How to Be a Better Therapist

The world of mental health is constantly evolving. As a therapist, it’s crucial that you are always on top of your game, always learning, and always challenging yourself to be better. This helps ensure you provide clients with the best possible care to help them live happy, healthy lives with good mental health and well-being. Whether you are newly qualified or a seasoned professional, here are some ways to become a better therapist. 

Specialize

There’s nothing wrong with being a general therapist but having a specialism (even if you don’t choose to practice it) is a fantastic way to hone your skills and become an expert in your field. Studying for a masters in marriage and family therapy can be a great way to further your career.  

Study

To be a better therapist, you need to keep learning. This could involve taking a course so that you can specialize in a specific field, but it also includes things like reading new studies and materials, going to seminars, attending workshops, and sharing knowledge with colleagues and other people in the field. 

Practice Empathy

Empathy is an incredibly important skill for all therapists, but while many start out filled with empathy and compassion, it can dwindle over time. Practicing empathy in your day-to-day life and challenging yourself to put yourself in other people’s shoes every day, in various situations, will help keep your empathy skills fresh and active. 

Practice Your Listening Skills

Listening is another key skill, and perhaps the most important one of all. Check yourself after every conversation, both at work and in your personal life. Did you interrupt? What did you learn from the conversation? Were there any clues in the speaker’s tone or body language that could help you gain more information?

Improve Cultural Competence

Culture can have a big impact on lifestyle, feelings, and worries. People from different cultures may respond to stressors and events differently, so understanding cultural variables will make you a better therapist who is able to offer a tailored service. 

To improve your cultural competence, you should:

• Educate yourself. Read, attend workshops, and spend time with people from other cultures to learn more.
• Speak to your clients about their cultures and backgrounds. It’s ok to ask questions.
• Avoid assumptions and challenge your own stereotypes. Try to recognize differences within individual cultures and get to know each client before making assumptions about how their culture affects their mental health.

Create a Judgement Free Environment and Keep an Open Mind

It’s easy to become judgmental when you have seen and heard a lot. Make sure you look at each client individually while learning from past experiences. 

Maintain Boundaries

Another thing that can creep in is issues with boundaries, especially with long-term clients. Some of the best ways to maintain boundaries are:

• Avoid dual relationships. If you are someone’s therapist, that’s all you should be. Don’t let clients become friends, and don’t be tempted to treat people you’ve met in other areas of life.
• Be strict with timing. Make sure each session has a clear start and finish time.
• Be professional in everything from how you dress to how you speak to people.
• Use office layout to create a physical distance.

Over time, in every career, we can start to take things for granted. We can develop preconceptions, our standards can slide, and the little details, like how we dress and our body language, can become less polished. To be a better therapist, it’s important that you are constantly learning and pulling yourself up on your ideas and behaviors.