Traits of a Successful Psychotherapist

The growing awareness and need to work on oneself leads to a large choice of numerous therapeutic techniques, modalities and therapists. It raises the question: how do we choose the right one? What makes a successful therapist, and how do we recognize one?

The first characteristic of every psychotherapist is empathy, because it helps them 'step into the client's shoes', emotionally feel what the client feels, and understand them in a holistic way. It is important for the client to feel warmth and acceptance in the presence of the therapist. Only after a relationship of acceptance and trust has been established can the therapist reach for appropriate tools and techniques to help the client.

Most clients decide on therapy after long-lasting suffering, so the therapist should possess the following trait, objectivity. To achieve this in the present, the therapist must have gone through their own personal therapy and resolved their past traumas. Only then can they set boundaries to their own subjectivity in their work with the client and remain devoted to the client's needs. In practice we often encounter clients whose value system differs from ours. In such cases it is important that we remain objective or, if we cannot, that we be aware of our capacities and the limits of our competence.

The therapist's introspectiveness enables them to monitor their inner processes and to be self-critical about how much these become an obstacle in the relationship with the client. This refers primarily to current personal difficulties the therapist is going through (e.g. divorce, loss of a loved one, urges), but may also include their fears or prejudices toward a specific group (e.g. suicidal people, paedophiles, etc.).

Personal therapy and supervision are an integral part of the psychotherapist's practice in all periods of professional work. In order to help and be devoted to the client, the therapist must take care of their physical and mental health.

Expectations are always present in various aspects of therapy. Patience, tolerance and understanding toward oneself and the client are equally important. Both sides of the psychotherapeutic relationship do their best, and persistence in staying in therapy and communicating without judgment everything that arises in the 'here and now' offers the possibility of a turning point in the process.

The therapist works with a population that is often unpredictable, so they should possess the following trait, namely creativity. Clients must come before learned theory and diagnostic categorization, which can limit the therapist's ability to see the person in front of them, because every person is different in some way. The therapist needs to be brave enough to believe in the power of the relationship and the process of psychotherapy, and to allow creativity, or better said co-creativity, with the client so that at a given moment they can use the existing content for the next steps.

One more important fact needs to be pointed out: just as in a partnership you cannot expect everyone to suit everyone, in the therapist-client relationship not everyone will be compatible with everyone. For psychotherapy to have a successful outcome, each client should find a psychotherapist who can follow them intellectually and emotionally already at the first meeting, so that an adequate therapeutic environment is created in which the client can be who they are. Everyone should find a psychotherapist with whom they will succeed in overcoming their personal difficulties. Success should be determined by the client over time.

With an effective therapist, science shows that the effects of psychotherapy are long-term and lasting.

In the face of the proven effects of psychotherapy, beliefs about psychotherapy as a taboo topic are changing rapidly, and more and more people are seeking a therapist for help in overcoming life crises, difficulties and challenges, but also as support on the path of further development and achieving goals.