What Is "Good" Therapy & Counseling?

Most of us have heard the expression,"Good Therapy," as in he could sure use some good therapy!" But what exactly is good therapy? We at http://www.GoodTherapy.org believe there are a handful of common denominators present in all forms of "good" therapy or counseling. These elements are described below:

Non-pathologizing

Non-pathologizing means viewing a person as greater than their problems. It does not mean problems do not exist, it means NOT viewing the problems as the whole person or the whole person as the problems. So for example, rather than labeling a person who's angry as an angry person, non-pathologizing therapy views one's anger as a part of the person, but not all of who the person really is. We do justice to a person's true nature when we remember that behind the layers of protection, no matter how self-destructive or hurtful to others one has been, there is a loveable and vulnerable soul at the very core.

Empowering

Empowering therapists maintain the unwavering belief that people can grow, change, heal, and transform. And this belief is held no matter how long one has suffered with a problem nor how bad the problem is. When a therapist views a person as fundamentally flawed, the person is likely to feel and become flawed. Yet, when a therapist can see past a person's symptoms and problems and hold in mind the person's true nature, the person is more likely to discover their own true nature for themselves.

Collaborative

Collaborative therapy can be established when a therapist encourages a client to become the co-therapist. Therapists who work collaboratively trust the client to know herself (or have the potential to know herself) better than anyone else, and trust the client to know what issues to address and what direction to go in therapy. This orientation puts the client in the driver's seat of therapy. The spirit of collaborative therapy is summarized in the words of Albert Schweitzer who once wrote, "Each patient carries his own doctor inside him.... We are at our best when we give the doctor who resides within each patient a chance to go to work."

Self

Last but not least is the state of Self. Self is a state of being that a therapist can "hold" when with his or her clients. It's defined as a state of calm, curiosity, compassion, creativity, confidence, courage, connectedness, and clarity. Self is considered a requisite of good therapy because it is this state that allows a therapist to work collaboratively without pushing, without pathologizing, and without retraumatizing.