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Professional Therapist Personality Inventory

Introduction: This questionnaire is designed to help professional therapists understand their natural inclinations across four key areas of practice: Way of Interacting, Understanding a Problem, Intervention Style, and Approach to Change, Development, and Growth. There are no "right" or "wrong" answers; the goal is self-awareness. Please respond honestly, reflecting your most natural tendencies in a therapeutic context.


Instructions: For each statement, please rate your agreement on a scale of 1 to 5, where:


  • 1 = Strongly Disagree (or strongly prefer the left-hand polarity)

  • 2 = Disagree (or lean towards the left-hand polarity)

  • 3 = = Neutral / Balanced (or equally prefer both, or context-dependent)

  • 4 = Agree (or lean towards the right-hand polarity)

  • 5 = Strongly Agree (or strongly prefer the right-hand polarity)

 These questions are written in a manner to emphasize one side of the polarity. This framework provides a meta-theory—a way of thinking about the unconscious tendencies that shape how you think, feel, and act in a clinical setting. Please take a moment to read the description of the polarity before choosing your response in relation to the question.

Interaction with clients or peers


Internal Reflective-dominant therapists process information best through quiet introspection. They need time and space to think through complex cases, form hypotheses, and connect ideas internally.


Social Expressive-dominant therapists energize and clarify their thoughts through interaction. They are "thinking out loud" processors who refine their understanding by talking through cases with peers, supervisors, and even in the therapeutic dialogue itself.

  1. Before discussing a complex client case with colleagues, I usually prefer to think through my insights thoroughly on my own.

  1. I often clarify my thoughts and refine my understanding of a client's dynamics by talking them through with a supervisor or peer.

  1. In a session, I typically listen to the client and reflect internally on the possible outcome before offering a response.

  1. I find that my ideas for client work often become clearer and more developed as I engage in active dialogue with others.

  1. My most insightful therapeutic breakthroughs often come during quiet contemplation or journaling, rather than direct interaction.

Understanding a Problem or Need


Logical: dominant therapists instinctively look for patterns, structures, causal links, and cognitive frameworks.


Somatic Expressive: dominant therapists tune into the felt sense—the emotional and bodily experience in the room. They gain understanding through empathy, non-verbal cues and transference/countertransference.

  1. When a client presents with a problem, my first instinct is to identify patterns, causal links, and underlying cognitive structures.

  1. I often tune into the felt sense, bodily sensations, and emotional atmosphere in the room to understand a client's core issue.

  1. I prioritize creating a clear, evidence-based conceptualization of a client's difficulties before delving into their emotional depth.

  1. A client's non-verbal cues, tone of voice, and expressed feelings often provide the most profound insights into their challenges.

  1. I find that deeply understanding a client's emotional experience is more crucial than logically mapping out their problem when forming a treatment plan.

Intervention Style


Structural and Procedural: dominant therapists feel most effective when using established protocols, clear frameworks, and step-by-step techniques. They value predictability and structure.


 Intuitive and Dynamic: dominant therapists rely on their clinical intuition and the emergent, moment-to-moment dynamics of the session. Their interventions are often spontaneous, creative, and tailored to the unique relational field.

  1. I prefer to use established, step-by-step techniques and clear protocols when guiding a client through a therapeutic process.

  1. My interventions often emerge spontaneously from the unique relational dynamics and present moment of the session.

  1. I feel most confident in my session planning when I have a structured agenda or a clear progression of therapeutic tasks.

  1. I rely heavily on my gut feeling and adaptability to shift directions in a session, even if it deviates from a pre-planned approach.

  1. A strong therapeutic framework and well-defined procedures provide the necessary container for effective client work.

How Change, Development and Growth Occurs


Evidence based and Systematic: dominant therapists believe that change is best facilitated by applying targeted, empirically-supported strategies and by understanding/altering the client's life systems.


Natural and Organic: dominant therapists trust in the client's innate capacity for healing and growth. They see their primary role as creating a safe, nurturing, and accepting environment where the client's inner wisdom can emerge.

  1. I believe that significant client change is best facilitated through targeted, empirically supported interventions and systemic adjustments.

  1. I trust that clients possess an innate capacity for healing and growth, and my role is primarily to provide a nurturing environment for that to unfold naturally.

  1. I emphasize the importance of identifying and altering dysfunctional patterns within a client's life systems (e.g., family, social, cognitive) to promote change.

  1. I see client growth as an emergent process, much like a seed unfolding, where internal wisdom guides the trajectory of development.

  1. My therapeutic approach often focuses on the implementation of well-researched strategies and measurable outcomes to track progress.

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