I Found a Like-Minded Therapist Through the NQTTCN Directory

The NQTTCN is my new go-to mental health directory

Medically reviewed by Monica Johnson, PsyDMedically reviewed by Monica Johnson, PsyD

Looking for a therapist isn’t always easy; combing through hundreds of options and risking making an appointment with someone who’s not a good fit is stressful. That’s why online therapy directories are helpful for finding mental health care. Everything you need to know about a therapist is listed on their bio page, allowing you to learn important details such as what type of therapy they offer and whether they practice in person or see clients via telehealth. Even better, these directories help you locate therapists who identify the same way you do. For example, I’m a member of the BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ communities (also known as queer and trans people of color, or QTPoC), which is why the National Queer and Trans Therapists of Color Network (NQTTCN) was a great place for me to start my therapist search.

Since 2016, NQTTCN has integrated mental health care and healing justice by providing access to a list of clinicians that provide safe, nonjudgmental, and affirming care for LGBTQ+ and POC individuals like myself—exactly what I was hoping to gain from trying out a new therapy directory. The directory’s dedication to acknowledging the decades of oppression that anyone who isn’t part of the societal majority has had to deal with in the mental health field is another plus that drew me to NQTTCN.

From start to finish, my experience with NQTTCN was easy, seamless, and, honestly, rejuvenating. I quickly narrowed down providers in my area and got in touch with a provider within 10 minutes, which I consider record time. As someone who’s been both a therapist and a client, I value how this directory has taken a traditionally burdensome system and turned it into one that’s accessible to everyone.

After evaluating NQTTCN on things like the availability and number of providers, the ease of use, and cost, I would definitely recommend this directory to someone like me—and after our most recent testing of the service, this recommendation absolutely holds up.

See at nqttcn.com

Related: 13 Best Online Therapy Companies of 2023

Why I Was Interested in Using NQTTCN to Find a Therapist

As a therapist, I know how difficult it can be to find a therapist you trust. It’s our job to establish an environment where people can talk about the most intimate details of their lives without fear of judgment. Unfortunately, that’s not always been the case for many marginalized groups. Historically, there have been significant obstacles to getting mental health care, like language barriers and a lack of clinicians in a geographic region. It also doesn’t help that many providers lack cultural competence or a willingness to examine their biases. But if you can’t rely on your therapist or doctor to take care of you, why would you seek their help? This idea has led to a general distrust and stigma about talking to a therapist among many LGBTQ+ and BIPOC communities.

I’ve dealt with my fair share of awkward identity-related moments with mental health providers. While many of these incidents were unintentional and without malicious intent, some were blatant. One of my past therapists even refused to talk about my racial identity because it made her uncomfortable, which completely altered my therapy experience.

Like-Minded Identities

The NQTTCN was the perfect place for me to look for a therapist because, in addition to its commitment to compiling a list of culturally representative and highly skilled providers, it’s geared to people who identify the same way I do and is easy to use.

I’m also always on the go, so I don’t have time to search through pages and pages of therapists that may or may not be a good fit. All in all, NQTTCN had everything I was looking for—convenience, accessibility, and representation.

How I Looked for a Therapist

At first glance, the NQTTCN directory seemed pretty straightforward to me. The homepage is simple to navigate, with immediate access to the search feature, information about the mission statement, and the donation portal.

When I clicked on the website’s search tab at the top of the homepage, it brought me to a list of hotlines to use in case of emergency, like the LGBT National Hotline and the Trans Lifeline. According to the Human Rights Campaign, LGBTQ+ high school students of color are more likely to attempt suicide than any other peer group. These statistics, and others relating to adults, are why these hotlines exist and why they’re a necessary part of the directory.

Navigating the Directory

There’s also a quick set of directions that tell you how to navigate the directory, so that’s where I went first.

These directions are brief and guide you on the easiest ways to search, find virtual options, and use the filters. Best of all, there’s even an email to contact if you have questions.

