What do laypersons believe characterises a competent psychotherapist?

Abstract

Aim: Although research and clinical definitions of psychotherapeutic competence have been proposed, less is known about the layperson perspective. The aim was to explore the views of individuals with different levels of psychotherapy experience regarding what—in their views—constitutes a competent therapist. Method: In an online survey, 375 persons (64% female, mean age 33.24 years) with no experience, with professional experience, or with personal pre-experience with psychotherapy participated. To provide low-threshold questions, we first presented two qualitative items (i.e. “In your opinion, what makes a good/competent psychotherapist?”; “How do you recognize that a psychotherapist is not competent?”) and analysed them using inductive content analysis techniques (Mayring, 2014). Then, we gave participants a 16-item questionnaire including items from previous surveys and from the literature and analysed them descriptively. Results: Work-related principles, professionalism, personality characteristics, caring communication, empathy and understanding were important categories of competence. Concerning the quantitative questions, most participants agreed with items indicating that a therapist should be open, listen well, show empathy and behave responsibly. Conclusion: Investigating layperson perspectives suggested that effective and professional interpersonal behaviour of therapists plays a central role in the public's perception of psychotherapy.