--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is no such thing as a neutral…" description: "\"There is no such thing as a neutral therapist.\" — Susie Orbach" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/819/susie-orbach-14175_therapists_there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-neutral-ther_1651971.jpg" --- # There is no such thing as a neutral therapist. ![“There is no such thing as a neutral therapist.” quote by Susie Orbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/819/susie-orbach-14175_therapists_there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-neutral-ther_1651971.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/819/susie-orbach-14175_therapists_there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-neutral-ther_1651971.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/819/susie-orbach-14175_therapists_there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-neutral-ther_1651971.jpg) > “There is no such thing as a neutral therapist.” [Susie Orbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susie-orbach/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Therapists cannot be completely unbiased; their perspectives shape the therapeutic process. **In simple terms:** Therapists bring personal bias. Key Takeaway Recognize and address therapist bias. Themes psychology ethics therapy bias self-awareness Mood reflective critical thoughtful Type advice insightful ethical When to use this quote - counseling sessions - clinical supervision - client-therapist relationship - training programs Key Concepts subjectivity power dynamics clinical practice Questions to Reflect On - How does a therapist’s worldview affect treatment? - What steps can ensure ethical practice? A Different Perspective Therapist neutrality is impossible, but transparency can mitigate impact. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Therapists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/therapists/) ## Related quotes > [“I’ve learned that when it comes to race, there’s no such thing as neutral: either I’m intentionally and strategically working against it, or I’m…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debby-irving/i-ve-learned-that-when-it-comes-to-race-there-s-no-such-thing-as/) [Debby Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debby-irving/) > [“there is no such thing as a neutral exchange. You leave someone either a little better or a little worse.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-carnegie/there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-neutral-exchange-you-leave-someone-either/) [Dale Carnegie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-carnegie/) > [It is a wicked thing to be neutral between right and wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/it-is-a-wicked-thing-to-be-neutral-between-right-and-wrong/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [I'm a therapist and that fascinates people because they think I carry secrets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susie-orbach/i-m-a-therapist-and-that-fascinates-people-because-they-think-i-carry/) [Susie Orbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susie-orbach/) > [My concept of an advice giver had been a therapist or a know-it-all, and then I realized nobody listens to the know-it-alls. You turn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/my-concept-of-an-advice-giver-had-been-a-therapist-or-a-know-it-all/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [Surely a good therapist should produce a Dorian Gray-style portrait from under the couch so the patient can see the person they really are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosamund-lupton/surely-a-good-therapist-should-produce-a-dorian-gray-style-portrait/) [Rosamund Lupton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosamund-lupton/) > [I teach people to be flexible, scientific and logical in their thinking and therefore to be less prone to brainwashing by the therapist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-ellis/i-teach-people-to-be-flexible-scientific-and-logical-in-their/) [Albert Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-ellis/) > [There are more than enough people with serious mental issues who really do need professional help without all the other Toms, Dicks and Harriets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariella-frostrup/there-are-more-than-enough-people-with-serious-mental-issues-who/) [Mariella Frostrup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariella-frostrup/) > [“Some expect persons to care for themselves. Sometimes therapists go too far in expecting an individual to perform self-care; some individuals prefer to spend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-gillen/some-expect-persons-to-care-for-themselves-sometimes-therapists-go/) [Glen Gillen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-gillen/) > [Life as a therapist is ruthless; circumstances that are helpful to one neurotic may crush another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-horney/life-as-a-therapist-is-ruthless-circumstances-that-are-helpful-to-one/) [Karen Horney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-horney/) > [I know there must be something I should explore about that with my therapist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-messing/i-know-there-must-be-something-i-should-explore-about-that-with-my/) [Debra Messing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-messing/) > [Let me tell you, if your marriage is in trouble, skip the therapist and find a psycho. Nothing brings people together faster.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-edelstein/let-me-tell-you-if-your-marriage-is-in-trouble-skip-the-therapist-and/) [David Edelstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-edelstein/) > [It's always hard for me to find a therapist who is a black woman or even a woman of color. It's something that we've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morgan-parker/it-s-always-hard-for-me-to-find-a-therapist-who-is-a-black-woman-or/) [Morgan Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morgan-parker/) > [Therapists need to have a long experience in personal therapy to see what it's like to be on the other side of the couch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/therapists-need-to-have-a-long-experience-in-personal-therapy-to-see/) [Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) > [To be tested is good. The challenged life may be the best therapist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-sheehy/to-be-tested-is-good-the-challenged-life-may-be-the-best-therapist/) [Gail Sheehy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-sheehy/) ## More by Susie Orbach > [Emotional Literacy means being able to recognise what you are feeling, so that it doesn't interfere with thinking. It becomes another dimension to draw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susie-orbach/emotional-literacy-means-being-able-to-recognise-what-you-are-feeling/) [Susie Orbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susie-orbach/) > [Many young girls are constantly consumed by controlling and managing their body image to the extent that they are much more involved in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susie-orbach/many-young-girls-are-constantly-consumed-by-controlling-and-managing/) [Susie Orbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susie-orbach/) > [From a child's point of view, there is rarely a great time for parents to separate, even if there has been a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susie-orbach/from-a-child-s-point-of-view-there-is-rarely-a-great-time-for-parents/) [Susie Orbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susie-orbach/) > [Being able to provoke a different point of view to the standard current ideological or political perspective as played out in conventional newspaper or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susie-orbach/being-able-to-provoke-a-different-point-of-view-to-the-standard/) [Susie Orbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susie-orbach/) > [We accept there's an emotional aspect to life. But we're not very developed in our ways of understanding it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susie-orbach/we-accept-there-s-an-emotional-aspect-to-life-but-we-re-not-very/) [Susie Orbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susie-orbach/) > [I think it is one of the capacities of human beings, to create style.