When You Don't Like Your Client

This is the third installment in our series examining the complex realities of therapeutic practice. Today we address one of the most challenging aspects of clinical work: navigating poor therapeutic chemistry.

The Reality of Therapeutic Fit

Every therapist faces this uncomfortable truth: sometimes, despite professional competence and genuine effort, the chemistry with a client simply isn't there. Research shows that therapeutic alliance, the quality of the relationship between therapist and client, is one of the strongest predictors of treatment outcomes, making this challenge particularly significant.

The Inner Critic in the Consulting Room

The Uninvited Guest

There's a voice that follows many of us into the consulting room. It sits quietly during easy sessions but becomes increasingly vocal when the work gets challenging. It has opinions about everything we say, critiques our interventions, and offers a running commentary on our inadequacies.

This voice has a name: the inner critic. And it has a lot to say about how we practice therapy.

The Unspoken Truths of Being a Therapist: When You're Not Sure You're Helping.

The Question That Haunts Us

Every experienced therapist knows this moment intimately. You're sitting with a client you genuinely care about—someone you've been seeing for weeks, perhaps months. You've drawn from your training, applied your best clinical skills, offered thoughtful interventions. Yet something feels stuck. Progress seems elusive, and you find yourself wondering:

"Am I actually helping this person?"