How to Find a CBT Therapist

What Is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy?

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a therapeutic treatment approach built on the foundational belief that unhelpful thinking patterns and beliefs heavily impact feelings and behavioral patterns that people follow.¹ CBT focuses on challenging and changing unhelpful thinking and behavior patterns, learning new coping skills to navigate uncomfortable situations, and empowering the client to make better choices moving forward.²

While CBT is sometimes criticized for being too manualized of an approach, it’s helpful to remember that CBT as an approach has evolved since its conceptualization to include consideration of many different mental health concerns and to allow flexibility to the process when needed. Branches of CBT within psychotherapy include Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy, and Exposure and Response Prevention Therapy. All treatment approaches under CBT work by focusing on the distress happening in the present in order to help seek relief.

What to Look For When Finding a CBT Therapist

There are many things to consider when looking for a CBT therapist that will be helpful for you, including finding a therapist that is a good personality fit, someone that you’re comfortable with, and someone who has training and experience in CBT. It’s also important to consider how you’re hoping to pay for therapy (out-of-pocket or if your insurance covers therapy) and what your budget is to make sure therapy is affordable within your budget.

Below are things to consider when choosing a cognitive behavioral therapist:

Your Preferences & Requirements

There are several preferences and potential requirements to consider before you begin your search for a CBT therapist. It’s important to consider different demographic identifiers that are particularly important to you because they will come up frequently, but also remember that working with someone with different life experiences also allows the opportunity for a different perspective on your situation and struggles.

Some preferences you may want to consider include:

• Gender: Working with a therapist of the same gender can be helpful to understand your lived experience, and working with someone of a different gender can be helpful to give you perspective if you are struggling in interactions with people of that gender. It’s also helpful to consider if you have any trauma or resistance to working with people of a certain gender, and to acknowledge those upfront with your therapist.
• Religion: If your religious affiliation is a central part of your life, it can be helpful to work with someone who has that same religious identification or someone who has an extensive understanding of it. If you have experienced religious trauma, it can also be helpful to work with someone who understands the religion thoroughly or specializes in religious trauma recovery.
• Age: If you have age-specific things you want to work on in therapy (such as a specific life-stage transition), it can be helpful to work with someone who has been through this themselves. If you want to understand someone else’s responses that are older or younger than you, it can also be helpful to work with a therapist who is closer to that person’s age.
• Ethnicity: Working with someone who identifies as the same ethnicity or race as you, or even with someone who isn’t a member of the majority ethnicity within a country/culture, can help you to feel more seen and understood by your therapist.
• Formality within sessions: Some therapists are more formal and withdrawn in sessions, and some therapists are more casual within sessions. A more formal therapist may never cuss within their sessions, and a more casual therapist may be more willing to be more flexible with deviating from initial treatment plans. Thinking through how you usually show up and your preferences on this during your search process can help to ensure you find a good-fit therapist.
• Sexuality: Many people who are LGBTQ feel comfortable with someone who understands their sexuality, or is an ally. Connecting with an LGBTQIA+ therapist may be beneficial.

CBT Therapist Licensing & Credentials

Considering a therapist’s licensing and credentials is also an important part of the search for a good fit. Considering the level of a therapist’s license can help you know how much clinical experience they have, and the type of license they hold can help you to understand their educational background and training.

Licensing levels within therapists can vary – an intern is still in graduate school, an associate-level licensed therapist is still in their initial training period after completing graduate school, and a fully licensed therapist has completed their post-graduate training and has passed the licensing exam. There are also coaches within the mental health field, and coaches are unregulated and do not have any education or licensing requirements they have to meet before they begin working with clients.

To check if a therapist is licensed, you will usually find their information when you check with the state’s Department of Health licensing board. Most states have an online feature where you can search, but you can often call and ask for a license verification as well. To make it easier, most therapists list their license numbers on their websites or on directory profiles to expedite the process for you. This will also usually tell you if they are in good standing with their licensing board, meaning they haven’t violated any code of ethics on record.

Some types of licenses for therapists include:

• Licensed mental health counselors (LMHC): This can go by different titles in different states (such as a licensed professional counselor or LPC), but this means the person’s graduate school training was most likely focused on treating individuals. If there is an “A” at the end of their licensing (ex: LMHCA), that means they are still associate-licensed and working on their post-graduate training before they can apply for full licensure.
• Licensed family and marriage therapist (LMFT): This means the therapist’s graduate school training was focused on helping people within their relational units – such as couples counseling or family therapy. They can still work with individuals, but their training and licensing requirements often have an element of relational client hours required before they can fully get licensed.
• Licensed independent clinical social worker (LICSW): This means the therapist’s graduate school training often was focused on working with people within the context of the systems they are in. Social workers also often have educational/experiential backgrounds in helping clients access resources (such as applying for services), although some strictly provide therapy services.

