Psycho-Babble Psychology | about psychological treatments | Framed
This thread | Show all | Post follow-up | Start new thread | List of forums | Search | FAQ

Ideal Fit

Posted by Dinah on September 7, 2013, at 10:46:08

I talked about this, briefly, with my therapist. We tossed around some ideals, but in the end we agreed. There is no ideal client and no ideal therapist.

A therapist can be as technically skilled as possible in his own chosen approach, and be helpful to a large number of patients, and be not at all helpful to other patients.

Jeffrey Kottler, who writes great books on therapy, obviously would be a great therapist for many. But he likely wouldn't suit me. He moves around a great deal, and I think I remember that he has expectations of change faster than I would like. My rate of change is glacially slow, and any attempt to speed me up would more or less cause the opposite.

T3 was likely more technically skilled than my therapist. But I don't know that she managed any particular change in me, outside a shift in attitude towards my own therapist with that curse she placed on me. In the long run, her more "direct" style, however expertly it was delivered, wasn't right for me.

What makes for a great fit in therapy? Is it tangible or intangible? How much is it therapeutic technique and how much is it chemistry?

I often suspect that my therapist is partly a perfect fit for me because of who he is. A largish man who manages to combine a flexible exterior with a rigid backbone. And partly he's a perfect fit because he makes an effort to become a perfect fit. He's willing to work on the relationship to a far greater extent than most therapists would, and in turn the working on the relationship becomes part of the therapy that benefits me outside therapy.

 

Thread

 

Post a new follow-up

Your message only Include above post


Notify the administrators

They will then review this post with the posting guidelines in mind.

To contact them about something other than this post, please use this form instead.

 

Start a new thread

 
Google
dr-bob.org www
Search options and examples
[amazon] for
in

This thread | Show all | Post follow-up | Start new thread | FAQ
Psycho-Babble Psychology | Framed

poster:Dinah thread:1050295
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20130807/msgs/1050295.html