Mental Health

How to know if you can trust your psychotherapist

By Eric Hamilton | Update Date: Feb 24, 2020 02:56 PM EST
How to know if you can trust your psychotherapist

(Photo : How to know if you can trust your psychotherapist)

Therapy is an unusual and unique experience for everyone. Sharing your secrets and emotional problems with a complete stranger can be very hard. Sometimes people feel uncomfortable around their psychotherapists and have a strong feeling that they can't trust them. We all tend to think that therapists are very different from us in a way that they have figured life out and they have all the answers. In reality, therapists are not super-human and their authority doesn't come from a big difference but from a little bit of distance. A true psychotherapist you can trust is someone who has journeyed into his inner world and their own mess and along the way have discovered a few essential things about what it means to heal.

Trust

The most vital aspect of your relationship with your therapist is trust. In order for your therapy to be successful, you need to have a feeling of trust in their abilities, their duty to you and the protection of your private information. The best environment for successful therapy is where you have a free voice of any thought, without fear and any repression. If you feel that you can't shift your inherent unease, then probably this is a signal that the therapy isn't working for you.

You need to feel heard

The primary function of a therapist is to listen to your problems and help you sort them out. Although the feeling of being heard is not always easy to explain, a true therapist should be able to patiently and with your trust follow your story. Along the way, they should be able to give you credence to your views and opinions while making you comfortable. A therapist who, for some reason, doesn't absorb what you say and doesn't make you secure in airing your problems is probably not the best choice for you.

Judgment and shame

Although therapists are human and naturally they make mistakes and judgment calls, you don't need to forgive them for making you feel ashamed or judged about your life and issues.  Even if you did something really bad, a therapist's job isn't to make you feel bad. For instance, if a therapist responds with judgment to your sexual and relationship choices or emotional volatile situations like assault and emotional abuse.

Therapy needs to be a relationship

Although you pay your psychotherapist, therapy is about forming a bond with someone and basically, it is a relationship. Like other relationships in life, it always takes time to know someone and therapy is no different. It takes time and patience to form your bond of trust. So, give your therapist a chance. It is recommended that you try at least four sessions before deciding whether you can trust your therapist. Keep in mind that if you aren't good at making relationships in other aspects of your life that you won't be able to suddenly build one in a therapy room. If you change your mind easily about people and get suspicious about small things then it will probably happen with your therapist too. Remember, a relationship takes time.

Watch out for questionable therapy and counseling

Today, there are a lot of amateurs in this field and it is mandatory that you avoid them. The first thing you should check is your therapist's license and sufficient and specific training to address your issues. Because amateur therapy and counseling can be very dangerous, always look for licensed professionals like ClearMinds Center because they have the experience and knowledge to help you solve your issues. Never trust an amateur to help you, because your mental health is at stake. 

Overall, in therapy, you do most of the work and the therapist is there to guide you. In order for a therapist to guide you well, you need to be honest about yourself and for that, you need to have a feeling of trust.

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* This is a contributed article and this content does not necessarily represent the views of counselheal.com

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