Will You "Get It?"

Jeff Levy, LCSW
(originally posted on Branching Out: The Live Oak Blog, May 2014)

When a potential client called the agency I used to work at, and spoke to our intake staff, we asked a host of questions to connect the client with one of our therapists who, based on the client’s concerns, is the most appropriate and best fit we can find.  We’ll ask about reasons for seeking therapy and we’ll ask if the client has a preference in terms of therapist gender, therapist areas of expertise, and any other preferences.
 
Some of our callers will also specify a preference for a therapist’s culture, ethnicity, and sexual orientation.  These questions, I believe, are an attempt at ensuring a therapist will “get it” based on shared experience and/or shared identities.  There was a time when I automatically assumed this as well, without question.  Now I find that “getting it” is less about exact shared historical experience and more about the shared present moment.

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