Reading Room

Rating Your Psychotherapist

Copied From: Rating Your Psychotherapist
A book by Robert Langs, M.D.

TABLE 1: The Referral
Rate Your Therapist
I know of this therapist because:

Sound Answers

• My local Medical Society/Mental Health Association/professional organization recommended him/her.
• My family doctor recommended him/her.
• He/she came to see me for a consultation when I was in the hospital.
• A friend who's a psychiatrist/psychologist/social worker/mental health professional recommended him/her.
• My employer/principal/lawyer recommended I see him/her.

Questionable Answers

• My former/present therapist recommended him/her.
• He/she is the therapist I was assigned to in a group practice/clinic.
• He/she is at the clinic where my health plan requires me to go.
• I picked him/her out of the phone book.
• I pass his/her office on my way to work.

Unsound Answers: Reconsider Your Choice of Therapist

• I saw his/her name in a telephone book/on television/in the paper.
• He/she works in a different section of my office complex
• His/her office is in my apartment building.

Dangerous Answers: Beware of This Therapist

• A coworker/social acquaintance/relative sees/used to see him/her and says he/she is good.
• I used to see him/her with my parents/children/spouse in family therapy and I liked him/her.
• My daughter/son goes to school with his/her daughter/son.
• I've heard him/her lecture and he/she sounds like a good therapist
• He/she is my minister, so I know him.
• I've read his/her books/seen him/her on television/heard him/her on the radio.
• His wife/her husband is one of my friends.
• I met him/her at a party and he/she gave me his/her card. I took a course from him/her and he/she seemed really insightful.
• I used to date him/her/I'm currently dating him/her, so he/she must know me pretty well.
• He/she is one of my father's/mother's colleagues.
• He/she is a coworker and seems bright and helpful.
• He/she is a friend/used to be a friend of the family.

Table 2: The First Contact
Rate Your Therapist
This is how the first contact happened:

Sound Answers

• I made the contact by telephone.
• The therapist answered the phone directly.
• The therapist had an answering machine/service and returned my call the same day.
• The contact was brief and to the point, handled professionally, and by the therapist alone.
• A definitive appointment was made - to occur within a few days of the call.
• The therapist gave me directions to his/her office.

Questionable-to-Unsound Answers: Reconsider Your Choice of Therapist

• Someone made the appointment for me (not an emergency situation).
• I met the therapist in person at a walk-in clinic or in a hospital emergency room.
• I called and left a message, but the therapist didn't get back to me for a day or so.
• The therapist was booked up - he/she couldn't see me for weeks.
• I made the appointment with a secretary.
• I had a long talk with the therapist when I called him/her - he/she asked lots of questions about my symptoms and history.
• I conveyed a sense of emergency, but the therapist didn't seem to take me seriously.
• I got off the phone and realized I didn't know how to get to the therapist's office.
• The therapist didn't seem to want to end the conversation, even though we had covered all the essential information.

Dangerous Answers: Beware of This Therapist

• Someone made the appointment for me so that I'd feel obliged to go.
• The therapist had his/her spouse call me back and make the appointment.
• The therapist didn't get back to me, and when I called again, I found out that he/she had forgotten.
• I told the therapist that it was an emergency, but he/she was completely insensitive to my situation and told me to make an appointment for later in the week.
• The therapist told me all about himself on the phone - where he/she went to school, what he/she believes about therapeutic technique, what his/her spouse does for a living, etc.
• Having ascertained my problems, the therapist prescribed medication over the phone.

Table 3: The Setting
Rate Your Therapist
This is how my therapist's office is set up:

Sound Answers

• He/she maintains a private office in a professional building.
• There is a bathroom readily accessible from the waiting room.
• There is a door in the therapist's office that allows me to leave without having to go back through the waiting room.
• The furnishings are tasteful but not obtrusive.
• The windows have shades or blinds that are closed.
• The office is soundproof.

Questionable-to-Unsound Answers: Reconsider Your Choice of Therapist

• He/she maintains a home-office separate from his/her living quarters.
• He/she shares the waiting room with other therapists, so I'm usually not alone there.
• He/she has an office in a clinic.
• The only bathroom is just off the therapist's consultation room.
• I always meet the next patient in the waiting room on my way out.

Dangerous Answers: Beware of This Therapist

• He/she uses his/her living quarters as an office.
• When I go to my therapist's home-office, I'm aware of his/her family.
• My therapist's office isn't soundproofed; you can hear what's being said inside - particularly if someone is shouting or crying.

Table 4: The First Interaction
Rate Your Therapist
This is how my therapist handled the first interaction:

Sound Answers

• He/she seemed to be concerned and listening.
• He/she said very little - restricting comments to attempts to help me understand myself better.
• He/she answered no questions, but sought more exploration from me.
• He/she said nothing of a personal nature.
• Except for an initial and concluding handshake, there was no physical contact between us.
• In the second half of the session, the therapist briefly stated that he/she could help me and then proposed a set of ground rules for treatment.

Questionable-to-Unsound Answers: Reconsider Your Choice of Therapist

• He/she was angry.
• He/she was indifferent.
• He/she was seductive.
• He/she talked almost as much or more than I did.
• He/she asked a lot of questions, which broke my train of thought.
• He/she kept giving me his/her personal opinions and told me about his/her private life.
• He/she gave me specific advice on how to handle my problems.
• He/she asked me to lie down on the couch for the consultation hour.
• He/she tended toward nonsexual physical contact - such as giving my hand a reassuring pat when I was nervous and upset, etc.
• He/she didn't say anything about whether he/she could help me or what the ground rules of therapy would be.

Dangerous Answers: Beware of This Therapist

• He/she was very demonstrative physically - hugging me, touching my arm or shoulder
• when talking to me, etc.
• He/she came on to me sexually.
• He/she was verbally/physically assaultive.
• He/she was downright unprofessional - very personal in his/her responses and
• self-revealing.
• He/she was exceedingly manipulative.

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