It is also important that therapists acknowledge the goals their clients wish to achieve and devise programmes designed to reach them. This is usually undertaken by a regular process of assessment and reflection in which progress can be monitored, and a competent therapist will discuss this approach with their client during preliminary sessions. It is also vital that the therapist listens to their clients without prejudice and assesses their problems in an informed and objective manner. Some therapists like to give homework to their clients and manageable quantities of this can allow them to continue to engage in the therapeutic process, in their own time.
Crucially, a therapist must engender feelings of tremendous trust in their clients. This is essential in creating a situation in which clients feel comfortable in expressing their deepest fears, anxieties, concerns and sources of unhappiness in an unmediated and completely honest manner. Opening up is one of most important steps to achieving good mental-health and therapists must help to encourage this process.
A good therapist should also encourage the client to attend meetings regularly, as well as implementing a plan for emergencies and attendance affected by illness and other issues that lead to non-attendance.
