How do u know a good therapist from a bad one?

Answer 1

I'm not sure if you are asking how do you know a good therapist from a bad one BEFORE you pick one or AFTER you pick one...so I'll hit on both.

If you're searching for a therapist, you should do some research before you decide, asking specific questions. What are their qualifications? What do they specialize in (you wouldn't want to see an addictions person if you were having problems with a spouse and niether of you had addictions issues)? How long have they been practicing? Have they practiced in any other places (i.e. hospital, private practice, in-patient)? This can give you an idea of the variety of experience they have. What is their approach to therapy? In other words, are they just going to listen to you and provide you some validation, feedback (good if you just need someone outside your family/friends to talk to, bounce ideas off of) or are they solution-focused (you have a problem you need fixed). What kinds of populations are they not that familiar with or do not have a lot of experience with? A good therapist should be able to tell you their weaknesses and strengths. What kinds of professional development do they do? (Do they attend conferences on the latest research, do they read literature about disorders and new information or are they doing the same thing they did 30 years ago?).

Once you have a therapist picked out, you'll have new questions and things to look for. Does this person ask you what you want to work on and help you come up with a plan that you both can agree on? Does this person help you meet your goals for entering therapy? Does this person show empathy and seem truly interested in your case? Does this person show appropriate boundaries (sexual, physical, emotional....you don't want them telling you all about them or trying to be your friend)? Do you feel safe around this person?

Some words of caution:
Don't assume that if you are in therapy for awhile that you're not getting any better. Depending on why you go to therapy may determine how long you need to be in therapy. If you have a mental illness (depression, bipolar, etc.) you may need a few years of therapy. However, if you have a problem that is situation specific (dealing with the death of a loved one), you might only be in therapy for a short time (3 months). It's kind of like this: the sicker you are, in general the more help you'll need.

Be careful jumping from therapist to therapist. If you go to 5 different therapists and none of them are helping you or you have conflict with all of them, chances are it could be you that has the problem, not the therapist. It's not always the therapist's job to tell you what you want to hear. Sometimes it's their job to challenge what you say and challenge you to think about things that you haven't thought about before.

And sometimes you might enter with one problem, but through discussion, a therapist will discover that you have other issues that need addressed too. Example: you present with being depressed (not going to work, feelings of hopelessness), but then you reveal that you've been drinking a lot to deal with your depression. S/he may want to also address the issue of alcohol abuse.

In any event, therapy is often about how much you put into it. So have an open mind and be willing to try things they ask (unless it is really bizarre!!).
Good luck!!

Answer 2

I was seeking a good therapist six years ago, and I saw an advertisement for therapy services on the side of the building where she worked. I spent two hours with her, I paid her for the first session and stiffed her on the second. Turned out, she was less skilled than she claimed to be as a healer! She was operating under fraudulent, phony credentials. Another therapist in her building, she told me her son, gave me a session of physical therapy covered by government health insurance.

He helped me climb into a machine which put strange painful sensations into my back. I opted to get out of that therapy as well. The next year or so, I began therapy with a regional public therapist and he treated me for two years. He was a rich old guy. He had a reputation for being very good, although he may have been a burnout at heart, for he was sometimes less than kind. He confessed that he had a mental illness issue of his own, depression. He treated it with medication.

All in all, he was certainly better than the fraudulent therapist! He was a very analytical man.

Answer 3

Here are some red flags from personal experiences:

1. If the therapist constantly misunderstands or twists what you say.

2. If the therapist wants to focus on things that have no bearing on the reason you started seeing them. You don't expect for a mechanic to work on your electric windows if you only asked them to fix your engine. It is your right as a consumer to only work on what you want worked on. Remember, they are your employee and you hire them to fix what you want fixed.

3. If the therapist tries to get you to become more sexual than you are.

4. If the therapist tries to have sex with you.

5. If you've been in therapy for months/years with no results. Any therapist who wants you to continue when they are clearly not helping clearly wants your money and/or to exercise control over you.

6. If your concerns/worries are brushed off/ignored.

7. If they want to argue about your feelings. "Oh, you don't really feel/mean this..." Only the person feeling whatever is qualified to say what they are feeling.

Answer 4

I think if they're a good therapist, you feel a bit better about yourself when you leave. If they're bad, you don't.

Answer 5

word of mouth is a good way to start. after you meet him/her you can tell if they are right for you. do they listen? do they give suggestions or strategies? are they quick to judge or assume? you will know when you are comfortable with someone. when you find the right one, stick with them and try to make things work.