Specialties in Psychotherapy
by Don Benson, Psy.D. ABPP

What does it mean to have a specialty in psychotherapy? Does a specialist always and necessarily have an advantage over a psychotherapist who is not a specialist? These are important questions for consumers of psychotherapy to consider.

The answer, in short, is “yes and no”. A specialty is likely most helpful when it is referring to a certain problem. For example, a person with a substance abuse concern or an eating disorder will generally benefit from a therapist who has a specialty with the population in question. Although the identification of a specialty does not guarantee the expertise in question, in general, the specialist will have more education, training, or experience with that particular problem than the average therapist. Some jurisdictions may even require the therapist who holds herself out as a specialist to meet a credentialing process required by law. Often, however, this is not the case. The consumer of services would do well to investigate the claim that a therapist is a specialist with a certain problem.

A potential drawback to seeking a specialist could be too narrow a focus. Many clients who seek therapy have broader issues that are not easily put into a limited category. A therapist who is able to approach the clients’ problems from a wider perspective may be more helpful.

Sometimes, specialties refer to a certain form of therapy. Various schools of therapy will offer workshops, trainings, and continuing education to qualify a professional as a specialist. They may even offer a certification to be displayed as proof of mastery in this form of therapy. I find these specialties to be less useful to the average consumer. Let me explain.

The profession of psychotherapy is more of an art than a science. With no disrespect to the scientific approach, a professional therapist brings her whole self into the service she provides to the client. She is not merely a technician who reproduces a set of techniques learned in a workshop. While her skills and training are very important to her effectiveness, her experience and intuition play just as important a role. Viewing a client through a narrow lens of one specific school of therapy, often the most current fad at the time, does not do justice to the complexities of the client’s life or her concerns.

It is my belief that a professional psychotherapist is able to incorporate pieces of many therapeutic models into her developing knowledge and to integrate this information into her personality in a way that optimizes her effectiveness. This is not to say that she doesn’t operate from a theory of psychotherapy, but only that her theoretical approach is in a dynamic interplay with her personal self. This is why the effective psychotherapist is a professional, artist, and scientist all wrapped up into one. What she is hopefully not, however, is a technician.

There is a final point to consider in this opinion. Certain problems do have scientific backing with certain approaches. Some anxiety disorders, for example, respond to therapies that expose clients to the source of their anxiety. Still, this is merely a demonstrated technique that does not replace the need for a fully engaged therapist to facilitate an effective therapeutic relationship with the client. Otherwise, reading an instruction manual is all that would be required of the client if mere technical expertise were all that were needed.