Personality Fit & Comfort

Finding a therapist that you’re comfortable with has often been cited as one of the most important factors that determines if therapy will be successful or not.³ Feeling comfortable with your therapist is more likely to lead to developing trust, which is essential for you to share the most vulnerable pieces of your life and be able to receive the feedback needed to grow and change the patterns that aren’t working for you.⁴

There are several ways you can begin to get a feel for whether a therapist would be a good fit for you before you start working with them. Begin by reading through their website and any directory listings they might have and see if you feel they understand or could understand what you’re going through. If they have any professional social media pages or public-facing writing (such as online articles like this), you can get a feel for their conversational flow and how they relate to people on things. When you find someone you’re feeling comfortable with, it can also be helpful to see if they offer an initial consultation call with clients to check for fit – some therapists will even offer these for free sometimes.

Here are some questions to ask a potential new CBT therapist include:

• Do you have experience working with people who have concerns like mine?
• What’s your approach to therapy?
• What do typical sessions/working with you look like?
• How long do your sessions last?
• How often do you typically meet with clients?
• Do you meet online, in person, or both?
• Do you assign “homework” between sessions?
• How will we assess whether there has been progress or not?
• What should I do if I’m not feeling better?

Online or In-Person CBT Therapy?

Since the COVID pandemic, many therapists now also offer online therapy, although some therapists may be strictly in-person or only meet with clients online. CBT is offered online or in person, but other approaches a therapist offers in combination with CBT may work better via one specific method. It’s important to ask about this before you begin, so you understand your options and the expectations of treatment.

The benefit of working with an online CBT therapist is that you don’t have to account for travel and accommodations that you would need to make to meet in person. Some people prefer to meet in person because they feel it’s easier to connect with their therapist than they are able to through meeting online. Meeting online or in person is usually a personal preference, and some therapists even offer both methods as options.

How to Find a CBT Therapist

Once you decide you would like to start therapy, finding a CBT therapist can feel like an overwhelming and unclear process. There are many ways to go about finding a therapist that would work for you, and what works best will largely depend on your preferences for care – such as seeing a therapist in-person vs. online, or paying out-of-pocket vs. using your insurance.

Here are five ways to find a CBT therapist:

1. Ask Trusted Friends & Family for Referrals

Talking with trusted friends and family about beginning to look for a therapist can be a helpful place to begin and to get support while you’re searching for someone who is a good fit to work with. When asking friends and family for recommendations, it can be helpful to briefly share what you’re hoping to work on in therapy and where you want to see a therapist (in person or online), and ask them if they know of any therapists they would be willing to connect you with. This is a great way to start your search because recommendations will usually be local and have already been vetted for trustworthiness to some degree.

2. Ask Your Primary Care Provider for a Referral

Most primary care providers and therapists work to network with people outside their scope of practice to whom they may need to refer clients. Your primary care provider likely has worked with therapists in the area for other clients before and often can provide you with referrals when you ask for them. Primary care providers are also able to prescribe medication to help expedite your therapy process, so working with a therapist that your doctor is already used to coordinating with can ensure better care coordination for you.

3. Request a List of CBT Therapists From Your Insurance Company

If you are hoping to use your insurance to cover most or part of your therapy costs, asking your insurance company for a list of CBT therapists that are in-network will save you a lot of time and frustration. If you are struggling with finding a therapist with availability after getting a list of in-network providers for your specific insurance, there are also some online therapy options for insurance that can get you connected with a therapist through an online company.

If you’re ready to begin online CBT, Online-Therapy.com is an excellent choice for those without insurance. If you have insurance, there are several online therapy options that take insurance.

4. Use an Online Therapist Directory

A great search tool to help you find a therapist if the above options aren’t giving you the leads you’re looking for is to use an online therapist directory. Directories are listing sites where therapists put together a profile of their services so that clients can filter what they’re looking for. Some things to consider filtering include your location/state, how you’re hoping to pay/your specific insurance, what you’re seeking treatment for, modalities you’re specifically looking for (such as CBT), and any other demographics in a therapist that are important to you. This method gives you more specific options that are tailored to your preferences and begin to give you a feel for how therapists show up in their work.

5. Reach Out to a Good Fit Therapist

If you’ve been searching and feel like you’ve found a therapist that would be a good fit, go ahead and reach out to them! If they are currently full, you can ask if they have a waitlist or if they know of any therapists in the area who do similar work. Many therapists network with other therapists to be able to provide good-fit referrals, so chances are they will know or be able to connect you with someone who would be a good fit if they cannot work with you at that time.

In My Experience

In my experience, working with a therapist who provides CBT can be extremely helpful in making meaningful changes in your life. I personally use CBT within my work with clients and have seen many clients gain confidence and functionality in their everyday lives again. I do believe that there are many modalities that can achieve similar results, and a combination approach that includes CBT can also be incredibly impactful. The overall benefit for CBT lies in its structured approach that can allow relief for current symptoms and a relatively short time commitment.