"When I entered my ZIP code to find a therapist in my area, I hit my first roadblock."

There weren’t any therapists within a 25-mile radius of my town. But increasing the radius to 150 miles wasn’t much better; only six were taking new clients.

Using the different filters available, I searched for providers accepting new clients and offering telehealth sessions. Other filters include only showing featured listings (profiles that the directory has verified) and whether a provider offers a sliding scale/low fee.

Takeaway

A downside to the filtering system is that you can’t filter by factors that help you identify a therapist’s race/ethnicity, preferred treatment modality, or specialty.

Because finding representative care is the entire point of the directory, I found this surprising—and counterintuitive. While this information is viewable on the therapist’s bio page, not having immediate access to it could easily discourage a person, especially someone with a history of healthcare trauma, from seeking therapy altogether.

The filters I chose decreased the number to three, with only two therapists licensed to practice in Kentucky. While there weren’t many choices, I found someone who offered everything I wanted—an affordable session fee, flexible scheduling times, and telehealth options.

Once I clicked on the therapist I wanted to learn more about, I was able to find out all the other essential information I needed to know about them, such as their:

• Credentials (such as CMHC, LMHC, LCSW, LMSW, LMFT, PsyD, PhD, etc.)

• Services offered (such as individual therapy, couples therapy, family therapy, etc.)

• Therapeutic approach (such as mindfulness, CBT, DBT, healing justice, somatic, feminist, etc.)

• Area of expertise (such as intersectionality, LGBTQ+, parenthood, women, trauma, intimate partner violence, etc.)

• Race/ethnicity

• Gender, sexual orientation, and pronouns

• Name of their practice

• Languages spoken

• License and supervisor information

After reviewing what each therapist had to offer, I went to the tab labeled “Resources” to get a sense of what else NQTTCN offers its patients.

Takeaway

Here, I found lists the crisis hotlines again, along with online support chat services and support groups, other culturally relevant online therapy directories, and organizations that promote healing justice and support LGBTQ+ and BIPOC individuals. Accessing these resources can empower QTPoC to build meaningful connections with other like-minded people in communities outside of therapy, improving mental health outside of a therapy session.

I also liked the resources for therapists, which I plan to use in my practice.

Related: 7 Best Online LGBTQIA+ Counseling Services

Contacting a Therapist Through NQTTCN

Each therapist lists their phone number and email, or you can message them through the directory. There isn’t a button to schedule a session or free consultation, although that would have been convenient.

I chose to call my therapist but couldn’t get ahold of them on the first try. After sending an email, they replied in less than an hour.

Pricing

Aside from finding a time for the session, pricing is the next most important thing to me when looking for mental health care. Part of my philosophy as a therapist is making therapy as financially accessible as possible, so even though I don’t personally need to use a sliding scale option, I offer it at my practice and value other therapists who make this central to their practice.

Takeaway

Sliding scales are based on income and an individual discussion with the therapist. Whether a sliding scale or lower fee is offered and what insurance policies a therapist accepts are listed in the therapist’s bio.

On average, a typical therapist who served my area charged between $75 and $150 per session. I couldn’t use my insurance, so I paid the full private-pay fee before my appointment. NQTTCN doesn’t handle payment—each therapist handles billing independently.

Mental Health Fund

One unique feature of NQTTCN is that it offers a Mental Health Fund, a scholarship pool that provides financial assistance for up to $100 per session with a max of eight sessions. It’s application based, so there’s no guarantee that you’ll receive help. Applications are closed for 2023.

How I Scheduled a Session

Scheduling a session with my therapist was the easiest part of the process. After exchanging a couple of emails to determine if we were a good fit, I scheduled an intake appointment for less than five days after initially connecting. I handled everything with the therapist directly—I preferred this to going through the directory for scheduling, which is the case with other therapy directories.

My Session With My NQTTCN Therapist

My session was 75 minutes long, more than the standard 45- to 60-minute intake assessment I’m used to.

