In previous posts, we explored the roles of relationship and culture in finding a good match with a therapist. In this post, we’ll look at another important part of determining goodness-of-fit with a potential therapist: how they practice therapy.
The Role of Practice Approach
When you talk to therapists about their practice approach, you’ll likely hear about things like their orientation, modalities, lens, or frame. Some of these refer to a therapist’s overall philosophy, while others refer to specific kinds of therapy they provide. It’s important to understand how both impact the therapeutic relationship and goodness of fit.
One important aspect of practice approach is the specific type of therapeutic processes used. While the language of therapy can feel like a jumbled bowl of alphabet soup (CBT, DBT, ACT, EMDR, AEDP, IFS) there are lots of resources available to help understand the different types of therapy available, like this one, this one, or this one. In addition to the type(s) of therapy a provider uses, there are modalities they may also use: individual, couple, family or group therapy, for instance. And to go even a step further, within any given modality, a therapist could consider themselves as having a particular focus, such as trauma-informed, or developmental, or attachment-based, or relational, or social justice…
So, given all this, how do you decide whether the therapists you’re considering might be right for your needs? Here are some questions you could ask:
What are your areas of expertise? What kinds of issues do you typically treat?
What is your philosophy about how to help people with the kinds of things I’m experiencing?
What specific modalities do you use, and how well do they work for my specific needs?
Do you tend toward a more structured or a more client-led approach in sessions?
What are some recent trainings you’ve attended?
How do you set therapy goals and measure progress towards meeting them?
Would I be able to include others in my sessions (a partner, or a family member) if that would be beneficial to my treatment?
It can be helpful to have at least a general sense of what you’re looking for in the kind of work you want to do. Say, for example, that you’re someone who really likes a structured approach. You don’t want to come in and talk in depth about the past, you’re more interested in learning new skills to manage anxiety or learn better social skills. You’ll probably want to find a therapist who specializes in something like Solution Focused, Cognitive-Behavioral or Dialectical Behavioral Therapy.
Or you might be a person who likes to process more complex internal processes- your thoughts, your feelings, your motivations. You want to develop a deeper understanding of why you do the things you do. In that case, you may look for a therapist with a psychodynamic, humanistic, or interpersonal/relational orientation.
Then again, you might be seeking support to manage the impact of past trauma on your current life and relationships. This may require someone with specialized training and expertise in something like EMDR or Trauma-Focused Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy or neurofeedback.
Understanding the practice approach of a potential therapist (their orientation, modalities and lens) plays a vital role in determining the goodness of fit for your therapeutic journey. Finding out more about a potential therapist’s approaches can help you to best align your work with your therapeutic goals.
In the last post in the series, we’ll explore the nuts and bolts of the role of logistics in choosing a therapist.