We are a team of two psychologists in Johannesburg, who are able to offer psychotherapy services to adults, adolescents, children and couples.
Finding a psychologist in Johannesburg can be a daunting task. The first steps – finding a psychologist and the initial reaching out – can sometimes feel the most overwhelming, particularly if you don’t know whom to approach and, more importantly, if the “fit” will be a good one for you. The psychologist/client “fit” – that is, feeling that you and your psychologist mesh well together, work effectively together, and you feel supported, guided and emotionally held – is paramount. A good psychologist/client fit is exactly that: you “fit” with your psychologist and feel completely comfortable to be yourself. The therapy space you and your psychologist create should feel completely free of judgement, and anything that might get in the way of a good psychologist/client fit should be considered problematic. Some of these could be the following:
- As discussed above: not feeling comfortable in the therapy. The therapy is ultimately your therapy and not being yourself would undermine the process for you.
- The psychologist is unable to adjust their approach or “style” to suit your needs. While the three of us at Parkview Practice, Johannesburg, are psychodynamically-oriented psychologists (see our FAQs on a brief discussion of psychodynamic therapy), we believe we are skilled and comfortable enough to adjust according to individual client needs. Again, this is your therapy and its successful outcomes will be based on your experience of it. While therapy can be extremely difficult and emotionally taxing, a good fit will assist in feeling supported during these more difficult times.
- The psychologist shames you about feelings you have shared, or judges in some way. This is unprofessional and inappropriate, and should not be experienced in a therapeutic relationship.
- The psychologist has problems with boundaries: the point of therapy is for a psychologist to maintain professional and ethical boundaries at all times. These boundaries protect the therapy and allow you, the client, to explore an intimate therapeutic relationship that feels safe and non-threatening. A psychologist divulging their personal life or making inappropriate comments or suggestions is a violation of the therapy space.
- You don’t feel heard by your psychologist: the baseline of any therapy is that you feel heard, deeply heard, by your psychologist. A psychologist who is unable to actively listen to their clients is failing to do their job effectively.
- Your psychologist provides too much advice. This is an interesting and somewhat controversial point – as those new to therapy might expect their psychologist to provide them with advice on how best to manage difficult situations. Therapy should be about increasing your self-awareness and insight, as well as finding your answers and truths with the guidance and help of your psychologist, not your psychologist telling you how to live your life.
One of the big misconceptions about therapy is that you are not allowed to shop around for a psychologist. Making sure that a good fit exists, however, can take a bit of time, so allowing three to four assessment sessions where you and your psychologist explore together can help to ascertain whether the fit is a good one or not.
We hope this was helpful, particularly to those thinking of beginning a therapy journey. We are a team of two psychologists in Johannesburg at Parkview Practice in Randburg hope to make the beginning steps of this journey easier for you. Please click on our “Contact Us” tab to get in touch with one of us.
