Why Therapeutic Alliance Matters More than Years of Experience in Therapy
Beyond the Years: What Really Makes a Great Therapist?
When people search for a psychotherapist, one of the first things they usually look at is how many years the therapist has been practicing. It feels like logical as more years must mean more skill, and therefore better results. Experience can certainly be valuable, but research in psychotherapy tells a more complex—and often surprising—story.
What Research Has Found
Over many years, researchers have studied what actually helps people improve in therapy. One consistent finding is that a therapist’s number of years in practice does not strongly predict how much clients benefit from therapy. In simple terms, people often do just as well with therapists who are earlier in their careers as with those who have decades of experience.
This doesn’t mean experienced therapists aren’t helpful, or that training doesn’t matter. It simply means that time alone is not a reliable measure of how effective therapy will be. Some therapists continue to grow and refine their skills year after year. Others may settle into familiar patterns and stop changing much over time. Two therapists with the same number of years in practice can therefore offer very different experiences.
Unlike some professions where tasks become more automatic with repetition, therapy is deeply relational. Every client brings a unique history, personality, and set of struggles. Because of this, being effective in therapy depends less on how long someone has practiced and more on how they relate to the person sitting in front of them.
Research consistently points to a few factors that matter more than years on a therapist’s profile:
- Feeling understood-Clients tend to improve when they feel genuinely listened to and emotionally understood. Feeling judged, rushed, or misunderstood can slow progress, regardless of how experienced the therapist is.
- A strong working relationship-Therapy works best when therapist and client feel like partners. This includes agreeing on goals and feeling comfortable speaking openly, even about difficult topics.
- Flexibility-Helpful therapists adjust their approach based on the client’s needs, preferences, and pace. They don’t assume that one method works for everyone.
- Continued learning-Therapists who reflect on their work, seek feedback, and keep learning tend to stay effective over time. Growth comes from intention, not just from years passing.
Experience can still matter, especially in certain situations. Therapists who have worked with complex trauma, crisis situations, or long-term mental health challenges may draw on previous experiences to guide their decisions on treatment. However, even in these cases, experience works best when combined with curiosity to the individual, cultural humility, and openness to continuous learning.
A different way to think about choosing a therapist, is rather than focusing only on years of experience, it may be more helpful to ask yourself the following questions:
- Do I feel safe and comfortable with this person?
- Do I feel heard and respected?
- Does their way of explaining things make sense to me?
- Do I feel hopeful after sessions, even when the work feels hard?
These questions often tell you more about whether therapy will help than any number of years listed online.
Research suggests that healing happens less because of how long a therapist has practiced and more because of the quality of the relationship and the therapist’s ability to meet the client as a unique individual.
In a word, the “best” therapist isn't always the most experienced one. It is the one who feels like the right fit for you.
