Effective Qualities To Look For In A Psychotherapist

For the most effective mental health care, you may want to find a provider who correctly matches your needs. You might look for someone you can trust and feel comfortable with or a provider who openly listens. When looking for a psychotherapist, consider how their active listening skills may benefit you.

What Is A Psychotherapist?

A psychotherapist can be defined as a mental health professional who often uses a variety of therapeutic approaches to help people define issues and cope with symptoms related to mental health. They often employ talk therapy to uncover underlying mental health challenges or conditions. 

Psychotherapists can provide a range of services depending on their license. For example, psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, and counselors all provide psychological care, but each one may focus on a different area, type of care, or type of patient. 

If you're interested in connecting with a professional to discuss difficult emotions or symptoms, you might seek a counselor or a therapist. They may each have differing licenses. For example, a behavioral counselor may have studied behavior, whereas a trauma therapist may have specialized in the impact of trauma on the body. 

How Does Psychotherapy Work?

To understand why listening skills can be necessary for a psychotherapist, you may want to understand what the psychotherapy process entails. Often, it's a collaborative talk therapy treatment for mental health challenges or conditions, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT).

The National Institute of Health (NIH) calls CBT "the gold standard of modern psychotherapy." Active listening can be a vital part of this therapy model (and others) because it's often based on open communication within the therapeutic relationship.

How To Recognize Active Listening From A Counselor 

You may wonder how to find a therapist that practices listening skills. Often, therapists are trained to use the technique of "active listening." 

The American Psychological Association defines active listening as "a psychotherapeutic technique in which the therapist listens to a client closely, asking questions as needed, to fully understand the content of the message and the depth of the client's emotion." 

If your therapist ignores, interrupts, or invalidates you, you may be meeting with someone who is not using active listening principles. In this case, you might choose to try a new therapist or bring up your concerns in a session. 

What Isn't Active Listening? 

It might also be valuable to recognize potential behaviors that may not represent active listening. A 2013 academic paper on the topic lists twelve categories of these characteristics that are not indicative of active listening:

• Commanding with a voice of authority

• Cautioning with a threat of negative consequences

• Giving advice that begins with phrases like, "what I would do, is…"

• Arguing or lecturing to try and persuade a client that their position is the only correct one 

• Moralizing or preaching with "should" statements that convey negative judgment

• Disagreeing or criticizing, implying that there's something wrong with the client

• Agreeing or praising too often or in a disruptive way

• Shaming or expressing disapproval at a specific behavior or attitude

• Interpreting or analyzing what the client's "real problem" is based on a statement meant to invalidate or ignore a client's feedback

• Reassuring often without listening 

• Excessive questioning, which may make a client feel they're being interrogated

• Distracting from the topic at hand

Healthy Qualities Of A Psychotherapist 

A healthy psychotherapist may make you feel listened to and understood without being judged, interrupted, or told what to do. 

There are three elements of active listening that you can look for in a provider, based on an article in the International Journal of Listening. 

1. Displaying Nonverbal Involvement

Non-verbal cues may demonstrate involvement and interest in a speaker's message. In psychotherapy and other situations, this may take the form of regular eye contact, head nods, or open body language. 

If someone is looking around the room or sitting perfectly still without physically acknowledging their continued involvement in a conversation, it could make you feel like they're not listening or not interested. You may also pick up on visual cues in online therapy via video. If your therapist is not in a quiet and professional environment on a video call, you might feel they're not paying attention. 

2. Refraining From Judgment And Paraphrasing

Many of the twelve characteristics from above relate to passing judgment or giving an opinion. A therapist who is arguing, moralizing, disagreeing, or shaming may not be creating a safe, neutral space where the individual can openly express how they feel. 

Noticing these behaviors in a therapist may show that you're not being listened to or that they're listening only with the intent to judge—neither of which are generally productive dynamics for a talk therapy relationship.

One study on the topic expressed that "an active listening response theoretically communicates empathy and builds trust by indicating unconditional regard and confirming the other's experience." 

Therapists are often trained to avoid judgment and not to connect their clients' thoughts with their own opinions or experiences. Instead, they might learn to rephrase what a client says to show they're taking it in. It may sound like, "what I'm hearing you say is…" or "I understand how that situation could make you feel…" for example.

3. Asking Questions

Another potential component of active listening is asking questions as needed to encourage elaboration. A trained psychotherapist might ask you to say more about how something made you feel or to identify the underlying belief behind something you've talked. These gentle nudges may help individuals know they're being heard and encourage them to continue talking. 

How To Find A Psychotherapist Who Listens

Many psychotherapists are trained to listen to their patients. However, if you come across a mental health professional who is not displaying the hallmarks of active listening or is otherwise not making you feel safe or comfortable in telling your feelings, they may not be the correct fit. 

You may want to read online reviews of a therapist before trying therapy with them. If you enjoy the ease of use that the internet offers, you might also enjoy online therapy. Online therapy can connect you with a therapist from anywhere you have an internet connection, and it is often more affordable than traditional in-person therapy. 

Research suggests that online therapy is as effective as traditional counseling. It has become an increasingly popular option for those who want an available option. If you're ready to try it, consider signing up for a platform such as BetterHelp for individuals or ReGain for couples.