How Do You Know You Are Seeing a Good Therapist?

A good therapist is more than someone who makes you feel a little better about yourself. They are trained professionals that help you chart a new course in life so that you can be happier, healthier, and make better decisions. A good therapist is not necessarily the smartest, but they are trained to help you overcome your obstacles and face new ones with greater confidence.

Here are five ways to know if you are seeing a good therapist, one who is providing you with the treatment that will improve your overall being and help you take on the challenges in your life.

You See the Results

You don’t have to go any further than looking at the results that have been culled from your therapy sessions. You went into them with an issue that required assistance and over time the results you have developed should have provided you with the reasons, treatment, and the tools necessary to face the same challenges again with greater confidence. If you only feel a little better and nothing else, then you may want to switch therapists if there is no sign of real improvement.

They Listen

The average therapist will hear some of what you said in the last session and may bring it up for the next one. However, a good therapist will listen to what you say and use that to offer sound advice. By making the effort to understand what you are saying and not just leaving it at the words, they can shape their therapy to make it more effective to your needs.

Empathy

A good therapist places themselves in your shoes and does not lecture you from afar. Instead, they are empathetic with what you are going through and provide guidance from within. This increases the bond between therapist and patient which results in getting better treatment. If your therapist is talking to you from a place that does not empathize with your condition, then the treatment will not work nearly as well.

Practical and Emotional Feedback

The therapist should respond to your questions and statements with positive feedback that is both emotional and practical. This means that they demonstrate how they feel about what you are going through and provide you with advice that you can really use. This is an important distinction because emotional feedback alone is not enough, you need to have the practical advice to make the treatment work.

They are Clear and Concise

It’s common for many patients to not fully understand what their therapist wants them to do. While you might not get all the meaning, you should be able to understand the gist of their statements. This means that they need to be clear and concise in what they say to you so there is no misunderstanding. The rapport you build with your therapist should make it easy for you to ask questions if you are not quite clear on something. Plus, being concise means that they are not cluttering up their advice with ideas or suggestions that might be distracting.