The Role of Intuition in Psychotherapy

Counseling naturally entails a high degree of intuition. Therapy is a human-centered occupation. Therapists are not robots or computers; they are human beings working with other human beings on issues that often have a high degree of emotional content. Building a strong relationship with clients often depends on empathy and other intangible skills that require intuition and not simply academic expertise. Intuition can be viewed as a skill to be developed over time, which is why effective therapists pay attention to their intuition and how they can capitalize on it during therapy sessions.

Intuition is not about blindly reacting to emotional impulses. On the contrary, intuition fuses rational thought with emotional intelligence. The article shows that intuition is especially helpful when working with clients in the long-term, as intuition improves as the relationship between therapist and client deepens and becomes more authentic. Therapists who fear intuition do their clients a great disservice by becoming overly anxious about following some prescribed set of rules on interaction. A more experienced therapist will understand how to integrate the intuitive voices, ideas, and instincts with more quantifiable knowledge.

Clinical psychology may be based on empirical research, but it is not a hard science like neurobiology might be. Therefore, therapists need to cease struggling for legitimacy by denying the role that intuition already plays in professional practice. Each therapist develops a personal "style," as the author of the article points out. That style is what makes the therapist effective for some clients, and less so with others, calling attention to the need for diversity in counseling professions. Using intuition makes all therapists more authentic as well as more effective. Therapists need only to honor their own intuition when working with clients, and encourage clients to likewise recognize the value of their own intuitions.

As important as intuition may be for a genuine, effective, and lasting therapeutic relationship, intuition does need to be honed and tempered. Intuition is not impulse, and it is certainly not succumbing to biases and prejudices disguised as hunches. The therapeutic relationship ultimately should be based on evidence-based practice and not on the personal whims or temporary interests of the therapist. For intuition to be implemented effectively, the therapist needs to know how to recognize the difference between intuition and bias, and to carefully chronicle the ways intuition has helped or harmed the therapeutic relationship.

Acknowledging intuition can also help clients to develop their own, leading to a more effective long-term resolution of presenting problems. Effective therapists can help clients recognize their intuitive voices and discern those from the cognitions that are harming their well being, rather than rely on rote techniques that might not take root or effectively mitigate problems from anxiety to substance abuse. Moreover, therapists who use their own intuition express confidence in their professional experience and expertise, and thus inspire confidence in their clients. A therapist attuned to intuition will know when a client may be ready to leave the therapeutic relationship, or when to refer the client to external supports.