We all need professional help from time to time, be it to fix our back, help us with burdensome emotions or treat allergies and the likes. With the plethora of natural therapists and holistic practitioners of all kinds, it can be hard to choose the right person. Yet there are a few things to look out for when making up your mind.

Here are some tips to make the right choice:

1 - Check qualifications

Obvious but not always easy. Some modalities are not recognised by government bodies yet you might still want to consult such a practitioner. Nevertheless, if someone practises an obscure modality, say 'samvahan' (a modality using tuning forks to re-establish harmony in all the bodies) you might want to know what other relevant qualifications they may have, in this case a counselling qualification would be highly regarded.

2 - Professional affiliations

This can be very hard to get for some modalities. Also, some so called affiliations are bogus, made up by the people themselves!!! You can always do a search on the internet and check the veracity of such claims.

3 - Experience

Needless to say that newly qualified people will not have much experience in their new modality. Again, their previous experience would probably relevant in some way. In human resources this is called cross skilling. So a fitness trainer may also provide dietary advice but not be a fully qualified dietician.

4 - Do you like them?

Are they nice? I don't mean NICE (as in Nobody Inside Cares Enough) but do you actually like their personality? Do you feel comfortable with them? You may not know this until you have your first session but even a short telephone conversation will give an idea of who they are. Trust that gut instinct. Choosing a practitioner is a very personal thing. He/she may be recommended by a friend, yet you may not relate to them. Go with your flow.

5 - Offering

By being clear on what you are seeking you can assess their offering, services, packages. Don't get roped into clever marketing tricks. Can they actually offer what you are looking for? Some modalities sound similar on the surface, yet they can work from a very different premise. For instance, you may seek the help of a life coach to reach your goals (say, finding the right partner), yet your goals may require the services of a counsellor (see your emotional state, values, attitudes and behaviours).

6 - Price and payment methods

Most practitioners will have aligned their prices according to the market. If someone is way above or way below market price, there must be a reason. Find out what this is. It may be valid or it may not. While not all practitioners will be able to offer credit card services, beware of people who only take cash. At the very least cheques and direct bank transfer should be offered as payment options.

7 - Rebates

This is mostly only available for the more conservative modalities such as psychology, massage, etc... Only practitioners who combine main stream modalities with less common ones such as rebirthing for instance can offer rebates as their service will come under the more common banner.

8 - Professionalism

Regardless of how friendly a practitioner may be, there are always boundaries not to be crossed. For instance, it is inappropriate for a massage therapist to talk about romance while rubbing your lower back!!! With the emotional healing modalities such as astrology, spiritual guidance, energetic healing, etc..., beware of the therapist's projections! While people trained in counselling and psychology are very aware of this, the self-made healers, no matter how good their intentions may be, often aren't aware of their projections and can cause more damage than healing.

9 - Feedback

You are paying for a service, you should be able to provide feedback about it. While consulting a practitioner, you should not have to give your power away. Therapy sessions very often involve that you become vulnerable to some extent but the practitioner should always observe duty of care and look after you. If something goes wrong, say it, to them directly or to an external body.

I hope these 9 tips for making the right decision will help you find the right therapist or practitioner. There is never any guarantee with anything in life. Common sense is the way to go. Farewell in your healing or exploring journey.