What Makes a Good Therapist? 10 Traits Explored!

This is the second in the Brisbane ACT Centre’s two part series on finding a psychology practitioner that’s perfect for you. In our first post we looked at choosing a therapist, now we move onto the qualities and actions of effective therapists – what makes a great psychologist?

A terrific, publicly available paper published by the American Psychological Association suggests that there are fourteen qualities and actions of effective therapists based on theory, policy, and research evidence. These traits aren’t exhaustive, but they give you a good picture of what makes a psychologist effective. Therapy, like all skills coaching, can be subtle and complex, and what’s easiest isn’t always the best treatment for you.

In the APA paper there are 14 qualities and actions that make for an effective therapist, here’s 10 of our favourites:

1. Effective therapists have sophisticated interpersonal skills, they’re sensitive to your emotional state, and are able to communicate well with warmth and acceptance. Do you find your therapist warm and easy to communicate with?

2. Effective psychologists creates trust with their clients – their clients feel understood and believe the therapist is capable of helping them. It’s critical that you feel that you can trust your therapist if you’re going to work well together.

3. Good therapists are capable of creating what’s called the ‘Therapist Alliance’, which means they can create a therapeutic bond around the goals and tasks of the therapy. The atmosphere is collaborative and purposeful. Looks for therapists that create this relationship solidly, and early in therapy.

4. The fourth quality is complex, being a therapist’s ability to give an acceptable and adaptive explanation for a client’s distress. An explanation for distress can be a useful tool in treatment, and it’s important that clients resonate with it. The explanation (in therapy) is however only a tool, a means by which the client can overcome his or her difficulties. Biological explanations, while common, aren’t based on solid science and actually worsen self-stigma, increase hopelessness and decrease useful behaviour change. Understanding that suffering is human, and that we all get entangled in our own ways, decreases stigma and increases optimism/engagement/ flexibility. Hunting for “causes” is often less important than directly learning to handle difficult emotions and change our behaviours. Human problems aren’t simple, often with multiple causes that can’t be easily untangled. Fixating too much on the cause of problems can be very unproductive. The underlying ACT model provides meaningful, helpful explanations of distress which increase engagement, self-compassion and action.

5. The therapist has a treatment plan consistent with the explanation, which makes sense to the client. If a client feels understood and accepts that a treatment plan will be effective they’ll stick better to it. Look for good, clear treatment plans with your psychologist.

6. The effective therapist monitors client progressin an authentic way. It’s crucial that a psychologist measures how their clients are going so that progress is clear. Look for psychologists that use appropriate scales, discussing their purpose clearly, and that pay attention to progress monitoring tools, tailoring their approach to results.

7. A flexible approach is key to good therapy and counselling. It’s important for psychologists to be able to adapt their approach when it isn’t working or if progress is too slow. The psychologist is open to new information, tests their hypotheses and most importantly is willing to be wrong.

8. Effective psychologists don’t avoid difficult or painful areas, and in fact uses difficult areas to most effectively help their clients. Often we can be avoidant of painful thoughts and feelings. Good therapists pick up on when their clients are avoiding a tough topic and can gently explore these difficult areas in a professional and helpful way. It might be uncomfortable for the client, but ultimately is a critical quality of an effective therapist.

9. The effective therapist communicates hope and optimism. This is relatively easy for clients progressing well, however, those with severe and/or chronic problems perhaps need this even more. ACT therapists love working with clients who have failed other approaches – they know well what doesn’t work, and are keen to try something new! Effective therapists acknowledge struggles and yet engender hope that the client can and will get unstuck.

10. Psychology is a field that is growing quickly, there is stronger research being done constantly that helps us understand how best to treat our clients. Effective therapists keep up with the best possible research related to their clients. Look for therapists that are committed to staying on the cutting edge of psychological science.

Those are 10 traits that make a therapist effective at treating their patients. You can check out the full paper here if you like for all fourteen of the traits. Therapy can be a fantastic investment in health and happiness, and it’s important to choose a therapist who will be effective at helping you achieve your goals. If you’re starting with a new psychologist, or on the lookout for one, you can use these 10 traits to figure out if they’ll be effective at helping you.

3 Steps To Finding the Right Psychologist For You

This is the first in the Brisbane ACT Centre’s two part series on finding a psychology practitioner that’s perfect for you. In this post we look at how to look for psychologists and choose between therapists. In the next segment we’ll explore what research shows makes for a great psychologist.

A wealth of clinical studies finds that psychotherapy is highly effective, and more and more modern research shows that therapy is at least as effective for treating depression and anxiety in the short term as antidepressants – without common side-effects. And psychotherapy is clearly more effective for treating depression and anxiety over the longer term.

