What should you consider when selecting a therapist in France?
When selecting a counselor or therapist, either through a recommendation or through an advertisement, you should keep the following criteria in mind

Graduate Degree

A reliable professional will have at least one of the following U.S. university diplomas, or a foreign equivalent

M.D. (if the person claims to be a psychiatrist)
PhD in psychology or counseling
M.A. in psychology or counseling
M.S.W., Master of Social Work

The French equivalent of an M.A. is called a Maitrise, but the higher level DESS (Diplôme d’Etudes Supérieures Spécialisées) in clinical psychology is usually required by state-run organizations. Many English-speaking professionals here did graduate studies in France, and do not have U.S. diplomas.



Specialized Training

Such training emphasizes the clinical skills and techniques which inform the approaches used by each practitioner, and is not necessarily part of a university degree program, so it is useful to know not only the degree(s), but also the training of the person you are considering. Among the many different approaches popular today are:

Art therapy
Brief therapy
Erickson hypnotherapy
Gestalt therapy
Rebirthing
Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP)
Systemic family/couple therapy
Psychoanalysis/psychodynamic therapy
Transactional Analysis






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