Takeaway

The longer session allowed me to go into detail about what I wanted the therapist to know about my life and mental health, so I feel it was beneficial.

Collecting all the details you need in the traditional time allotment is tough, so the additional few minutes let me know my therapist was invested in what I was saying.

The therapist was engaged, invested, genuine, and compassionate throughout the session. Unlike some therapists I’ve worked with before, she approached the issues I wanted to work on with curiosity rather than assuming I fit into a certain stereotype based on my different identities. I felt like she treated me as an individual and understood how each aspect of my life that I brought up worked together, so she could create a plan of what I wanted to address in therapy.

The entire experience was affirming and positive, as opposed to some of the more strict clinical appointments I’ve had in the past. While there are benefits to a more medical approach to therapy, I prefer a more genuine environment where I don’t feel the given diagnosis solely determines the treatment plan.

Our Most Recent Testing

We returned to NQTTCN in May of 2024 and remained impressed with this directory. We especially appreciated that its search filters included “language spoken” and “sliding scale/low fee”—two factors that can be roadblocks to therapy, especially for those with marginalized identities.

We were happy with the nine therapists we found on NQTTCN after filtering for our preferences (including telehealth, our zip code, and providers who are accepting new clients), and we were also happy that the pricing was very clear; this made it easy to determine which of those nine providers were within our means (although therapists listing sliding scale fees as an option only listed a range of prices—your exact price would be determined by your therapist after discussing your financial situation). We also felt that each of the nine therapists we were given as options would be absolutely appropriate for us and our needs.

Takeaway

Another aspect of the NQTTCN directory we found useful was the fact that each provider listed their contact information right in their bio, making it easy to reach out to them via phone or email without having to contact them through a cumbersome contact form on the directory.

Some therapists also listed their in-person addresses and even provided driving directions to their offices—again going above and beyond for accessibility.

Our one complaint about NQTTCN was the bios of the therapists; we would have liked more extensive bios, rather than just lists of details about their practices. A section written by the therapist about themselves and their practice would make them feel more personable and inviting.

Pros and Cons

During my experience using NQTTCN to find a therapist, some features helped my ability to navigate the directory, but there’s also room for improvement. Here is my list of pros and cons.

Pros

• Every clinician in the directory identifies as a queer or trans person of color

• Makes seeking mental health services less taboo and more approachable

• Scholarships available for those who can’t afford therapy

• Website lists more online directories and other community resources for QTPoC

• Easy to navigate

• Mission statement makes clear what NQTTCN stands for

Cons

• Only 300 to 400 clinicians listed

• Many providers don’t take insurance

• Only a small annual time window to apply for financial assistance

• Can’t search for a therapist based on specialty, treatment modality, or ethnic group

Final Thoughts

My experience with NQTTCN was very positive. Although it’s a smaller directory, with just 300 to 400 clinicians, I was able to find a great therapist licensed in my state. It was easy to use, straightforward, and, honestly, better than I expected. It’s a great starting place for someone new to seeking mental health services because of the wide variety of educational resources available.

NQTTCN User Survey

We surveyed 180 users of NQTTCN about their experiences using the directory, and they were similarly impressed:

• 84% rated the directory as good or very good overall

• 78% of users found it easy or very easy to navigate the directory

• 68% found a provider who met all of their needs

• 76% of users are still using the therapist they found on NQTTCN today

• 75% said they were likely or very likely to recommend NQTTCN to a friend or someone like them

I love that the website offers exactly what it says it will, connecting therapy seekers to QTPoC practitioners they can identify with. While it might not be the most accessible for people living in rural areas or who rely on commercial (non-Medicaid) insurance to pay for therapy, NQTTCN is definitely a directory I’d recommend for people looking for affirming care.

See at nqttcn.com

Read Next: The Most Inclusive Online Therapy Platforms of 2024

Read the original article on Verywell Mind.