Bruce McDowell, MA, LPC, CAC II

Choosing a good therapist is vital to having therapy work for you. All the research tells us that the relationship with the therapist is the single most important factor in receiving a benefit from therapy. You should feel comfortable with the therapist, and feel that heshe is comfortable with themselves. Trust your gut feelings here. Here are some things to look for: RED FLAGS : you feel the therapist is judging you, not respecting you, not hearing you, talks about their issues instead of yours, is deadly serious instead of genuinely sincere, cannot laugh WITH you when you share a "mistake" or didn't meet a personal goal, ignores your feelings, you are feeling sexual tension from the therapist or have sexual feelings yourself, you don't feel safe. PUT THEM TO THE TEST: Just tell them straight out. "I feel disrespected by that", or "It seems you are always talking about yourself ". See how they respond. If they do not have an answer, or get defensive, or make no effort to change their approach, they have failed the test. REMEMBER: You have the right to terminate therapy at any time. You have the right to change your mind and see someone else. I offer a free consultation for first-time clients. This is to insure that that we are good match and are able to form a "therapeutic alliance".