How to Find a COVID-Conscious Therapist
Finding a therapist who understands and supports your approach to COVID can make it easier to focus on the reasons you're actually coming to therapy. A COVID-conscious therapist may understand experiences that are important to you without requiring you to explain or defend them, from what it's like to continue to mask or avoid higher-risk environments to navigating Long COVID, chronic illness, disability, changing relationships, social pressures, or different levels of COVID caution within your family or community.
The COVID Cautious Therapists Directory can be a place to find someone who shares that understanding and supports your decisions while also having the clinical experience and training you're looking for.
Start with where you're located
Therapists can generally only provide therapy in locations where they are licensed or otherwise legally permitted to practice. This matters even when you're meeting by telehealth. Search the directory by your location to find therapists who can work with you where you live. Some therapists are licensed in more than one state, province, or other jurisdiction.
Look for the clinical fit you need
Being COVID-conscious is one part of finding the right therapist. You also want someone who can support the reasons you're seeking therapy. You can search the directory by specialty to find therapists who work with concerns such as trauma, anxiety, relationships, grief, Long COVID and chronic illness, neurodivergence, queer and trans and LGBTQIA+ experiences, oppression, loneliness, and other areas of mental health. You may also want to consider the therapist's approach, experience, identities or communities served, fees and insurance, availability, and whether they offer telehealth, in-person therapy, or both.
Ask what COVID-conscious means in their practice
Therapists listed in the directory have chosen to identify themselves as COVID conscious, but precautions and practices can vary. If you're considering in-person therapy, you might want to ask about masking policies, ventilation or air filtration, and policies around illness. You might also want to know whether other clients are expected to mask in the office and what the environment is like in shared spaces such as the waiting room. For telehealth therapy, you may still want to know how your therapist thinks about COVID, disability, community care, and ongoing precautions. You can ask these questions before deciding whether someone feels like a good fit.
Find someone who feels right for you
COVID consciousness can be an important part of therapeutic fit, but it doesn't have to be the reason you're coming to therapy. You might want support processing trauma, strengthening relationships, exploring identity, navigating change, grieving, feeling more connected, or building a life that feels more like your own. Finding a therapist who understands and supports the context you're living in can leave more room for the work you actually want to do together.