What Makes a Good Psychotherapist
This is a question that I have been asked as both a clinician and teacher. So many people train to become psychotherapists, yet many do not go further than their training. So what does this mean? I would argue that there are qualities that make a good psychotherapist. Now, in my role as a teacher and college administrator we do our best to attempt to ascertain the suitability of our students. Even with the best will in the world, there will always be those who do not succeed in practice. So what does make a good psychotherapist?
Empathy, is the one word answer that I give as the essential quality of a psychotherapist. The ability to be able to endeavour to see things from the client’s perspective is an absolute must in my opinion. You could be the most intellectually gifted person in the world, but if you cannot do this, I do not think you will make for a very good psychotherapist.
Psychotherapists need to care without being emotionally compromised by their care. We are meant to be the neutral ground for a person to explore their issues in a way that will advance them therapeutically. When consulting a therapist, do your best to see if that person will be able to empathise with you and your issues.
