Finding the Perfect Therapist?

Right now, I'm suffering from quite a bit of OCD anxiety, constantly ruminating over my thoughts. However, I also have have another problem that is wholly different from intrusive thoughts: sexual paraphilias (i'm not sure if it's an actual paraphilia but I'm just going to call it that). Most of my anxiety seems to be related to paraphilias. Are there any therapists that specialize in both anxiety and paraphilias? I've heard that paraphilias (if that's what I have) are already a niche subject. Is there any easy way to find the right therapist for me? Quarantine has really made it hard to find one.

Dear JooneBug37,

I'm not sure what types of psychotherapy are available in the USA. Have you tried to do an internet search with the key words "anxiety" "paraphilia" and "psychotherapy" ? Maybe you have already done this to and no avail. Sorry I don't have any better ideas. Hopefully others will.

I am so sorry that your brain is causing you to suffer!

Sincerely yours, -- Yao Wen

Unfortunately, at least based on my own personal experience, the only way to find the right therapist for you is to research the therapists who practice in your area. You can try to look them up on the internet & see what you can find. You can call them & ask them if they work with people who have similar concerns to yours. But ultimately, at least my own personal experience tells me, you have to pick one, go see them, & see if they're someone you think you can work with. Then, if not, you just have to try another one & keep trying until you find the right therapist for you. And then of course, as you pointed out in your post, the current Covid-19 situation makes the process of finding a new therapist seriously more difficult.

Here are links to 4 articles, from PC's archives, on the subject of finding a good therapist:

How Do You Find a Good Therapist? An Interview with Dr. John Grohol

How to Find the Best Therapist for You

5 Tips for Finding the Right Therapist

How to Find a Good Therapist

I'm not personally aware of any therapists who specialize in working with individuals who have concerns related to paraphilias. My understanding is that fetishes & paraphilias are typically not considered to be a mental health concern in-&-of themselves. So little research has been done on them. Of course that doesn't necessarily mean there couldn't be therapists who work with people who have paraphilias. But in most cases, I think, the consensus of opinion is there is no cure for a fetish or paraphilia. So most individuals who have them simply learn to accept them & to indulge them in as safe a manner as possible. It's only when having a fetish or paraphilia disrupts a person's day-to-day life that it becomes a subject for mental health therapy.

Here's a link to an article, from PC's archives, on the subject of kinks, fetishes & paraphilias:

What's In A Fetish? Maybe Not What You Think

My best wishes to you.

P.S. Here's a link to a psychologist's website who apparently has some interest in the subject of paraphilias. I don't have any personal experience with him. So I can't vouch for him. But someone such as this might, perhaps, be one option:

https://www.psychologistanywhereanytime.com/index.htm

If you are ruminating over sexual paraphilias and you have OCD, you wouldn't have to see a therapist that focuses on sexual paraphilias. You could see an OCD specialist. I have OCD and have problems with ruminating over certain types of conversations. The content of your ruminations doesn't matter; the treatment would be focused on how to stop the ruminations.

Good news! My parents have set me up with a therapist (via online). I'll do my first appointment and see if he's right, just like Skeezyks said.
That said, should I tell my therapist everything? Right now, I've been worrying about cannibalism. Whether I enjoy cannibalism, whether I enjoy cannibalizing specific types of people, whether this part of my paraphilia, whether this is my OCD messing with me. This is a pretty disturbing topic, and I don't know if I should bring it up in my first appointment,
Ya, I've noticed that ruminating only seems to make things worse, but it feels like I'm putting off a very important problem if I don't think about my worries. Just writing about my cannibalism worries makes me realize how much I seem to be overthinking about (probably) harmless thoughts.