I wrote a piece recently In Defense of Therapy, which goes something like this: there are good therapists and there are bad ones, and sometimes, sadly, we end up with the latter. One way to make sure this doesn’t happen is to look at GoodTherapy.org, which tries to refer people only in the direction of the former, the good ones. Recently I talked with Kathleen Rankin, Partner and Community Relations Manager, about what GoodTherapy.org is and why it's different:

I’m interested in the story behind the organization. Why was GoodTherapy.org established? What was it that you were responding to and what do you hope GoodTherapy now provides?

GoodTherapy.org is the vision of Noah Rubinstein, licensed marriage and family therapist. As a private practice therapist, Noah noticed a disturbing pattern emerging—therapists abusing their power and getting their own needs met at the expense of their clients. To protect the field of mental health from this small minority of therapists causing harm, Noah decided to create a community of therapists committed to safeguarding clients by closely examining their own issues, doing their own therapy, and maintaining ethical boundaries in psychotherapy—thus, GoodTherapy.org was born.

It is our mission to support mental health practitioners in providing ethical services, to increase the awareness about the many benefits of seeing a good therapist, and help people find the right therapist for them. We believe that everybody deserves to feel good.

How do you find the 'good' therapists and how do you define 'good' when applied to therapists?

Finding the right therapist is multifaceted. First, it is always important to make sure the therapist is qualified. All the therapists in the GoodTherapy.org directory have graduate-level academic training and a degree from an accredited institution, and they adhere to the license requirements in whichever state or country they practice. Second, therapist selection depends upon the specific needs of the individual and may include the person’s values, spirituality, or issue to be treated.

No matter the method or type of therapy a therapist practices, most “good” therapists have similar qualities in their approach to therapy. All GoodTherapy.org members believe in standard elements of good therapy. A good therapist is non-pathologizing, meaning he or she will view a client as greater than the issue that brought the person to therapy. Non-pathological work requires therapists to treat clients with curiosity and compassion, instead of judgment and labels. Good therapists also empower their clients by showing them that they have the tools within themselves to grow and change, and they work to gently guide clients through self-discovery. Empathy and focus are also core elements of good therapy.

Why was Good Therapy established as a social enterprise?

To measure success in terms of social change, rather than profit and return. Our inception and subsequent mission and vision focuses on greater human well-being, and we work hard every day to disseminate the most reliable and up-to-date information about therapy, psychology, and wellness to our member therapists as well as people seeking therapy. Our commitment to our founding principles allows us to work toward reducing the stigma that so often surrounds the pursuit of treatment for mental health issues, educating the public about the importance of accessible quality mental health care, and providing access to the practitioners who meet licensing and ethical requirements. Initiatives like our GoodCause sponsorship program supporting nonprofit organizations, the “Share Your Story” campaign, and the wealth of information found on The Good Therapy Blog are all designed to educate, support, and create lasting, positive change in the way people view and understand mental health and mental health treatment.

I noticed that on your website you talk about how best to discuss mental health. What is the language you do advocate using when discussing mental health and mental illness? I’m aware how loaded both terms are.

In today’s media-heavy environment, the way mental health issues are discussed is of dire importance. Perpetuating harmful stereotypes or labels in the social discussion about mental health has devastating effects on the way people view mental health and therapy; this only perpetuates negative stigma that can cause serious, long-term damage to our society as a whole. We advocate using language that does not label people as defective, flawed, or damaged. For example, the general use of the word “disorder” can imply that something is inherently wrong with a person. Similarly, referring to a person with a substance abuse problems as an “addict” can suggest that the addiction is the person’s entire identity, rather than a challenge that person can overcome. Using neutral language that does not label—for example a “person experiencing addiction” instead of an “addict”—can contribute greatly to reducing the stigma that surrounds mental health issues. Eventually, seeking help will not be seen as a weakness, but simply a normal and routine part of maintaining health and wellness.

What is the GoodCause Sponsorship Program?

The GoodCause program was developed to support nonprofit organizations that promote mental health and wellness in line with our mission and vision. GoodTherapy.org membership and readership have grown exponentially since its inception, and we are using the increase in visibility to encourage our audience to give their attention, time, and available resources to help support these organizations. New GoodTherapy.org members can now make monetary donations during member registration, and the general public can donate to the program at any time. We also support GoodCause organizations by developing and sharing relevant content with our audience on our blog and in a multifaceted social media strategy designed to increase awareness about each cause.

Are there any other sources that you would recommend more widely?

GoodTherapy.org offers a wide variety of resources on our website for therapists and people interested in learning more about mental health and therapy. Also, to further our network of resources, we partner with select organizations in line with our mission and vision. Additional resources that we recommend for anyone considering therapy are the codes of ethics outlined by the most notable therapist licensing boards:

· American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT) Code of Ethics

· American Psychological Association (APA) Code of Ethics

· American Counseling Association (ACA) Code of Ethics

· National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Code of Ethics

· United States Association for Body Psychotherapy (USABP) Code of Ethics

While most therapists strive to practice ethically, we believe that it is important for consumers to be savvy about the differences between ethical and unethical therapy and to know there is help available to them if they have had negative therapy experiences.

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