What Makes an Effective Therapist?

Amy Taylor March 05, 2014

It is easy to regard pill as the magic solution to all our mental health problems, from anxiety to ADHD and depression. Research on the effectiveness of these medications has shown that they are effective in alleviating symptoms of severe mental illness. But the thing is that they are not effective for mild to moderate depression. And most importantly, the risks are not worth the benefits. There’s large body of evidence suggesting that the side effects of these drugs and their and interactions with other medications can make someone’s psychological symptoms worse and cause serious health problems.

This is why more and more people are turning to psychotherapy. Aside from being less expensive, psychotherapy has been proven to be more effective than medications in treating a variety of mental illnesses, including depression. Based on numerous studies, the success rate of psychotherapy is anywhere from 75 to 80 per cent, which is really an impressive figure. What’s more, it doesn’t have side effects like pills do. It won’t leave you ‘addicted’, won’t cause sleep problems and other undesirable symptoms, and won’t interfere with therapies or medications you are taking for other health problems.

But it’s not enough that you undergo psychotherapy. You must make sure you are dealing with an effective therapist who can help you get through the process of overcoming your mental health problems and moving forward to a better and happier life.

So what makes an effective therapist? The following traits and skills are what you should look for.

· Ability to make you feel you can trust the therapist. According to Bruce Wampold, an American psychologist, people are able to determine whether or not they can trust someone within 50 milliseconds of meeting them. An effective therapist is able to communicate to their clients, whether verbally or non-verbally, that he or she is someone they can trust. Like looking for a mate, often, some sort of ‘chemistry’ is needed between both of you. That is, you should feel comfortable with your counsellor’s personality, approach and style.

· Possess humility. Nothing is more dangerous than a therapist who claims to know it all, and who thinks he or she holds the secret to your mental health, or that medications and therapy strategies haven’t changed for the past 20 years. Effective therapists don’t work alone. They work with clients to achieve successful results. They believe they can learn something from the other person who sits across the room because they know collaboration and partnership are important for a therapist-client relationship.

· Ability to explain your symptoms. Clients know why they are experiencing such symptoms even if this isn’t the first time they’ve sought therapy. What’s more, they are able to explain these in a way that clients can easily understand – not in scientific terms, but in a way that is grounded in your own sense of who you are and why you’re feeling the way you do.

· Ability to assist you in making positive changes. While you are responsible for making changes in your life, a good counsellor or can greatly help. He or she is also able to help you identify behavioural patterns that negatively affect your well-being, cause you emotional pain, and bring conflicts to your social relationships.

· Attention to your progress. The way clients respond to the therapy is very much important for highly effective therapists. You know you’re working with a good therapist when he or she checks in with you to see how you feel about the therapy you are getting. Of course this doesn’t mean that you need to show progress at every session. It only shows that your therapist is showing concern for you.

· Possession of self-insight. There are cases in which the issues expressed by a client lead to emotional reactions on the part of the therapist, and they are unavoidable. Freud called it "counter-transference". But effective therapists are self-aware and know how to separate their own issues from that of their clients.

· Continued training and education. Effective therapists value the importance of continued education and training to improve their knowledge, skills and expertise. This only means they care for their clients, and want to give them the best therapy they could give.

· Sensitivity toward your cultural background. Good therapists don’t make offensive remarks or comments about their client’s gender, race, ethnic background, religion, sexual orientation, or cultural background.

· Gives hope. Effective therapists don’t make unrealistic promises. They give hope. They help clients achieve their mental health goals. They focus on your progress and stay with you throughout the whole process of your recovery.

For you, what makes an effective therapist? Share your thoughts in the comment section below