The Problem with Finding a Good Psychotherapist

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So many people struggle with psychological, behavioral, or relationship challenges, and the incidence of psychiatric difficulties such as anxiety, depression, substance abuse, and so forth seem to be increasing at alarming rates, especially among today’s youth. Current societal challenges such as increasing income inequality, the influence of political extremism and division, worsening incivility, and the unintended consequences associated with social media just seem to make matters all that much worse as well.

Psychotherapy can certainly help many people of all ages to better manage these challenges. Yet, assuming that one can afford psychotherapy or have adequate insurance to pay for it, it is exceedingly challenging to find the right psychotherapist. Certainly one can ask for advice and referrals from friends, relatives, or colleagues who may have had good psychotherapy experiences. One can also ask their doctor or cleric for advice, too, as well as to conduct online searches. But these efforts are not sufficient and are sorely lacking.

Additionally, so many different professionals do psychotherapy (or some variation on the theme of psychotherapy such as counseling, coaching, psychoanalysis, and so forth) that it can be paralyzing just thinking about of all of the options currently available. Plus, should you consider seeing a psychologist, psychiatrist, marriage and family therapist, social worker, licensed professional counselor, life coach, executive coach, or someone else? The options seem endless and are too often very confusing.

In fact, whole books could be written on how to find a good psychotherapist. But in this brief article, let me highlight just a few principles that might be helpful for you to keep in mind including some ideas that you may not have previously considered.

Be mindful of quality credentials

Credentials such a professional license to practice and degrees from quality accredited universities don’t guarantee that someone is a terrific psychotherapist but rather serve as a reasonable and appropriate screening tool to hopefully minimize the chances that you are dealing with a charlatan or someone who simply doesn’t have the rigorous training to develop the skills necessary to be a high-quality psychotherapist. Credentials and experience matter and you should avoid settling or taking a chance with someone who does not meet basic professional and community standards. It just isn’t worth the risk. At a minimum, being sure that someone is licensed to do what they claim to do and that their license is in good standing would be prudent. Ideally, they should be fully licensed and have been trained at quality accredited universities that you likely recognize. People trained at unaccredited or for-profit schools that you have never heard of or online training programs are highly suspect and should probably be avoided.

Evidence-based best practices are essential

There is a great deal of excellent quality research-based guidelines available about evidence-based best practices in treating most psychological, behavioral, and relationship problems. There are standards of care for problems such as anxiety, depression, substance abuse, and so forth. Quality therapists need to know these standards and practice them. Of course, psychotherapy should be adapted to the unique circumstances, needs, desires, and culture of each client but there ought to be highly compelling reasons to deviate from these well-established best practices and standards. If your therapist is not aware of them or ignores them, you should certainly find another therapist.

Ethics matter

Psychotherapists, regardless of their particular credential or license to practice, have ethics codes that must be followed carefully and seriously. They need to be ever mindful of treating people with respect, responsibility, integrity, competence, and concern that all act as a cornerstone for every ethics codes in the helping professions. Ethical standards regarding confidentiality, professionalism, informed consent, and avoiding exploitative duel relationships must be followed in particular. It is easy to access the ethics codes of all of the mental health professions using an online search if interested. If your therapist is not aware of these ethical standards and codes or ignores them, again, you should find another therapist.

A good human being

Frankly, not everyone who decides to become a psychotherapist is a skilled, gracious, ethical, and caring person. Sadly, there are many psychotherapists who I wouldn’t want to treat my friends or family members. Pay attention to whatever information you can secure about what kind of person your therapist might be. Are they unselfish or selfish? Do they seem more concerned about themselves or others? Do they treat you and others with respect, dignity, and compassion? Do you feel comfortable and at ease with them? Do they appear truly sincere in their efforts to help? Do they seem too self-important? Are they too confident in their views? Do they charge exorbitant fees? Are they tardy without apologies? Does their heart seem to be in the right place to help you and others? Are they defensive or secretive about their training, experience, education, and license?

All of the training and credentials in the world don’t make someone a good person or a good psychotherapist. And so you have to use whatever information and intuition you can muster to try and answer this very important question.

Psychotherapy in the hands of a well-qualified, trained, and experienced professional who is highly ethical and a good human being is what you are aiming for. Try not to settle for anything less. You and your concerns are much too important to do otherwise.

Copyright 2019, Thomas G. Plante, Ph.D., ABPP