“Good Fit” and Change of Providers

By Christy Zender, MSW, LICSW

One of the most important elements of your treatment will be having a “good fit” with your provider(s). While “good fit” can mean a lot of things, we feel the most important element of fit is having a good level of comfort with your provider. We frequently talk about uncomfortable and difficult things in treatment so it is important you feel heard and responded to by your provider. All people have different communication styles so it is important that you talk openly about what is and what is not working for you.

At The Emily Program, our providers are trained and committed to flexibility in providing services and are able to adapt to different ways and methods of providing services. Sometimes clients and families are hesitant to give feedback directly to their provider, in fear of causing hurt feelings or coming off as being difficult. Please know we don’t feel that way at all! When you give us feedback, it is you advocating for your own recovery, and we are 100% committed to taking any and all feedback to help your recovery process move forward.

So, what do you do if you feel there is not a good fit or you want to change providers? We ask that you talk directly with your provider. While this may be uncomfortable, it will facilitate the process of you or the provider better working together or deciding that you would like to try working with someone else. In case of the latter, the provider will take care of the details to have you linked with or put on a wait list for someone who may be a better fit.