When I hire a therapist, I care about training, experience, and clinical interests. I want to understand what they have learned, which clients they work well with, and where they hope to grow.

But credentials alone do not tell me how someone will show up with a client.

The harder questions are about judgment, curiosity, reliability, self-awareness, and the willingness to keep learning after graduate school ends.

Those qualities shape the care clients receive. They also shape the kind of clinical culture we can build together.

I look for genuine curiosity

Good therapists do not rush to reduce a person to a diagnosis or a familiar pattern. They stay curious about what a symptom means in this person’s life, how it developed, what it protects, and what may be happening underneath the first explanation.

Curiosity also means tolerating uncertainty. A therapist will not always know what a client needs immediately. I want clinicians who can slow down, ask better questions, and seek consultation rather than filling the gap with confidence they have not earned.

I look for reliability

Therapy depends on trust, and trust is built through ordinary acts of consistency.

Clients should not have to wonder whether their therapist will remember what matters, communicate clearly, maintain boundaries, or follow through on an agreed next step. Reliability may sound less exciting than a new modality, but it is part of clinical care.

I look for therapists who respect the structure of the work and understand that small operational choices can have an emotional impact.

I look for self-awareness

Every therapist brings a history, identity, nervous system, and set of blind spots into the room. The goal is not to become a perfectly neutral person. The goal is to know that you are part of the relationship and to take responsibility for understanding your impact.

That requires reflection. It also requires the ability to receive feedback without turning the conversation into self-defense.

In a relational practice, the moments between therapist and client are part of the work. I want clinicians who can notice those moments, think about them honestly, and repair when needed.

I look for people who take supervision seriously

Supervision should be more than reporting that a session went well. It is a place to examine difficult moments, question assumptions, sharpen clinical thinking, and understand where the therapist may be stuck alongside the client.

I value clinicians who bring real questions into supervision. They are willing to say, “I am not sure what I am missing,” or “Something changed in the room and I want to understand it.”

That openness is a strength. It protects clients and helps therapists develop depth over time.

I look for a commitment to training

Mental health care keeps developing, and good therapists remain students of the work. Continued training matters at McGarril Mental Health Counseling, especially in trauma-informed care, relational work, and approaches such as EMDR.

I am less interested in collecting acronyms than in how a clinician integrates what they learn. Can they explain why an approach fits this client? Do they understand its limits? Can they adjust without abandoning sound clinical reasoning?

Training should deepen judgment, not replace it.

I look for respect for the client’s pace and agency

Trauma-informed care requires more than describing yourself as trauma-informed. It shows up in pacing, consent, clarity, and the willingness to avoid pushing a client toward disclosure or processing before they are ready.

I want therapists who can offer direction without taking over. Clients deserve to understand the treatment, ask questions, disagree, and participate in decisions about their care.

I look for someone who contributes to the team

Group practice works best when clinicians learn from one another. That requires honesty, generosity, and enough humility to recognize that every person has blind spots.

I want a team where people can discuss cases thoughtfully, share resources, ask for help, and give feedback with care. A collaborative culture makes each clinician stronger and gives clients the benefit of a practice that thinks together.

The question underneath the interview

The central question I am asking is simple: Can I trust this person to care about the quality of the work when no one is watching?

I want clinicians who are genuinely invested in their clients’ progress and serious about developing their craft. Skills can grow. Specialties can deepen. The foundation is the way someone approaches responsibility, relationship, and learning.

That is what I look for, and it is the culture we are continuing to build at McGarril Mental Health Counseling.