Where Does Customer Experience Originate in Therapy and How Can It Be Improved?

Customer experience in therapy is an essential part of therapy services. It begins even before the first direct contact with the client and can significantly impact the success of therapy. In this blog post, we will examine various aspects of customer experience and how Formulator can help therapists improve it. 

Expectations and Assumptions Form Prior to Therapy 

Often, a client's first experience with therapy begins by seeking a suitable therapist. The client may find a therapist online, from a directory, or through a recommendation from someone they know. These initial encounters give rise to preconceptions and expectations about therapy. 

The client's perception of the therapist and the service begins to take shape at this stage, which influences their expectations and attitudes. For example, listings can provide some sense of the therapist as a person, and the profiles included therein impact the client's selection of which therapists to approach. Just based on a picture, impressions are formed about what type of person the therapist might be and whether they could be a suitable match. 

Whether the initial contact is made through a system, directly over the phone, or via email, the first interaction with the therapist immediately affects the customer experience. 

Thus, customer experience can vary significantly even before the first meeting. At its worst and unfortunately all too often, it involves waiting and uncertainty. At its best, it can involve preparing for therapy, shaping expectations, and increasing motivation for therapy. The therapist's communication and the information available can help create a positive atmosphere and orient towards meaningful work. 

The Intersection of Client Expectations and Reality in the Early Stages of Therapy 

In the initial stages of therapy, it becomes apparent whether the client's expectations align with the reality of therapy and if their perceptions of therapeutic work have been realistic. The first session can be a crucial moment that either builds a positive customer experience and strengthens the client's trust in the therapist or leads to the client discontinuing therapy altogether. 

 Of course, not every therapist-client relationship will be compatible, but much can be done, e.g., in terms of how the therapist adjusts their communication style to suit the client. If a client has already sought out a specific therapist, they likely have a positive assumption that they can receive help from that therapist.  

However, numerous therapy relationships end immediately after the first session, and many clients do not continue therapy for as long as the therapist would recommend. In such cases, the customer experience is likely not successful. 

Often, in these situations, clients repeatedly experience feelings of not being heard or therapy focusing on the "wrong" things. This may still stem from unmet expectations and communication challenges, but sometimes it is also due to human limitations. Even as professionals, therapists may not always be able to quickly pinpoint the core issues and root causes or motivate clients to address certain significant themes if the clients themselves do not perceive them as central.

Less Burden and Disappointment, More Positive Experiences

The customer experience in therapy begins even before the first session and largely takes shape in the early stages of therapy, especially if the experience is turning negative. In such cases, clients are prone to prematurely discontinuing therapy and either seeking another therapist, seeking alternative forms of help, or attempting to manage without external assistance. Both the client and potentially the therapist end up feeling disappointed. 

From the therapist's perspective, it can also be unexpectedly burdensome to repeatedly start new therapy relationships when there was still work to be done in previous ones. The work itself doesn't provide the same sense of fulfillment if one couldn't help the client as intended.

The customer experience significantly influences the success of therapy. In addition to satisfaction, a positive customer experience often indicates trust in the therapist and the therapy process. Therefore, therapists have many reasons to periodically focus on improving the customer experience. Fortunately, it is possible to enhance the conditions for a good customer experience and successful therapy by utilizing intelligent tools to support the initiation of therapeutic work.

Formulator: A Tool for Creating Positive Therapy Experiences and Preparing for Therapy

Formulator is an intelligent tool used by therapists to create better therapy experiences and initiate new therapy relationships, among other purposes. It is a tool that can be utilized at the beginning of therapy or, if needed, during the middle stages to bring in fresh perspectives to the sessions. 

In practice, Formulator conducts an interview with the client on various themes essential to therapy and generates a case formulation based on the interview. The therapist can further refine this formulation as therapy progresses. The produced psychological analysis is available for both the therapist and the therapy client, providing both of them with a solid foundation for their therapy work together.

The case formulation generated by Formulator is particularly helpful in improving the customer experience as it offers excellent starting points for the therapist to plan interventions by revealing the client's background and possible core issues. At the same time, it provides the therapy client with an unprecedented opportunity to prepare for therapy by reflecting on their own motivations and goals. They also learn about themselves through the machine-assisted conversation and by exploring their case formulation, which includes psychoeducation.

In this way, Formulator relieves the therapist from the pressure of immediately identifying the client's core problems and other meaningful discussion topics. Additionally, the therapy client's assumptions about the content of therapy become more realistic as they can anticipate, based on their personal analysis, what topics might be discussed in therapy. The analysis often helps clients articulate their problems and goals more clearly. Best of all, the experience of being "heard" is further strengthened with the use of Formulator. 

If you are a therapist, you can learn more about Formulator on our website or try the tool for free yourself, along with your first client. 

 If you need tips or new ideas related to case formulation, download a free guide compiled by industry experts here.