Aura Posted October 17, 2016 Share Posted October 17, 2016 I'm trying to get my dh and I some marriage counselling. How long does this normally take? I'm on week two, and still no appointment. :glare: I called one place, got an appointment, but then they cancelled. The therapist we had scheduled was changing practices. She was 3rd on our list, and the one they wanted to reschedule me with was new. They had no info on her other than that she had experience. So I tried another practice. I called the second place on Wednesday, spoke with the receptionist who took my contact info with promises of the therapist contacting me. I finally emailed Saturday morning (thinking that way my email would be waiting when she got to the office Monday morning). She responded back on Saturday that she had been busy and usually got back quicker and asked about times. I gave her times, but now it's Monday afternoon and I still haven't heard anything more. Should I call her back? Email again? Wait? Look for another practice? Is this normal? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aura Posted October 17, 2016 Author Share Posted October 17, 2016 I should add that I've never looked into counselling before. I'm only familiar with setting medical appointments, which are scheduled easily enough through one phone call, even if I have to wait for actual appointment. I was expecting something similar with a therapist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cintinative Posted October 17, 2016 Share Posted October 17, 2016 I have not experienced this except when there is only one counselor and that person is out of town. Was this person recommended to you? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK_Mom4 Posted October 17, 2016 Share Posted October 17, 2016 I have called and gotten appointments made during the same phone call. Usually about a week out, but with one phone call. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted October 17, 2016 Share Posted October 17, 2016 I'd keep looking. the thing about therapists - they have repeating appointments, and their schedule can fill up until a slot opens up. if therapists have a full schedule already, it can be quite awhile before you can get in. others will have space available. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted October 17, 2016 Share Posted October 17, 2016 It usually works just like regular medical appointments. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happi duck Posted October 17, 2016 Share Posted October 17, 2016 Usually several weeks for a first time appointment. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aura Posted October 17, 2016 Author Share Posted October 17, 2016 I have not experienced this except when there is only one counselor and that person is out of town. Was this person recommended to you? The first practice was recommended. The second was chosen after looking at options available, based on what they had on their website. Both places have multiple therapists in a single practice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aura Posted October 17, 2016 Author Share Posted October 17, 2016 Usually several weeks for a first time appointment. Several weeks to get an appointment scheduled, or several weeks to be seen? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted October 17, 2016 Share Posted October 17, 2016 I think it totally depends on the practice, the number of practitioners, etc. I've done this for a kid, but one place we were at it took a couple of weeks to get everything going. Another place, I left a message, chatted with the therapist, made the appointment within the week. But I've heard about popular therapists taking weeks or months to get into, especially if it's a place covered by insurance. To me, the key thing would be to talk to the person you're going to see first (or, if it's a larger practice that has a particular bent, at least to someone who can talk about what they do there and their approach). If it's the right person, it's worth a wait of a couple of weeks for sure. Finding a great therapist for any purpose is so hit or miss. IME, most will chat with you for at least a couple of minutes to answer a few questions. For us, looking for therapy for ds, one of my dealbreakers has been homeschooling (as in, no, the focus of the therapy cannot be "homeschooling is all wrong for you"). For this, you likely have others. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cintinative Posted October 17, 2016 Share Posted October 17, 2016 To me, the key thing would be to talk to the person you're going to see first (or, if it's a larger practice that has a particular bent, at least to someone who can talk about what they do there and their approach). If it's the right person, it's worth a wait of a couple of weeks for sure. Finding a great therapist for any purpose is so hit or miss. IME, most will chat with you for at least a couple of minutes to answer a few questions. For us, looking for therapy for ds, one of my dealbreakers has been homeschooling (as in, no, the focus of the therapy cannot be "homeschooling is all wrong for you"). For this, you likely have others. I agree with this. My counselor is a good fit for me and for that reason I am willing to wait longer to see her if she does not have openings. There are a lot of factors that go into whether a person is going to be a good fit including their age (Are they older than you? Will it bother you if they are not?), gender, background, personality and counseling approach. I would definitely want to chat with the person before I contracted them for counseling services. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie12345 Posted October 17, 2016 Share Posted October 17, 2016 It depends on the therapist (hours, patient load, etc.) I've had both long waits and next day appointments. My current therapist makes her own hours and keeps a low client load, so she's always flexible with me. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hilltopmom Posted October 17, 2016 Share Posted October 17, 2016 IN our area, the wait is months to get in. And they don't return calls, you have to go into the office to request an appt. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartlikealion Posted October 17, 2016 Share Posted October 17, 2016 I've seen two therapists in the past 6 months. First was an evaluation. It took a couple months to fit me in. I was pretty irritated, but they were the only psychiatrist in my network. Once I got the eval. they recommended a couple places for a therapist and I got in fairly quickly, but their availability on the website was misleading (different people there work different hours) so scheduling has not always been convenient. I'm not even sure I want to go there with dh now because last time I was there I didn't like the way I was treated in the waiting area. I want to be acknowledged, is that so hard for people to do? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happi duck Posted October 17, 2016 Share Posted October 17, 2016 Several weeks to get an appointment scheduled, or several weeks to be seen? Scheduled in my experience 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aura Posted October 17, 2016 Author Share Posted October 17, 2016 Wow. I had no idea scheduling this could be so difficult or time consuming. I did hear back from this latest one. She has jury duty this week....which is kinda weird because I JUST got a summons in the mail today for myself!...but she was optimistic that we could get something for next week. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted October 17, 2016 Share Posted October 17, 2016 I waited several weeks. It also took several calls and e-mails to set the appointment up. I then switched to another therapist and it was starting all over again with the same amount of waiting and phone tag. It sucked big time to have to wait that long. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted October 17, 2016 Share Posted October 17, 2016 Wow. I had no idea scheduling this could be so difficult or time consuming. I did hear back from this latest one. She has jury duty this week....which is kinda weird because I JUST got a summons in the mail today for myself!...but she was optimistic that we could get something for next week. I didn't know either until I had to do it. And the thing is it took A LOT for me to do it in the first place. I found it very frustrating. And I don't live in the middle of nowhere. There are several therapists even up the street. Good luck getting an appointment with one though! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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