The Internet: Your Gateway To become Anything You Want
The internet is a gateway that allows you to become anything you want. Learn in this article how.
There are various forms of therapy.
If you would like to discover some of the most effective forms of therapy, check out the in-depth article we wrote, titled “Which Therapy Is Right for Me? Learn the Different Kinds of Therapy”, to learn more about the different therapies and how to find one that suits you.
Many of the therapies we mentioned have shown incredible results in treating mental health problems brought about by stress, anxiety, depression, trauma, etc.
The effectiveness of therapy, however, not only depends on the method, but also on the therapist’s skills and abilities.
Before we talk about how to know if you are making progress in therapy, let us start off this article by first learning about how to find a good therapist.
The great thing about this day and age is that we have the internet, which has made a lot of things easier and much more convenient—such as finding a therapist.
Google and Google Maps are a great first step to find a therapist. Simply search for “therapist” or “psychologist” and the area where you live. If you’ve read our other article on the different therapy methods, try to search more specifically for a therapist specializing in the kind of therapy you are looking for.
The handy thing with Google Maps is that you can also see any reviews others have provided about a therapist. Google Maps also shows helpful information like the website and phone number of the therapist so that you can easily get in touch with them.
There are also great online directories where therapists have listed their services.
Besides Google, Google Maps and directories, you could also make an appointment with your doctor.
Doctors are connected with a network of other health professionals and can certainly recommend a good therapist.
When you do ask your doctor, it would be best to give them some context of the issue you are struggling with. This way, they can help you better by guiding you to a suitable therapist.
Last but not least, you could also ask friends. However, take note of a couple of things before you do this:
First and foremost, ask someone you trust. Second, be sure this person understands that the right therapist for him or her might not be the right one for you. Some people can take offense if their therapist doesn’t work out for you the way it worked out for them.
When you ask a friend for a recommendation, ask them what they liked about their recommended therapist. This will help you see if that therapist could be a match for you.
Alternatively, what you could also do is ask your friend to ask their therapist if they can give some good referrals to other therapists whose methods jive with what you are looking for.
Finding the right therapist is very personal. Therefore, you don’t want a convenient therapist—you want a good therapist. And yes, this might require some searching.
Now, once you’ve found someone through Google, Google Maps, directories, friends’ recommendations, etc., here are three steps you can take to better understand the therapist and to find out if he or she is the right fit for you or not.
To put it quite bluntly, a therapist who can’t tell you how many patients have gotten well from the kind of therapy they practice does not truly care if you get well or not.
It’s therefore of foremost importance to know the therapy methods that are evidence-based. This simply means the kind of therapy where the therapist can track the efficacy of treatment plans, with the goal of providing clients with treatments that have solid evidence to back their effectiveness.
The article we wrote on the different kinds of therapy lists all the methods that have proven effects.
Therefore, in your search to assess if you’ve found the right therapist, be sure to check first if they perform the kind of therapy that has proven results.
To know your therapist better, ask them some questions first. You can do this either through the phone or by email.
Here are some of the questions you could ask to find out if this is a potentially suitable and qualified therapist for you:
Now, once you have some insights about the therapist and it feels right to you, go ahead and make an appointment. Once you are in the same room with the therapist, the best thing to do to truly know if you’ve found the right person is to pay attention.
Pay attention to how you feel when you are in the room with your new therapist. Do you feel heard when you speak? Pay attention to how you feel in that person’s presence. Notice everything.
It is important to know that, unless you truly do not feel right in the presence of this therapist, you shouldn’t immediately decide on the first session if he or she is good for you or not.
Connection, trust, and safety take more than one session to build. It might be challenging in the beginning to talk openly about your struggles, but if you feel heard and understood in general, you should allow yourself time to build connection and trust with the therapist. The safer you feel, the more open you will be about yourself, and the sooner healing can start.
Therefore, try to go to at least three sessions before making a permanent decision. If you eventually find that your therapist isn’t a good match, which can happen, it’s best to tell the therapist what it is you’re looking for and why he or she isn’t the best fit for you. The therapist might know someone who would be more suited for you and give you a referral.
