How The Best Child Psychologist is chosen

The best child psychologist needs the right professional qualifications

All psychologists need appropriate professional qualifications and profession registrations in order to practice. However, these qualifications alone are just the start.

Cost is not the deciding factor

It is normal to think about the cost of treatment, especially when you are first starting out. However, you should not select a child psychologist based solely on their cost.

The best child psychologists will do a significant amount of work before and after appointments. They will prepare for individual therapy session before you arrive, and will review and process everything about individual session after you have left. They may also spend time reviewing the latest research, identify appropriate supports and other resources which might be beneficial.

In order to do everything required to provide the most effective therapy sessions for you, the best psychologist will need to charge a price that is fair to both you and themselves. The Australian Psychological Society (APS) has a National Schedule of Recommended Fees and item numbers for psychological services. It is the rate of fees recommended only, and members are able to vary those fees at their discretion. Some psychologists focus on a type of therapy which is particularly complex and involves more time, and may set their fees an appropriate amount higher than the recommended fees as a result.

However, generally, we expect the best psychologist to have fees close to the recommended amount. Fees that are significantly higher without reason would reflect poorly on that psychologist. Equally, fees that are significantly lower than the recommended amount would also reflect poorly on that psychologist. As a result, bulk-billing is not a factor we look for when selecting the best psychologist. We are selecting the psychologist that can bring about the best results, effectively and efficiently, at a fair cost to both the patient and the therapist.

Professional Healing

The best child psychologists are problem solvers and doctors of the mind. They need an in-depth understanding of the mechanics and workings of a child's mind. The best child psychologists also have the capacity to draw on a wide variety of professional skills and approaches to effectively assist patients to heal. The best child psychologist will have a toolbox filled with the best scientifically based, practice proven tools. They will also know which tools are most effectively used in each situation to bring about the desired results most effectively.

The best psychological treatment is more than talk and positive feelings

While being personable and comfortable to talk to are important attributes of an effective psychologist, they alone are not enough. The best psychological therapists are able to assist the patient to effect real change. The best psychologists must be capable of helping their patients to do very difficult things and to make hard changes in order to bring about positive outcomes in their life.

Long waiting lists do not reflect skill

Unlike a restaurant, you cannot select a great psychologist by knowing who is always busy, and who always has long waiting lists.

The best psychologist may not have a long waiting list at all. However, the best psychologist will always have many clients who after engaging in therapy, reached a point where no further therapy was required. They will also have a significant proportion of clients who, after an appropriate period of therapy, only need an ad-hoc or infrequent check in appointment every now and then. To find the best psychologist you look for the long list of patients who have already been helped.

Positive Reviews

Psychological therapy is very private. Many patients are understandably reluctant to talk about their therapy experience even with close friends and family. So it is hard to get clear information about how appropriate a specific psychologist would be for you.

There are some people, however, who feel so strongly about the positive improvements therapy has brought into their lives that they do share their experience. Increasingly, some patients even share their experience publicly on independent review sites. Sometimes this is a way of paying it forward. They hope comments they make can help someone else, perhaps who is struggling with the same issues they were, to find the positive outcomes that they found. These reviews can help you identify with the patient's circumstance and the therapeutic outcomes they achieved. In turn these reviews can also help you and us find the best psychologist.