Therapist Red Flags

The art and service of therapy is an incredibly nuanced exchange. Clients need to feel connected and comfortable enough to open up to their therapist, who in turn, needs to be knowledgeable and accepting enough to elicit vulnerability and trust. While there is no exact science to this therapeutic relationship, there are obvious red flags that indicate a therapist might not be well-equipped or the best match for you. Consider this if your therapist:

Overpowers your Presence

Therapy is about YOU. If your therapist is oversharing about themself, doing more talking than listening, or often forgets things you’ve shared or disclosed in the past, it’s a show of failure to understand that this space is for you, not them.

Fails to be Reliable

While the therapeutic alliance is all but personal, the communication process needs to be professional. If your therapist is showing up late, not returning calls, or rescheduling several times a month, be sure to call them out on it. When exhibited repeatedly, it reveals a lack of care or discipline for prioritizing you as their client.

Lacks Cultural Competency

Traumatic experiences with cultural identity and race can be a big part of why many go to therapy, making it paramount for any therapist to be well informed on cultural nuances. Your therapist does not need to share your ethnicity to do this but they should always create space for you to feel safe, understood and accepted. If your therapist makes unfounded, generalized statements about your race or assumes they know more about it than you, it raises flags on their level of cultural competency.

Is Not Formally Trained

Therapy is an intricate and complicated process that often involves trauma, depression, and other mental health issues. Licensure is the accountability system for your therapist and the work they do. If they lack a proper certification or other proof of formal training, it can indicate that they are not properly equipped to address your experiences from an evidenced-based treatment approach.

Remember, while the process of therapy is relational, the therapy itself is also a transactional service. If you’re not getting what you need, it’s okay to communicate with your needs and standards to talk about what isn’t working.