Selecting a mental health therapist

Signs you are working with a good therapist:

A good therapist should be doing the following:

• Assessing the situation.
• Describing things to you in clear terms.
• Helping you make clear goals.
• Defining a clear way to reach your goals.
• Discussing healthy boundaries - what is OK and what is not OK.
• If you are a parent with a child in counseling, the therapist should be:
• Working with reinforcement.
• Helping the parent to identify and use approriate discipline.
• Make sure the child has a language for their feelings. How big is this?
• Helping the parent to recognize the language and to give appropriate help. (eg: Did you have this feeling?)
• Talking about what is OK and what is not.

Source: Nancy Fath

Signs you are working with the wrong therapist:

• Not addressing the problem.
• Believes that childhood abuse, or living with alcohol or drug addictions (yours or someone else's) are not significant issues that need addressing.
  
• Makes inappropriate comments to you.
  
• Encourages romantic feelings between the two of you.
  
• Makes sexual advances to you.
  
• Opens up the floodgates of emotional stress without providing some means of assisting you in creating containment until your next session.
  
• In any way violates the therapist-client trust.
  
• Does not encourage you to participate in your own healing.
• Is not encouraging you to set goals.
  
• Uses controlling behaviors inappropriately to try to force you to change your behaviors.
  
• Doesn't regularly participate in on-going professional education for himself or herself.
  
• Does not have specific and advanced professional training in the particular areas you are receiving therapy for. This is especially true for: domestic violence issues, drug and alcohol abuse issues, sexual assault, and incest. Please note: MOST MINISTERS receive only a few hours of training in counseling when studying for their degree. MOST marriage and religious counselors do NOT have the advanced professional mental-health training to counsel persons suffering from PTSD, or victims of domestic violence, child abuse, and/or sexual abuse. Never use an untrained lay minister or counselor for therapy in these areas.
  
• Does not refer to PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) when discussing problems originating from childhood abuse and neglect, domestic violence, or sexual assault.
• Does not acknowledge that depression and/or PTSD can be life-threatening or have physical symptoms.
  
• Encourages the use of alcohol or drugs to deal with your problems.
  
• Prescribes drugs without explaining fully the reason for their use, their side effects, and alternative options.
  

Listen to your inner voice. Make wise choices that are right for you.
You know better than anyone else in the world if your therapist is helping you heal, or blocking your progress.

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