Have you ever wondered what to wear? Yes, your clothing choices DO impact your clients, but maybe not in the way that you thought.
This article will address clothing options for female therapists.
I’ve seen therapists wear all a wide variety of styles: head-to-toe coordinated suits, dress pants with heels, long skirts with Birkenstocks and jeans with sneakers. No options are necessarily wrong (unless they are too tight, too sheer or too wrinkled) but they do have an impact on some clients. Other clients will be too focused on their own issues to worry about what you are wearing.
Mari A. Lee, a therapist and coach in Glendale, California, conducted an informal study by asking a diverse sample of her non-therapist friends how they would like their therapist to dress. Out of Mari’s 27 responses, I counted 5 that don’t care what their therapist wears.
The remaining results were very interesting. Although everyone seemed to agree that TOO MUCH of anything (cologne, sexy clothes, loud colors, noisy jewelry, etc.) was unappealing, the remaining responses seemed to be split between those who wanted their therapist to be a reflection of themselves, and those who wanted the therapist to reflect their authentic selves via their unique style. For example, those working in a professional environment may want their therapist to dress professionally.
My takeaway from reading this article is that as long as the therapist is well-groomed and appropriate, therapists should wear whatever suits their personality because it could yield diagnostic information about the therapeutic fit. If clients don’t like the way you dress, then they may not like your personality. If they don’t like your personality, then they may not respond to your therapeutic interventions. This means you are not a good fit. In this way, your clothing can give early information both to you and the client about the nature of your working relationship.
But maybe it’s not quite that simple. According to a Tampa Bay Times article called “Do casual clothes hurt standards?”, although dressing more casually in the workplace is becoming more common, there can be a downside. Dressing casually may impede our ability to think abstractly and creatively, important qualities for any therapist to have. And dressing too casually may take your mind off work because it reminds you of your leisure time.
So, be well-groomed, authentic to your style, but not too casual.
Yours in the Joy of Knowledge,
Dr. Barbara LoFrisco
