How to improve therapists

Therapy, IMO, is more of an art than a science. Therapist, like people, can be be good, bad or indifferent. However, whether they help you or not, they expect to be paid and paid well. Also, most people are not capable of interviewing a therapist and determining whether they will be a suitable match. Furthermore, a bad therapist will definitely not tell you that he is not helping you. It is in his best interest to string you along as long as possible.

 

Here is my idea to fix this:

 

When you first see a therapist, there should be 1-2 consultations. These should be free. Then the therapist should devise a treatment plan and review it with you. If you agree, you go ahead with therapy and pay the therapist as normal. However, your progress will be reviewed by an oversight board once a quarter. If you do not feel that you have been helped or if the therapist did not stick to the plan or notify you/the board of any changes to the plan, the therapist will be fined and the fine will be returned to whomever paid for the sessions. The worse the error, the higher the fine.

 

Because even the best therapist cannot help everyone, a therapist will not be held accountable for failing to help a specific patient, especially if they tell the patient they need to find a new therapist. However, if a therapist has a high failure rate then they will need to be warned or perhaps educated better on how to determine whom they can help.