a therapist?

  • Do you integrate other forms of healing outside of therapy into your practice?

Goals for Therapy:

  • How frequently should we meet? For how long?

  • How do you set up therapy goals?

  • How do you think therapy can help me?

  • What is typical session like? How long are the sessions?

  • What kind of homework/reading do you give patients?

  • Should I prepare for the first session and future sessions?

  • How will I know if therapy is working?

  • How will we assess my progress?

  • What should I do if I don’t feel better?

  • What if I just don’t like you as a therapist?

Questions for Patients’ with Marganalized Identities:

  • Talk to me about your cultural competency training. Have you completed any anti-racism, implicit bias, diversity or cultural humility trainings?

  • What percentage of your current caseload are people of color and what are their races/ethnicities?

  • What experience do you have working with people in my community or that hold similar identities? and how often have you worked with someone with similar identities?

  • What are your views on the connection between racism, homophobia, transphobia, etc. and mental health?

  • Are you comfortable discussing societal oppression and social injustice?

  • Can you provide an example of how you have addressed issues related to societal oppression, like racism and transphobia in therapy?

  • How are you working to create an anti-racist and anti-oppressive space in your office?

  • How do you include your patient’s identities in treatment/therapy?

  • What does intersectionality mean to you?

  • How do you feel systemic oppression/violence contributes to mental health difficulties?

  • On an individual level, how do you think that racism, homophobia, and other forms of systemic oppression impacts your patient’s mental health?

  • How would you describe your priviledge in society?

  • What do you do to self-reflect on your own biases and assumptions?

  • How do you customize or adapt your modality/interventions to include my culture, religion, and other identities?

  • How do you address sytemic oppression in session?

  • What are you doing/have you done to educate yourself on the communities that I am a part of?

  • How do you educate yourself on how historical and social context impacts your patients?

  • In your practice, how do you handle issues related to diversity, equity, and inclusion?

  • How do you practice cultural humility?

Trauma-specific Questions:

  • How do you define trauma?

  • What courses did you take on trauma-related treatment?

  • What theoretical orientations were taught to you in grad school for treating trauma?

  • What clinical experiences in grad school in treating trauma?

  • In grad school, did you get the chance to work with patients/clients who experienced different forms of trauma?

  • Did you do any research while you were in grad school on trauma?

  • What continuing education are you doing to stay up-to-date and informed in trauma-related treatment?

  • After grad school, have you been able to clinically work with people with diverse forms of trauma?

  • What theoretical orientations do you currently use to address trauma?

  • Outside of clinical work, how do you familiarize yourself with the most up-to-date, empirical literature on trauma?

  • As a therapist, how do you use an anti-oppressive/anti-racist framework when treating trauma?


Some questions adapted from:

The 14 Questions You Should Ask a Therapist Before Your First Appointment

10 Questions to Ask a New Therapist

10 questions to ask when choosing a therapist

Going To Therapy As A QTPOC, Without Being Harmed, Erased Or Baffled