The “DIY Guide” to Choosing a Therapist
Where to begin?
First, you can start by asking yourself a few questions:
What am I hoping to improve in my life with the help of therapy?
Is it important to me that my therapist have expertise in my specific concerns?
Is there a certain type of therapy (e.g. CBT, ACT, EMDR, Imago) that I’m seeking?
What are some times each week that I could devote to attending therapy?
A few approaches to looking for a therapist at Balanced Awakening…
The intuitive approach
One way to find a therapist for you at Balanced Awakening is to look through our Chicago Therapists directory of therapists and see if anyone’s picture resonates with you. We can actually access a lot of information through our intuition by looking at someone’s picture. You may find that someone “jumps out” at you, or you may be able to narrow down a few therapists to research further. Trust your gut!
The specialty approach
You can peruse one of our speciality pages, such as anxiety therapy or trauma therapy, if your concerns and goals for therapy match up with one of our specialties. We have therapists with expertise in a specific area featured on the respective page. Looking through therapists featured on a specialty page may help you narrow down the search. You can read each therapist’s bio to get a more “in-depth” sense of them as well as check out their schedule to see if it might match up with yours. Each therapist, in their bio, has their specialties listed as well.
The schedule matching approach
You might be someone with a tight schedule, with only one or two specific times each week that you have available for therapy. In this case, a good place to start may be our online scheduler. You can choose a location, appointment type, and then choose “no preference, show all times for all providers”. From there you can see if your #1 preferred time is available and book right into the available spot. The downside of this is that you won’t know which therapist you’ve booked with until after you’ve booked the appointment. If your schedule is tight and you’d like to know what therapists have your preferred time available, go ahead and fill out our matchmaking form and we’ll let you know!
What if the “DIY” thing isn’t for me and I need some help?
We are here for you and can help match you with a therapist or psychologist that could be a great fit for your.
You can easily fill out a brief questionnaire, our matchmaking form, that will help us to match you with a therapist behind the scenes.
If you’d like to talk with Catalina, our Client Coordinator, about what you’re looking for in a therapist and be matched with a few therapists with Catalina’s help, you can schedule a matchmaking call.
If you have a quick question that you’d like to ask us that will help to narrow down your options, you can always contact us as well.
I’m ready!
Great! Use our online scheduler below to book your 1st appointment
FAQ’s about Choosing a Therapist
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We have so many options for you to schedule that it can be overwhelming!
1) You can schedule on your own via our online scheduler.
3) You can schedule a complementary client-therapist matchmaking call or fill out our matchmaking form.
4) You can reach out to us via our contact us page.
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Great question! We get asked a lot about what the differences are in degrees, licenses, and credentials of our therapists. All of our therapists fall under the umbrella of psychotherapists - and psychotherapy is what we do so you’re in good hands with anyone on our team.
Psychologists and Postdoctoral Residents have a doctoral degree in clinical or counseling psychology - either a Ph.D. or a Psy.D. For our purposes, there’s not much difference between a Ph.D and a Psy.D. Psychologists get more training in things like psychological testing and research methods than a therapist at a masters degree level.
LCSWs, MSW Fellows, LCPCs, and Clinical Fellows all have a master’s degree in counseling or social work. They spend a little less time in school than psychologists, but often have just as much experience with psychotherapy as psychologists once they’ve been in the field a year or two post graduation. Sometimes they even have more specialized experience in psychotherapy techniques and methods, because they’ve spent less time on psychological testing and research.
At Balanced Awakening all of our therapists have the qualifications (and personalities) to provide excellent therapy. The most important piece in deciding on what therapist to see is often based on goodness of fit which can include things like therapist specialties matching up with what you’re looking for, or a particular style of doing therapy that resonates with you.
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Most of our providers are in network for Blue Cross Blue Shield PPO, including the BlueChoice PPO network, and some with Aetna, and Tricare. Please refer to the individual therapist bios to confirm which insurance that therapist accepts.
For more information, please call the phone number on the back of your benefits card. We do not accept any BCBS HMO plans
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Individual Therapy
Initial Intake Sessions (2), 55 minute each - $235
55 minute individual session - $210
Couples Therapy
55 minute session - $235
*Please note that appointments that are not cancelled or rescheduled with a minimum of 24 hours’ notice (or before 6p Saturday for Monday appointments) will be subject to the full 55 minute session fee (either self pay rate or full contracted insurance rate).