Self of the Therapist Blog

Self of the Therapist 

Dear Supervisees,

Best practices in clinical work typically acknowledges the need for clinicians to be mindful of their presences in the therapy room and how that may be affecting the therapeutic alliance. Some clinicians actively use their self (personality, open and spontaneous, empathetic, some disclosure as appropriate) as a tool in therapy, such as experiential therapy. What tone is used, what body language is evident, what questions are being asked or not, as influenced by certain theories and the clinician's culture and diversities should be assessed accordingly.

To understand self of the therapist, clinicians would essentially assess/reflect on who they are as clinicians and how is that evident in their work and is it used purposefully in their work. Clinicians can assess how appropriate and effective is their work as they conceptualize it and perhaps staff it with a professional colleague to determine if there was any perhaps biases, isms, or blinders in their work. Clinicians may also ask feedback from their clients on how they feel the sessions are progressing, including feeling heard and respected accordingly.

Best practices include: exploring what you are feeling and thinking in the sessions and how that is informing your questions/approach, determine how your approach is appropriate and effective to the case, identify if need to make any changes in accordance to the research and clients' responses, and always consider culture and diversity implications of the clinicians and the clients accordingly.