How intelligent do you have to be, to be a therapist?

(Re Horses)

Carrots.

i would never have thought to try a banana with a horse! You learn something everyday.

Equine therapy fascinates me, i can see why it would be a really powerful experience. I'd definitely try it but nowhere does it around where i live.

Wow! That is a very negative view of the profession. I really don't believe that to be the case. I think there's good and bad in every profession and i would hazard a guess that most therapists go into that line of work because they want to help. Because it's in their nature to care about and be interested in people.

My T is over 130 IQ, she was tested by a psychologist. Despite this, I still own her when it comes to maths.

My t told me she went into the profession because she cares about people, and she is vested in them, I do believe that, I believe that if I go into therapy after the relationship is built that is, thinking all these negative things about their career or why they chose it, or that they are not caring or genuine, or stupid , or that anyone can be a therapist and just sit there and listen, it would just hinder my therapeutic process, in my oppinion.

They just dont sit there , they actively listen, they intervene, they provide the understanding and measures to better yourself that sometimes people in real life cannot, again just my oppinion.

You need to have some type of relationship with your therapist, just like anybody else in real life, its a give and take, true its a one side relationship, thats what you are there for.
You need feedback from your t, I respect other posters oppinions of the therapist just not giving feedback while you talk, or keeping a distance from them. As for me it would be like talking to my h lol lol.

ah. Love, love, love those Freudian slips.

The woman is useful in not talking because I do tell her things I would never tell persons in my real life - which is why it is not, for me, like telling my partner or friends etc. Plus they would jabber on at me endlessly.

People post things because it helps them understand their situations and get support from other people. It's not about getting people to agree with you or disagree with you. It's about getting advice and support Just thought I'd share my thoughts on what this forum is all about, at least what it's all about to me.

I think T's have to be knowledgeable in whatever it is, that they need to learn in order to become a T. So yes, they do have to have some intelligence.

You don't have to be intelligent to be a therapist - but you have to be intelligent to be a GOOD therapist. That's been my experience, anyway.

Indeed. This is quite true. Intelligence, and others things, can only work towards a good therapist.

A therapist/counselor in the USA must hold a master's degree and pass a national exam for licensure; therefore, they must be relatively intelligent, possess good writing skills and be able to think critically (at least that's the case in my program...there is no rote learning). Empathy and emotional intelligence are also necessary for a T to be successful, but that is subjective for the most part.

I thoroughly believe "book smart" is only part of the battle when it comes to being a therapist. Unfortunately, I have experienced too many that have relied on their "book smart" more than general experience. Also, personality - I believe that is a huge factor as well.

I don't think a supportive type of therapist would require above average intelligence. Emotional intelligence-maybe, as someone else said...

My T is super intelligent, which is one of the reasons I chose him. I read some of the chapters he wrote for books and also his papers and could assess his intelligence right away. For example, the ability to take an enormous amount of information spanning over a century and contextually and functionally dissect, synthesize, and convey the concepts through one articulate book chapter requires someone with the ability for critical thinking, including convergent and inductive reasoning that goes beyond simple intelligence/rational comprehension. That is not something that is easy to do.

I just figured he could do the same when psychologically assessing me as a person to help me with my issues. And so far, so good.

Did you guys look at the article? Sample size (n) of 2 for statisticians and mathematicians? C'mon, this chart isn't that meaningful. It's obvious that it is just for fun.

Oops, the copy and paste didn't work. Here it is again:

The Audacious Epigone: Average IQ by occupation (estimated from wordsum scores)

It conforms very closely to my prejudices. Therefore it must be true.

Hehehe I see what's going on now. Hmm. Mathematicians in first place!? There were 4. Hmm - 117 is not as high as I would expect.

My first t was fairly intelligent. The t i see now is extremely intelligent and loves to learn new things, she is also very talented in several artistic areas. My husband is a t as well and has very high intelligence. I am smart but i dont think i have enough common sense and a long enough attention span to be a therapist.

I dunno. Maybe intelligence is not the right quality to focus on here?

I do know this - my therapist is *wise*.

My t amazes me in how she has worked with me and helped me grow over the years. She feels solid to me - like a tree, or maybe more like she's true north. She has spent her entire life working with both mental health and religion, and you can tell she has done her own work in these areas. She is way beyond me in emotional intelligence, although I might be catching up. Her advice is usually spot on. She has therapy skills that actually work. She is a pro with people, a skill I very much lack. She was teaching me about trust when I couldn't even really define it. She can match me when I'm feeling intellectual, and when I'm feeling my inner-infant. I could go on...

My last therapist was smart too. That turned out a disaster. Intelligence is important, but not everything.

I think being a therapist is a very tough, challenging, demanding career. I know what I've put my therapist through!

HAHA, ok the top ranking profession in this study shows a 117 IQ... that is not a high IQ, in fact its average in some countries, so this study is kind of concerning .

I have no idea how intelligent my T is, but I would estimate his IQ is around 140. My T seems to know a lot. It was very important for me to find someone I thought was smart and had way more answers than me! It might have been the most important actually because it really helps me want and trust his opinions more.

Average is an average no matter where you are. IQ tests are normed at 100, basically on a bell curve, so yes, it makes complete sense that most professions fall in the normal range of 90-110 (depending on which test you look at).

My 2 cents...a T just has to be a tiny bit smarter than her patient.

Not at all to say I think I'm smart, but this week, in particular, I think my T is an idiot.

Having a higher IQ does not make you a better T. Maybe a better clinical psychologist, researcher, or doctor but not a better therapist. To be a social worker T or LMHC T, you need to be average but not a genius. I think thats why it varies so much from person to person with their experiences. To be a phd, psyd or md, sure you have to be very bright. But many of them have absolutely zero emotional intelligence. That's what social workers and counselors tend to have more of and why people go to them so often. There is also a lot of skill involved if they are good T. Theres also a lot af very odd characters practicing, so you do have to choose wisely. Being the friend that everyone goes to for advice, interestingly, is not really a skill that would make you a good T. There is a lot more involved but it is not obvious to the untrained eye.

Not true. 110 is the top of average, 117 is above average. In most US schools, a child with an IQ of 125 could be put into a gifted class.