Effective Psychotherapy, According to a Clinical Psychologist

Being a clinical psychologist is a challenging but rewarding vocation. To keep me on the ‘right track,’ I use the headings listed below as my personal ‘blueprint’ to guide the conduct of my private practice. They represent, in essence, the minimum requirements to be fulfilled if any effective counselling is to take place, at least in my opinion.

Reviewing them intermittently re-orientates me to the work and to myself, particularly when I am having a difficult time connecting with my patients, which, given the nature of the work, is par for the course from time to time.

My Checklist of 14 Characteristics of an Effective Clinical Psychologist

The process of effective psychological counselling always requires a roadmap, especially when things get ‘stuck’ in the consulting room. The points listed below, although subjective and non-exhaustive, are some of the mantras I employ to navigate such moments.

1) Your psychologist should have an intimate grasp of his emotions

At its core, psychotherapy is about people – what it feels like to be a human being in the world. Before one can ever position themselves as a counsellor of others’ emotions, he must first embark on a thorough, in-depth investigation of his own emotional world.

2) Your therapist should have a ‘model’ of your inner world

A clinical psychologist must possess a ‘model’ of how to help the person sitting before him. This model is not a generic, one-size-fits-all import, but an emergent, rough-and-ready guide that is tailor-made to the individual, which he then carefully and methodically updates as the therapy takes shape in order to optimize treatment outcomes.

This model is informed by a combination of factors, namely:

• his self-understanding,
• clinical training and theoretical orientation
• his on-going experiences as a practitioner
• session notes, reflections, and supervision
• and the application and modification of his clinical technique over time.

3) Your therapist should be moved by you

He should allow himself to be affected by you – your story, history, and emotions – and how they have impacted your life. Most importantly, and this might sound somewhat surprising, a clinical psychologist must be able to locate the experiences you are bringing to him within himself.

4) Your psychologist should have a stable disposition

It is essential that your psychologist knows how to keep his private emotions outside of the consulting room. The reason for this is very clear: one of the mainstays of effective psychotherapy is consistency; that is, perceiving your therapist in the same way today as you did the previous week, and the week before that.

5) A clinical psychologist is fallible, too, and he knows it

The most effective clinical psychologists know that they are more like you than they are not, even though you happen to be the one suffering emotionally at that given moment. Any therapist who denies this will soon enough be exposed for their inauthenticity.

6) Your therapist should refrain from judging at all costs

Patients often feel enormous vulnerability when they present for therapy. These feelings can only be made worse if the therapist has a judgmental demeanour.

7) Your therapist should, at baseline, be fervently curious

He should, in other words, never stop thinking about what it means to be a human being in the modern world. As a clinical psychologist, I am constantly reading, thinking, learning, observing, and reflecting; wondering how I can improve my counselling services to my patients.

8) A psychologist is never convinced by his own ‘knowledge

Why? Because somewhere between your 86 billion neurons and mine, we might find it better instead if we collaborate – together – to reach new grounds of understanding about you, rather than me simply claiming to ‘know’ what it is I think you need.

9) A psychologist learns a great deal from his patients

Never to be misled into believing himself the authority on a matter, or satisfying himself with having the last word, a clinical psychologist should strive instead to maintain a ‘keener ear’ for listening to, and learning about, his patients.

10) A psychologist should know how to care for himself

A clinical psychologist should know how to look after himself if he is to continue doing the work of counselling others. Failing this, he is liable to shift to using his patients to help himself heal, which carries many confusing, detrimental effects for those he had otherwise intended to help. You can always have a look at my other article on ‘Self-care’ here 

11) A therapist should not fear being disliked

Psychotherapy often involves tough conversations and may invoke strong feelings, especially when things need to be raised that are uncomfortable for you to hear. A therapist knows this and accepts the likelihood that this will happen.

12) Your therapist should know how to ‘pace’ the therapy

Therapy is a process, sometimes a very long one, and a clinical psychologist should know better than to rush into ‘solving’ things immediately. Therapy ‘to go’ rarely, if ever, leads to any sustainable growth or change in the mind of the patient.

13) He should practice what he preaches

Your psychologist should also see a therapist from time to time (and should also attend supervision). At the risk of overstating this fact, therapists are people, too, and sometimes they also need emotional help, just like you.

14) A ‘rescuer’ he is not

When I find myself preoccupied with trying to ‘fix’ my patient – an all too tempting rouse – I know that it is just a matter of time before the short-sightedness of my approach becomes manifest, and always to my patient’s detriment. If instead I manage to adhere to the more banal task of being with them while they try to learn to help themselves, in such cases I might claim to have had some marginal success.

Wrapping it up

Although it is true there is no ‘perfect’ therapist, in this article I have tried to draw attention to some of the main points of what makes for effective counselling. By holding the aforementioned points in mind, as I do when conducting my sessions, it is my hope that you too can use them in your search for a psychologist who can effectively assist you with your emotions.

Bryn O’Reilly is a South African-born clinical psychologist living in the Central Algarve, Portugal. It is from there that he runs his private practice, offering both in-person and online services. Should you wish to contact Bryn, please click here