The cost of getting good therapy is not cheap. Most medical plans do not cover it, so most pay for something they hope will help and make a difference in their lives. For many, one attempt at therapy will be their only attempt, or last attempt, especially if the therapist is not a good one! How can you tell the difference between a good one and not so good one?

Good therapists work with what their clients offer them in sessions. They accept both their clients’ strengths and weaknesses. They accept their clients unconditionally. Accepting a client does not mean they have to accept what the client has done when it comes to immoral or illegal behavior. The concept of unconditional acceptance is to create a time and place where a client can feel safe and open to express their thoughts, feelings and opinions and not be judged.

Unfortunately, many people in the lives of clients have judged them to the point where this has added to or perpetuated their mental health problems.  To judge a client is to probably lose a client!

Beneficence and Self-Efficacy

•    Beneficence: Doing what is best for the health and well-being of the client.

In essence it is what is best for the client and not what is best for the therapist. Many therapists like to help, counsel and offer therapy within their own comfort zones. This is obviously not beneficial. Instead, therapists have to adapt and counsel clients from a perspective which holds the client’s best interest in mind. A good therapist realizes that when they can’t help a client or can only take them so far in the therapeutic process. Thus they have to refer them to more capable hands.

They believe in each client’s individual needs, diversity and identify that no two clients are the same. Good therapists recognize each client as unique and prescribe to differential diagnose and treatment plans. What makes them even more special is when they realize that they can not help their clients and refer them to therapists which can help them truly heal.

• Self-efficacy:  The encouragement of autonomy and freedom for the client.

A good therapist does not try to mold the client in their own image, nor do they try to keep them under their wing. Instead, a good therapist encourages the client to take solid life skills for living a positive, healthy life. They offer their clients skills, tools and behavior management strategies to create or re-create their worlds in new, effective ways.

The largest component of both beneficence and self-efficacy is realistic goal setting. A good therapist discusses and sets agreed upon goals with the client. The client should be the ultimate decision-maker with any goals planned out in the therapy process. It is the client that will be working toward the set goals so they need to be realistic and attainable. A good therapist recognizes this and encourages their clients to strive toward self-efficacy. Existential therapy promotes the ultimate goal—teaching clients to be responsible for their own thoughts and feelings. Good therapists recognize this and encourage autonomy in their clients.

Any good therapist empowers their clients to become creators to their healing and wellness. Good therapists opt for a holistic/eclectic approach for treating their clients.

Bad Therapists Cause More Harm Than Good

It’s easy to measure the wonderful attributes of a good therapist. They work leads to their clients’ healing and overall wellness. When therapists do the opposite, you can imagine the results of the therapeutic process.

Bottom line: Therapists with poor counseling skills have the ability to make a bigger mess of their clients’ already dysfunctional lives!

This becomes the breaking point for their clients not getting the adequate or appropriate help they are seeking. One or more negative experiences with bad therapists may forever deter them from seeking professional help again. It is unfortunate, but many clients will suffer from histories of “bad therapy” only to develop negative, stereotypical perceptions of counselors. Many individuals who truly need help are most likely to slip through the cracks in the system at this point.

Perhaps the worst attribute any therapist can possess is a “God Complex”. Believing they can force and fix their clients to heal at their pace and on their terms is ludicrous. Also, telling their clients they hold all the cards for their wellness is also just as crazy. Some therapists are driven for the money and power that their careers bring. Instead of referring their clients to the proper therapists when they can no longer help them, they hold onto their clients as cash cows… sources for their ongoing income.

Most of what is available in the domain of therapy and counseling is often times not regulated by governing bodies. Instead, therapists are trusted to govern themselves and promote what is good for the client as well as the field of therapy. There legalities and licensing boards that protect the rights for clients.

There are many great therapists who excel in helping their clients achieve their mental health goals. With goods and services, there are often guarantees if you are unsatisfied. Unfortunately in the world of therapy, there are no money back refunds. One gets what they pay for.  And for many, bad therapy can cause more headaches and issues that no therapy at all.