64: Identifying Red & Green Flag Therapists [Rebranding Trauma Therapy Series]

Have you struggled with finding the right therapy for your needs? Maybe you’ve had a few appointments with several different therapists but never found someone you felt was on the same page as you for your treatment.

The client-therapist relationship is so important and it’s not something that anyone should enter lightly. For clients, it might be one of the most important relationships they build. Understanding your specific needs and finding a therapist who can meet those needs is pivotal.

If you’ve never worked with a therapist before, have worked with a therapist who didn’t feel like a good fit, or are looking for someone who offers different modalities than your current therapist offers, you need to do your research.

You can find a lot of information about therapists on their websites, but you’ll also want to have a conversation before you start working with them.

This episode is your guide for what to ask, how to understand the therapist’s responses, and what to look for in your conversation. It will also help you to check in with your therapist, if you’re already in a therapeutic relationship.

And if you’re a therapist, this is a great episode for helping you to show up in the way you want to show up. It will give you some parameters for setting up your own guide for how you work with clients.

This isn’t about ranking or rating therapists based on arbitrary criteria, but rather about seeking out a professional whose values, availability, and working style align with yours.

When something traumatic happens to us, it can be healing to have a therapist listen to and/or validate our horrible experience, especially if no one else has before. However, rehashing the details of that traumatic event can be retraumatizing. Brain-based therapies like EMDR teach us that we don't have to talk about the trauma or the details if we don't want to because the real healing doesn't focus on the traumatic event itself.

The Zero Disturbance podcast is for educational purposes and is not a replacement for a therapeutic relationship or individualized mental health or medical care.

Come learn with us at Zero Disturbance:

Clients in therapy, want to learn more about empowering yourself to experience therapy on your terms? Sign up for our mailing list to get the free Client Resource library and never miss a conversation. 

Therapists, access our favorite free resources in The Zero Disturbance Welcome Bundle, full of free videos and downloads to help you develop your clinical reasoning skills, as well as ways to feel like an intentional designer of high-value offerings like intensives and passive income. Use these free resources to make the seemingly impossible feel absolutely accessible!

With a Masters in Education from Vanderbilt, Kambria has been creating trainings and teaching adult learners for over 20 years. As the Director of Education and Quality Improvement at Stanford Medical School, she created ease in complex systems, thereby giving medical trainees successful learning experiences. Now, as a dedicated mom, therapist, and EMDR Consultant, Kambria knows what it means to do things efficiently, effectively, and in a learner-centered way. When she isn't podcasting or creating online courses, you can find Kambria playing with her twins on a beach in California.