Your relationship with your therapist is the strongest predictor of positive outcomes in therapy, in fact, research has repeatedly shown it is even more significant than the type of treatment your therapist offers! But what does this really mean? What makes a “good relationship?”  Some of the qualities identified by clients and researchers include:

• Mutual trust, respect, and caring

• General agreement on the goals and tasks of the therapy

• Shared decision-making

• Mutual engagement in "the work" of the treatment

• The ability to talk about the "here-and-now" aspects of the relationship

• The freedom to share negative emotional responses with each other

• The ability to repair any problems or difficulties that may arise in the relationship

Our clinic currently supports a number of South Asian Women who are seeking culturally-informed therapy services. What these clients often voice is that working with a therapist with shared lived experience and cultural competency is essential to supporting the above qualities of a good therapeutic relationship. This includes acknowledging some of the additional nuances and barriers experienced within this community including:

• The stigma of accessing mental health services

• The unique struggles of children of immigrants

• Navigating the integration of western and more traditional values

• Family dynamics

• Experiences of racism and discrimination

• Intergenerational trauma