Otherwise, you can simply repeat the previous steps you learned in this article to find a different therapist.
First, there isn’t one definite answer for the length of time it would take to make progress in therapy, as this greatly depends on the individual’s needs and circumstances. However, a good therapist should at least have a clear structure and treatment plan in place.
Remember that progress takes time, and not every session should feel like you have made that big jump you’d been hoping for. That being said, you should at least feel you are working towards something with your therapist.
Understand as well that good therapy doesn’t always feel good, because it often requires you to look at and change long-standing patterns of behavior or deal with things you have been avoiding—such as topics, emotions, people—that can cause a “spike in painful emotions.”
Therefore, successful therapy isn’t merely about feeling good. There may be sessions when you’d feel worse. However, if it is because you are working through something, then it is, in fact, a good thing.
Now, it can be difficult to determine progress as this can be very different for each individual, depending on the reason why you are going to therapy and the kind of therapy you are undergoing. Still, there are a couple of obvious signs that show you are making progress and that the therapy is having its positive effects on you.
If you went into therapy to deal with, for example, anxiety issues, you can look at whether your symptoms have decreased, or if they are interfering with your day-to-day activities less frequently. For example, you might be feeling less anxious, you might be having less frequent panic attacks, or you might be sleeping more hours a night.
Another measure of success is behavioral change. For a person with depression, for instance, behavioral changes that may be noticeable include getting up and out of bed more often, the ability to socialize and not remain isolated, and/or, depending on the severity of the depression, the ability to function more regularly and consistently through daily tasks like showering, eating, and getting dressed.
Another indicator of progress in therapy is if there are changes in your thinking. You have, for example, less negative or destructive thoughts and more positive, constructive thoughts.
Rather than fantasizing about things that aren’t attainable, you’re engaging in more realistic thinking and developing reachable goals. Thoughts lead to actions; so, as your thinking shifts, your behaviors will shift as well.
And the last indicator is if there are relationship improvements with your spouse, partner, or other loved ones.
If a relationship that used to be filled with conflict before therapy is now calmer, then it is a good sign that your therapy is working. It also shows that you’re using conflict resolution skills effectively.
While there are more signs of improvement, these are a few of the more obvious ones that you can track.
Ultimately, successful therapy means that you seem better able to manage your symptoms or that they are decreasing; it also means you feel that you’re accomplishing your current goal(s) or raising your self-awareness outside of therapy.
Working on yourself can be scary, overwhelming, confusing, messy, challenging, and lonely. On this podcast, hosted by Jellis Vaes, an aspiring clinical psychologist who once battled severe emotional struggles, you’ll gain valuable insights from experts in psychology, neuroscience, and relationships, as well as people like you and me, to support you on your mental health journey, help you feel less alone, and untangle some of the complexity of mental health.
For more support, visit Inner Path Seekers.
Show notes can be found here:https://theipsproject.com/2026/04/reason-we-stay-addicted-kevin-cornelius/
Addiction is complex, deeply human, and often misunderstood.
In this episode, we take a grounded and practical look at what addiction really is and how it can be treated effectively.
I’m joined by Kevin Cornelius, a licensed marriage and family therapist and clinical director at the Feeling Good Institute Silicon Valley.
Kevin specializes in TEAM-CBT, a powerful and evolving therapeutic approach developed by psychiatrist David Burns.
What I am hoping you get out of this episode, besides learning some of the reasons why people stay addicted, is that you will learn some practical techniques to start taking a small step toward freeing yourself from whichever addiction you might be struggling with.
If, after this episode, you’d like to learn more about the effects addiction has on the brain, do have a listen to the episode I did with Dr. Grisel, titled The Brain on Addiction.
📚The IPS Academy📚
If you feel that you’ve gained some insights and lessons from this video, and you are curious to see what else we offer at The IPS Project, check out The IPS Academy, where we offer online courses taught by guests here on the podcast.
Simply go to https://theipsproject.com/academy. Each course has a few lessons to try for free, so you get a taste of what the course is like. We have countless reviews from other students so you can see what others think, and there is a 30-day money-back guarantee if you end up not liking the course.
Again, check them out at https://theipsproject.com/academy
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