There’s a huge number of skilled and qualified psychologists in Brisbane, so how do you choose the one that’s right for you? You’ll be working together with the psychologist that you choose, so it’s important to find someone that will be effective and the right fit for you.

  1. Word of mouth

For many people finding the right therapist starts by asking for recommendations from friends, family and their doctor. Asking people you know for a recommendation is a great way to find a capable therapist.

However some people won’t be comfortable asking friends and family for a psychologist recommendation, which is completely fine. Your own search for a psychological professional can be a very private journey.

You may also want to do some personal research instead of asking for a recommendation to choose the person that’s just the right fit for you. After doing some research you can discuss your options with your doctor, friends or family.

  1. Research

Use your favourite search engine to find websites for psychologists close to you. Look for the practical information that you’ll need, like how close the psychologists office is to your home or workplace, or if the hours are convenient for you.

Read how the psychologist describes themselves and their career, looking for clues along the way about if they’d be a good fit for you. Overall you should be trying to figure out if this is someone that you can be comfortable with. If the psychologist has a video talking about their work then use that as a way to figure out how comfortable you’d be working with them.

  1. Commitment to Understanding Modern Therapeutic Approaches

Behind the scenes the science of psychology is fractured, many psychologists rely on old and outdated therapeutic approaches that have been superseded by much more modern, evidence based approaches. It’s a good idea to look for a therapist that shows a commitment to learning, growing and being on the cutting edge of modern psychological science.

There are many schools of valid psychological science, we personally endorse Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (although we’re a bit biased!) because it’s an incredibly well researched and evidenced based approach to therapy. There are however lots of other schools of thought to explore, and provided the therapist shows that they’re committed to staying current in psychological research you’ll know you’re in good hands.

Summing Up

To summarize the first step to finding the right therapist for you are to ask friends and family (if you’d like a personal recommendation) and discuss with your doctor. Research the necessary practical information around locations, schedules and fees. Just as importantly research the more intangible information around how comfortable you would be with the therapist. And finally look to make sure that the therapist is committed to delivering the best possible treatment with the most modern and effective approaches.

Next week in part 2 in the series we’ll look at the characteristics that make an effective therapist according to scientific research. While you’re looking for the right psychologist for you take a look at our team at the Brisbane ACT Centre. Our entire team are hand picked for their warmth, professionalism and rigorous commitment to staying on top of the most effective forms of therapy.

Acceptance – Getting Comfortable with the Uncomfortable

By Michelle Carroll-Walden

Can you recall the last time you had a pebble in your shoe?

You knew it was there, but you were too busy to be bothered.

Maybe you were running late for the bus or trying to enjoy the view. But each time you took a step you were reminded of how uncomfortable it was. And not feeling comfortable is not acceptable. So you decided to stop what you were doing and get rid of the offending culprit… that annoying little pebble.

But what if that pebble can’t be so easily tossed?

What if you can’t stop to get it out because you’ll miss the bus? Or worse still, you just can’t find it in your shoe. So you have to put up with it all day, knowing it is there and there is nothing you can do. How uncomfortable. How unbearable.

Sometimes our thoughts or feelings are a lot like that annoying little pebble. They can be painful, irritating, uncomfortable, and even unbearable. We can choose to ignore our thoughts. We can distract ourselves with social media or shopping and it seems ok for a while. But just like the annoying pebble in your shoe, those uncomfortable thoughts or feelings will not go away. And as that pebble starts to dig in, we may even take drastic action to rid ourselves of it. We may avoid friends, family, or activities we enjoy. We may even try to lose ourselves in addictions, such as drinking, drugs or gambling. Despite our best efforts those uncomfortable thoughts or feelings will always remain. But unlike the annoying little pebble they cannot be so easily tossed away. And trying so hard to get rid of them can cost us so much in terms of living! These costs can range from direct health impacts, to huge credit card debts, to pushing away the very people we most love and care about.

So what’s the answer?

It’s about learning to get comfortable with the uncomfortable! It’s about a willingness to let the pebble stay in your shoe.  It’s about not struggling with it so much, or pushing it away so hard. It’s about not allowing our stories, our thoughts, our uncomfortable sensations, to consume us. It’s about becoming aware that they are there but not letting them to take us away from the view – of what really matters most to us in life – the very things which may well bring up those difficult thoughts and feelings.

Of course acceptance isn’t as simple as tossing out a pebble. It’s a tricky skill – but a skill we can quickly learn, and gradually improve upon day by day. And what are the costs of continuing to struggle? What are you missing out on? Who are you pushing away?

Could you be willing to leave the pebble in your shoe and learn to sit with the discomfort, in kindness and self-compassion, if it means you get to enjoy the view?