Helping People Find Therapists & Advocating for Ethical Therapy
Poll - Spring 2011
Are you in favor of state licensing boards requiring pre-licensed therapists to undergo psychotherapy as part of licensure requirements, assuming all potential issues are addressed and adequately resolved prior to implementing such a requirement?
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Dear Respondent,
Thanks for taking part in this poll. As a longtime advocate for reducing harm in psychotherapy, I was pleased to see the large number of therapists in favor of such a requirement. My operating belief is that the more training, consultation, and personal psychotherapy a therapist does, the less likely he or she will be to cause harm, to abuse power, or get their own needs met at the expense of their clients. However, the troubling reality is that there are practicing therapists who have never experienced therapy for themselves. This reality is what lies behind GoodTherapy.org's effort to gather more information from respondents like you and to see if there's anything our organization can do to improve the quality of psychotherapeutic care.
The poll results, especially respondent notes in the Comments section, have been extremely helpful, not just in gauging the level of support for making a change in licensure requirements, but in outlining the potential pitfalls inherent in such a change. Even though a clear majority of respondents were in favor of requiring pre-licensed therapists to undergo therapy of their own, those respondents who were not in favor of this requirement raised some very important and valid concerns which should be addressed. In an effort to address these concerns, GoodTherapy.org has conducted a qualitative analysis of the comments made by those who answered NO or MAYBE to the poll. The analysis yielded seven general categories of arguments against requiring pre-licensed therapists to undergo their own psychotherapy, and they are as follows:
- Therapy Must be Warranted by Illness
- Effectiveness As a Therapist May Not be Directly Linked with Having Done Therapy
- Not all Therapy is Created Equal - How to Assure Quality Control?
- People Should Not be Forced to Undergo Therapy
- Therapy Requirements Are Better Regulated at the Graduate School Level
- Monetary Cost Associated with Mandatory Therapy is a Potential Hardship
- Confidentiality Issues Are a Consideration
Over the next eight weeks, I will present summaries of, and possible solutions to, each argument against having pre-licensed therapists undergo their own therapy to meet state licensure requirements. It is my hope that you will get involved, share your ideas, and be part of the process of improving the quality of psychotherapy services. Below I've addressed the first argument against requiring pre-licensed therapists to undergo therapy. Please visit the following web page and leave your remarks: Therapy Must be Warranted by Illness
Kind Regards,
Noah Rubinstein, LMFT, Founder and CEO
GoodTherapy.org
200 West 34th Avenue, Suite 501
Anchorage, Alaska 99503
Comments
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I think therapy should be encouraged but mandating... No. Must surgeons undergo bypass before they can practice?
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No I certainly do not think it should be a requirement and it infers a lack of civil right.
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Hello Noah, my answer is a resounding, yes! Pre-licensend psychotherapists should be required to engage as clients in a minimum of 5 sessions, be evaluated and the suitability for the profession should be assessed according to the results of the sessions, before being licensed. I'v known or known of too many psychotherapists who did not meet the standards either ethically or emotionally to counsel others.
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Boy, what a question. It was no problem for me, as I wanted therapy if I was to be a therapist. However, there are two issues that come to mind. 1) The people in our society who are required to go to therapy are usually sent by the courts. (And even they have a choice to disobey) so, what's the consequence if a therapist if he/she says no, or proof if he/she says yes but doesn't go?) 2) If a therapist who sees a pre licensed person feels they are unsuitable to be a therapist, are they expected to report such information?And if so, to whom? Therapy, I hope, still has some semblance of privacy, even for therapists. P. S. What if the pre therapist went to a therapist who was lousy? I could go on and on.
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One, I believe that the Boards have too much power and abuse their power… at least here in Oregon they do. If the Grad Program DIDN’T require a curtain amount of Individual and Couple/family therapy in their program, then I could see that this requirement be put into the licensure process. Two, The schools should require this in their programs… both requiring Individual Therapy and Couple therapy if they are married. Three, the Supervisor should be the one who directs this … once they are out of Grad School and working toward licensure. Four, if there are problems with the supervision and concerns of the supervisor, then assistance from the board is appropriate.
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In my program of study, whether knowingly or not, this was part of the program. I agree.
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Hello Noah, in my opinion state licensing boards should absolutely include this requirement. I can't tell you how many times I have been in CEU or other specialty classes and observed some of the attendees who obviously hadn't "done their own work" yet. Some of these individuals had absolutely no business giving advice or providing therapy to my dog, let alone other people. It is very important to improve the level of professionalism in our practice(s), and this would include both licensed and un-licensed therapists in those states that have such classifications. Just because someone has attended the required number of hours in a classroom (even at the Masters degree level) does not mean they are qualified to be working with others in a therapeutic setting. There are varied levels of talent and experience even among those that do graduate, and at the minimum there should be some form of peer review such as this to provide a sanity check on the people that are out there counseling clients.
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Only if it is not part their graduate study. The graduate program should be the place where the student goes through therapy it should not be the licensing boards Duty.
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I strongly support the need for a psychotherapist to experience psychotherapy. However, in my opinion this is a TRAINING issue, not a LICENSURE issue; the training program should be the determining body for this.
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No I am not in favor of it in terms of licensing boards. I am in favor of it for all APA approved programs in clinical psychology. It should be a requirement for a PhD not for a license.