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Great question. This has so much to do with gut feeling. If you just don’t gel with the person, feel judged, feel no progress, feel no rapport, and not enough trust, those are signs that you need to start looking for another therapist.

Johanne: The techniques I use to find out what my clients mean when they say they just want to get better, are questions exploring values. Usually a “better state” is acquired by living a life more in line with your values, but if you’ve been in a depressive or anxious state for a long time, finding out what your values are and what brings your life meaning is difficult and might require a good therapist to help you uncover.

If you mean psychiatrist, that depends on your specific situation, severity of symptoms, if your insurance asks for a diagnosis etc. However to start a therapy usually a diagnosis isn’t a precondition. Some psychotherapists/psychologists are also trained and allowed to give a diagnosis.

Johanne: What you’re supposed to gain from therapy depends on why you’re seeking therapy. What I, as a therapist, want on behalf of my clients is that they learn to externalize their problems, so that the problems have less of a grip on their lives. Some therapy forms are more directive than others: CBT & ACT, for instance, are behavioral therapies where the therapist compassionately “directs” the clients using techniques, exercises, etc.

It really depends. Some Jungian analysts are already psychiatrists and/or trained psychologists (with or without a degree as psychotherapists) when starting their training. The two Jungian institutes in Switzerland can also accept trainees without a psychology degree but with a master in humaniora (lay analysts).