Where Do I Start

[scottie]

I am new to this forum but not new to emet. I have been doing a
lot of research on this phobia and glad that I found this site. I
have been reading as much as I can on this site and glad to see that I
am not alone.



First off, I have had this fear as far back as college. It has
been progressively getting worse to the point now that it is
controlling my life. My greatest fear is catching a virus or
eating something that would make me sick. So now that I know what
I have, I need to get it fixed.



That is where I am stuck. I know that I need to find a good
therapist but where do you start? There are a lot of therapists
out there and I am hoping for some tips on helping me try to narrow
down those that I should contact for an appointment. I know that
this has sort of been asked before on this site but since I really did
not find an answer (granted, I have not read each and every post), I
thought I would post it.



The problem that I find is that this is not the kind of topic you just
casually ask your friends about like you are trying to find a car
mechanic. I am just glad that my wife understands somewhat - she
puts up with it quite well but does not really understand the feelings
that I have since she has no phobias.



Anyway, any help would be greatly appreciated.



Thanks

[kel12347]

Go to the Treatments Forum. On top, next to a green folder, you'll find an article on choosing a therapist. It's written by a successfully treated ex-emet. I'm currently in therapy right now, and will continue to be until I beat this thing.


Welcome to the site!

[scottie]

I read the treatments folder but I guess I did not phrase my question
all that well. The articles in that folder are great but I am
just trying to figure out how to find a therapist. For instance,
do you just go to the yellow pages? Do you ask doctors?
What is the best way to figure out who to even start going to?



I am just wondering how others got started. Again, this is
something that many do not talk about (or want to talk about) since it
implies that since we have this phobia, that we have some sort of
mental problem. Not great coffee table conversation.



Thanks

[x hannah x]

I went to my gp and asked him to refer me.

[tayda]

I have a local health clinic in my town, and they have several practitioners in various fields includingsycho-therapy and counseling. I had my gp refer me there, and from there on I was very straightforward about what I was there for. They will definitely need information about you. (you life, family life, career, etc..) so you may not find the first appointments beneficial, but it is info that they need to help them understand you. Hopefully when you call and mention what your problem is, the receptionist or staff member will put a memo in, and give you a call back w/ someone familiar w/ the phobia.


Best of luck to you, and welcome to the site

[sage]

There are several ways to begin your research, fact-finding and interviewing process(I'm the one that wrote that article - so thanks for pointing out that I need to include this in it!)

1. <LI>Your family doctor should have a list of therapists and know something about them.</LI>
   <LI>Your priest, rabbi or minister may have a referral list as well</LI>
   <LI>The internet is a good source of info and research tool. Many therapists now have websites and you can learn a lot about them from their sites.</LI>
   <LI>The yellow pages is certainly a possibility - larger "display" ads may list the kind of therapy the person is doing.</LI>
   <LI>Depending on where you live, you should have a local mental health organization or family counselling centre - although they usually only have short-term counselling, they might have a referral list.</LI>

Good luck!