You realize your anxiety levels are rising to a level that impacts your daily life, and nothing you're doing seems to be helping. An anaphylactic reaction occurs, and now you can't stop worrying about the possibility of another reaction. Your child starts exhibiting excessive checking or safety behaviors, such as repetitive label-reading, not wanting to touch surfaces, or not eating foods outside of the house due to their worries. These are just a few of the many reasons why those managing food allergies might decide to seek support from a licensed clinical counseling professional. No matter why you've decided you're ready for counseling, you'll need to look for a provider to work with, preferably one that understand food allergies or allergic conditions. However, that's not always an easy task. Therefore, here are helpful tips to aid you in finding a licensed clinical counseling provider to help you when you need it most. How to Locate a providerBesides the Food Allergy Counselor Directory, there's not an easy way to find an allergy-knowledgeable counseling provider. With this in mind, below are other avenues that might help in locating providers who can support the psychosocial needs of those managing allergies:
Counseling Provider CriteriaHere's additional provider criteria to consider when evaluating counseling professionals that don't state they focus on food allergies or allergic conditions:
I've located a provider - now what?Let's say you've located a provider online or through another avenue. Now what? Most counseling providers will offer a brief free consultation phone call so you can ask them questions and they can share more details about their services. When you call the provider, here are a sample of questions you might ask to assess whether they're a good fit for your counseling goals:
If after that initial call, you don't feel that the provider is a good fit, it's absolutely okay to call others. Counseling is as much about the therapeutic alliance and relationship as it is about theory and therapy modalities that are used. Miscellaneous tipsHopefully the aforementioned tips are useful in helping you successfully locate a counseling professional that will provide the support you need. I'll conclude by sharing a few additional thoughts to keep in mind:
Written by: Tamara Hubbard, LCPC Tamara is a licensed clinical professional counselor & family therapist in the Chicagoland area. She provides general counseling and food allergy-specific counseling to individuals and families. Tamara is a member of the American Counseling Association, and an Allied Health Professional member of the American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology. Learn more about Tamara Hubbard, LCPC, her training, and her counseling/consulting services at www.TamaraHubbardLCPC.com
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