I got to thinking today - I wonder what people would say are the qualities they like in their therapist. Clearly there are so many different personality types out there in potential clients - but there area also many different personality types in therapists. I find it interesting how people connect.

The other thing is there are so many styles of therapy, theoretical orientations and philosophies about what motivates behavior. For me, in my previous years of my own therapy, one therapist stands out in my mind as having influenced me a lot with not only what she presented to me intellectually and psychologically - but what she put out in the room. She was very nurturing - gave me hugs at the end of every session. I really liked this and it felt very appropriate. But this is an ethical concern for many therapist-types who don't want to get tangled in putting out messages that are misunderstood, don't want to have legal issues down the line, etc. Again, for me - this was very therapeutic and fit well with what I lacked in my own family of origin experiences.

I'm curious to know if anyone would like to share any thoughts of their previous therapy experiences - things they liked, qualities of the therapist they found helpful, etc. I posted earlier inquiring about the "negative" experiences but this time I'm looking for positive.