Below are tips on how to find an online psychologist in Australia.
1. Ask your friends and family for recommendations.
There’s a good chance that some of the people closest to you have had positive experiences with mental health professionals and would be happy to share their knowledge about their choice of therapist or counsellor with you. If you’re coming to this on your own, you may find it helpful to contact the services of a professional and ask them for consultation and referrals.
2. Check out mental health professionals listed in your local papers or online directories.
Many of these sorts of listings will include information about whether or not a given therapist uses e-therapy as part of their practice.
3. Contact mental health organisations in your area, such as headspace or Lifeline, and ask them for referrals.
This can be a good way of finding out about therapists who are well known within the community, to the extent that they may even have experience helping people with online counselling services. Consider also checking out specific hospitals and clinics within your area as they may also provide lists of counselling services.
4. Find out whether the counsellor or therapist you are interested in is registered with any professional associations such as AHPRA (Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency) or APCAA (Australian Psychology Certification Agency Accreditation).
Note that not all practitioners are required to be registered.
5. Check out the credentials of anyone who offer online psychologist in Australia before you contact them.
If they do not list their professional qualifications or if they don’t seem very clear about what these qualifications consist of, it may be best to look for another therapist whose expertise matches your needs more closely.
6. Ask for a free consultation with the mental health professional you are interested in working with to find out whether they suit your personality and therapeutic needs.
In turn, share as much information as possible about the issues that you’d like to work on during counselling or psychotherapy so that a good fit can be established between client and counsellor.
