There are times in life when therapy is what you need to heal and grow. If you decide you could benefit from therapy, how do you know how to evaluate good therapy. This information should help you know what to consider, how to evaluate this process and provide some guidelines to make a decision on the best fit for you.
Choosing a Christian vs a non-Christian therapist. There is good help available, however just because someone says they are a Christian therapist doesn’t mean they are the best fit for you. Sadly, lots of good Christians are doing bad therapy and lots of non-Christians are doing pretty
good therapy.
There is lots of confusion about the whole therapy process. Good therapy begins with seeing someone with formal specific training in human functioning and breakdowns.
You need someone to be emotionally present. One of the marks of a good therapist is someone who will help you contain aspects of yourself that you are not able to feel or even realize. The therapist bears what cannot be born by the person. They can help you feel feelings you may not be aware of. You need a warm presence that you feel safe with and who is emotionally present. If a therapist isn’t present with you, they won’t be able to help you. They may know a lot of doctrine and information but if they aren’t able to connect, they won’t be helpful to you.
Ideal:
Ideally you want a therapist that is competent and a Christian. Christian meaning what they do is biblical in nature. You want someone who knows about God’s design. Good therapy incorporates the character of God in the process of therapy. A competent non-Christian therapist is the next best choice.
God designed the growth and repair process. If a therapist does good work, they will get good results. This indicates they are doing something right. There is a lot of good help available, however you need to know how to evaluate good therapy from not so good therapy. This information is intended to give you a framework to look at the therapy process.
God designed the growth and repair process. If a therapist does good work, they will get good results. This indicates they are doing something right. There is a lot of good help available, however you need to know how to evaluate good therapy from not so good therapy. This information is intended to give you a framework to look at the therapy process.
God has a process of taking us from a broken and a hurting dysfunctional state, whether it is depression, anxiety, drug addiction, substance abuse, relational problems, food problems, mood problem, thinking problems, all the things the psychiatric and psychological literature addresses. Your therapy should fit in your spiritual life. God should be integrated into your growth process. Sanctification restores us to the functioning state we need to be in.
If you have an issue that is troublesome enough to make you go to the time and expense to go to a professional that means there is a specific area in your growth process that isn’t working, you are stuck, injured, have a lack, an emptiness, an immaturity then you need help to grow. You have a handicap in becoming a functional person. Therapy will go deep inside to help you grow into a healthy functioning individual.
Consider the people you hang ground with. Are they helping you grow or helping you avoid dealing with the things in life you need to grow. If you find you avoid bad feelings by staying busy to avoid the pain, life will break down in some area, at some time. Will power alone fails after a time and the person may feel out of control. Therapy will help address what you are avoiding feeling. We need to face loss and difficult feelings to grow. We have all had losses in life and therapy will help you face why a loss is so painful and how it is affecting you.
Some people go to therapy to get a better life, and others wait until they are in a crisis. The people who take time to get therapy before a crisis are better off even though it is work and often difficult. It isn’t easy to confront situations and feelings you need to address to grow. Taking responsibility for the areas that you need to grow in isn’t easy. Therapy It’s not about getting loved into health. Someone who is “for you” is essential, however, we need more than just affirmation to grow.
This list is intended to address specific aspects of therapy that are important to consider to choose a good therapist. Aspects of good therapy:
Credentials: Make sure they have a credential to do what they are doing. Each state has a credentialing process. Ensure your therapist has these credentials. Again, good therapy begins with seeing someone with formal specific training in human functioning and breakdowns.
Emotionally present: The therapist must be present and able to show up emotionally for you. Integrated: They must be integrated. Have they lived life themselves? Have they done or are they doing their own work?
Reputation: Try to find someone that has a good reputation. Ask others about their experience or what they know about this therapist.
Bible: Do they claim to be a Christian therapist, if so, does your faith align with theirs. How does their work fit with theology and doctrine? Ask them to elaborate. Look for people who understand the whole counsel of God.
What is their theory: Do they have a theory at all? Is it consistent with the bible? Is it friendly to research?
Approach: An inner world orientation is important. A good process looks at the behaviors that are affecting you. A therapist may suggest some structures that help address acting out behavior, especially if it is dangerous. Addressing symptoms is only one factor. It’s important to pay attention to both the inner and outer world.
Good therapy is painful at times: Good therapy is going to hurt. Therapy can sometimes cause you to feel more pain than you were initially. There is the “right” kind of pain that helps us open up and begin to grow. God’s solution for the wrong kinds of pain, is the helpful pain that helps us be honest, vulnerable, open up and make the right kind of connections with the right kind of people. Lack of pain in therapy is not the goal. There are parts of us that need to die and be reborn.
Values: What are their values? Good values are vital to good therapy. Values such as: Honesty, trust, truth, integrity, God, value of love, value of relationship.
View of Sin: The bible talk does about both internal and external sin. Sin by me and sin against me. A few internal sin examples are being deceptive, rescuing others, withdrawing love. External sin involves sin against me such as abuse, abandonment, betrayal. We often have two opposing parts of self, polarities/extremes in our behavior and thoughts. A good therapeutic process addresses our strengths and weaknesses and lack of integration. What do I do that isn’t integrated?
Are you learning: If you are in therapy, are you finding out about your specific problems in the therapeutic process? Are you finding out the areas that are creating the problems? You may need to do things that make you uncomfortable but help you strengthen weak or broken areas.
What is the path: What are the steps that will help you move forward toward growth? Are you discussing the steps you need to practice with your therapist? You may need to practice activities that make you uncomfortable but help you strengthen weak areas.
Balance of Grace & Truth: There must be a balance of grace and truth. Grace and Truth are vital to growth and are two elements of good therapy. We need both grace and truth in the therapy process.
Time: Healing and growth take time. There is no one size that fits all approach and everyone’s circumstances and issues will determine how long the therapeutic process will take to get the desired result.
For you: There must be a “I am for you no matter what” stance and still the therapist is able to confront you about what you are avoiding. If you aren’t getting confronted about what you are avoiding, there is a problem.
Growth vs Change: Real change occurs after growth.
Prayer and Bible in the session: Sometimes people want to use prayer to get away from an uncomfortable feeling. Is it helpful to add prayer? Don’t confuse or substitute prayer with the elements of growth. The elements are grace, truth, time, connection, insight, and confrontation.
Resistance distinction: Distinction between resistance and fragility is important: Some people get stuck in growth because they don’t want to face an issue. This is much different than fragility, which is they don’t have the ability to do what they need to do to grow. A therapist must be able to tell the difference and know what to do.
Structure: Before you begin, find out what the requirements are for this arrangement, with your therapist. How long is the session, how much will it cost, how are cancellations handled, what to do in case of an emergency? This is essential and also helps the client have better limits in their outside life. You need someone with good structure.
How often: Weekly is most helpful! However, toward the end of therapy, every other week may be enough. This frequency element should be evaluated on a case-by-case basis depending based on the need of the client.
Remember; good therapy incorporates the character of God in the process of therapy.
This article is intended to help you evaluate good therapy and hopefully assist you to find and work with the best therapist for you.
For in-depth training on the elements of good Christian Therapy, attend the “One week Intensive for Counselors“. This workshop is suitable for therapists, lay counselors, coaches, medical professionals, small group leaders, pastors doing counseling.
This content is taken from a recording on “What is Good Christian Therapy?” by Psychologist and author Dr. John Townsend, Founder of the Townsend Institute at Concordia University.