What characteristic do you NOT want in a therapist?

Self-righteousness.

Don't treat me like I am broken or fragile.

Closed minded.

It helps to be on the same wave length philosophically, share some core ideas. It is very hard to find good ones and finally at age 60, I got one. (while insured. yey) In the past I had lots of experience and most were horrible. One offered massage(?)she was not bad looking either. Therapy, nowadays can come from various sources, with practitioners having varied educational and work history. I am sorry to say this is not an easy task to hunt for one who is worth it.

Lack of humor.

Scorn
Bullying
Savior complex
Neediness
Superiority
Theory blindness
Magical thinking
Feigned omniscience
Saccharin sweetness
Large cliche repertoire

Someone who´s faking it.

touchy-feely.

impatient

judgementalism

Inconsistent/fake/dishonest

Someone who's a wimp.

Defensiveness / Reactivity.

I think I can work out just about any other issue I have if the T wasn't defensive / super reactive to stuff I said.

It's hard to work this down to just one. I agree with so many of the ones already mentioned.

I'll go with Humorless.

Sociopath

Religious.

Okay, not really but didn't know how to say it in one word. I don't care if you are religious but I don't want your religion to be the first thing I know about you. If you come out to the lobby to get me for our first session and you're wearing a "_____ loves you" shirt or pin, I'm leaving. I don't want to sit with a crucifix over my head, Koran verses framed on the wall or a Buddha statue on your desk.

Come to think of it - other things I don't want to know about you before your name are your sexual preferences and political positions. Please don't come out to the lobby to get me wearing a 'Make America Great Again' rainbow colored ball cap.

Someone who can't figure out how to be a therapist without giving up their basic human kindness and hides it in therapyspeak.

Proselytizing maybe?

One word is just a guideline...

abusive...

Paternalistic
Judgmental
Patronising
Preachy.

Had that ALL with my first ever counseling psychologist.

A scheming liar.

When they talk ON and ON about their kids. I dont care about your effing kids.

I can think about any number of characteristics that would make them a bad therapist for anybody, not just for me (such as being judgmental, unethical, or dishonest), but to me it's more interesting to discuss those things that are really helpful to some people, but would be bad for me.

I think the top one of those is probably personal disclosures - I do not want a T to make them, I don't want to know if he is married or divorced or bi or straight or has five children and a troupe of performing seals, or is single and childless/child-free.... I just don't want to know, it's none of my business and could serve no other purpose for me than to make me uncomfortable. And yet, for some people it's quite hurtful when the T does not tell them anything about their private life.

(This is not at all related to being a blank slate, by the way. I would not want that in a T.)

Too serious.

I mean, I want my T to take me seriously and treat serious topics with care... but I joke a lot. It's a huge part of my personality. I don't want a T who will just stare at me blankly while I laugh at my own joke, waiting to get back to talking about my issues... I want a T who will laugh with me.

Omg I can so identify with this. Pastel leather pdoc would just stare at me when I made a joke and say "fair enough."

I wouldnt want a T who was cold, or serious all the time or wouldnt want to play games like uno or checkers with me.