What actually makes therapy work?:

So you wanna be a better counselor? Pt. 8

A few weeks back I hosted a guest post from Barry McInnes entitled "Are You Any Good…as a Therapist?" He's one of the few other therapist bloggers in the outcomes/deliberate practice space and I'd been a follower of his work for a while.

I was stoked to have him on.

I was even more stoked when he asked that I return the favor.

So I decided to write this post on the single most important factor in therapy. I hope you enjoy it!

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I always wanted to be a master therapist. I think that’s why when I learned about all the problems in the field, I was stunned.

I mean we have 40 years of stagnation in outcomes, massive problems with gurus, and certifications that over promise and under deliver. Yet, the research is pretty clear- out of 100 clients, 30 of them will have some change and about 20 will “recover”1. That’s the same level of effectiveness as the flu vaccine!

Despite our lack of improvement, therapy is effective. How? What makes therapy effective?