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susie-orbach/i-think-it-is-one-of-the-capacities-of-human-beings-to-create-style/) [Susie Orbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susie-orbach/) > [Bodies are becoming our personal mission to tame, extend and perfect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susie-orbach/bodies-are-becoming-our-personal-mission-to-tame-extend-and-perfect/) [Susie Orbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susie-orbach/) > [“The truth is, we don't have an easy language for emotional life. That's why we have writers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susie-orbach/the-truth-is-we-don-t-have-an-easy-language-for-emotional-life-that-s/) [Susie Orbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susie-orbach/) > [Our idea of a healthy body is so destabilised that insecure people have come to bolster their own bodies by deeming others - those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susie-orbach/our-idea-of-a-healthy-body-is-so-destabilised-that-insecure-people/) [Susie Orbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susie-orbach/) > [The insistence that the commercialisation of the body is a fit subject for political discussion and intervention is well overdue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susie-orbach/the-insistence-that-the-commercialisation-of-the-body-is-a-fit/) [Susie Orbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susie-orbach/) > [Fat is a way of saying no to powerlessness and self-denial.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susie-orbach/fat-is-a-way-of-saying-no-to-powerlessness-and-self-denial/) [Susie Orbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susie-orbach/) > [No one likes to feel helpless. We find it psychologically unbearable and inside ourselves we may try to make ourselves part author of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susie-orbach/no-one-likes-to-feel-helpless-we-find-it-psychologically-unbearable/) [Susie Orbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susie-orbach/) > [“Children who feel that they are unloved can believe that there must be something very wrong about them which makes them unacceptable. The stinging…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susie-orbach/children-who-feel-that-they-are-unloved-can-believe-that-there-must/) [Susie Orbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susie-orbach/) > [Boys, young men, men of all ages are being captivated by the new visual grammar which pushes men to pout and posture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susie-orbach/boys-young-men-men-of-all-ages-are-being-captivated-by-the-new-visual/) [Susie Orbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susie-orbach/) > [No one leaves a long-term relationship scot-free or without conflict.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susie-orbach/no-one-leaves-a-long-term-relationship-scot-free-or-without-conflict/) [Susie Orbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susie-orbach/) [Explore all 47 Susie Orbach quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susie-orbach/) ## More Neutral quotes > [Technology is not good, it's neutral.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-shadyac/technology-is-not-good-it-s-neutral/) [Tom Shadyac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-shadyac/) > [“You can not have empty or neutral mind, as long as you work the mind will contain dreams, if you stop working it will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/you-can-not-have-empty-or-neutral-mind-as-long-as-you-work-the-mind/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [Science is and should be seen as "completely neutral" on the issue of the theistic or atheistic implications of scientific results.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-coyne/science-is-and-should-be-seen-as-completely-neutral-on-the-issue-of/) [George Coyne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-coyne/) > [Your relationships will either make you or break you and there is no such thing as a neutral relationship. People either inspire you to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-thomas/your-relationships-will-either-make-you-or-break-you-and-there-is-no/) [Eric Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-thomas/) > [ “\[T\]he commitment to a framework neutral among ends can be seen as a kind of value \[...\] but its value consists precisely in its… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-j-sandel/t-he-commitment-to-a-framework-neutral-among-ends-can-be-seen-as-a/) [Michael J. Sandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-j-sandel/) > [I was a child during the Lebanese civil war, and I remember Israeli bombardments. So growing up, my view of Israel was completely negative.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ziad-doueiri/i-was-a-child-during-the-lebanese-civil-war-and-i-remember-israeli/) [Ziad Doueiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ziad-doueiri/) > [Technology is not neutral. We're inside of what we make, and it's inside of us. We're living in a world of connections — and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-j-haraway/technology-is-not-neutral-we-re-inside-of-what-we-make-and-it-s/) [Donna J. Haraway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-j-haraway/) > [My neutral accent is Bolton.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-morgan/my-neutral-accent-is-bolton/) [Diane Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-morgan/) > [The most prominent place in hell is reserved for those who are neutral on the great issues of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/the-most-prominent-place-in-hell-is-reserved-for-those-who-are/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [It was an axiom of "containment" that no part of the known world could be considered neutral. "Neutralism" was among the Cold Warriors' gravest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-was-an-axiom-of-containment-that-no-part-of-the-known-world-could/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Ultimately, I do want us to be a transformative government. I want, when we've left, for people to say we're not just clean-green anymore:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacinda-ardern/ultimately-i-do-want-us-to-be-a-transformative-government-i-want-when/) [Jacinda Ardern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacinda-ardern/) > [there is no politically neutral art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bell-hooks/there-is-no-politically-neutral-art/) [Bell Hooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bell-hooks/) > [Love comes and when it comes it might go , so stay neutral.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melchor-lim/love-comes-and-when-it-comes-it-might-go-so-stay-neutral/) [Melchor Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melchor-lim/) > [The power is neutral. It cannot be divided into positive and negative energies. Power is power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-cunningham/the-power-is-neutral-it-cannot-be-divided-into-positive-and-negative/) [Scott Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-cunningham/) > [I'm always the neutral guy, man. I'm able to bring people together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-smith/i-m-always-the-neutral-guy-man-i-m-able-to-bring-people-together/) [Kenny Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-smith/) Browse all 213 Neutral quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There is no such thing as a neutral therapist.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Susie Orbach" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susie-orbach/there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-neutral-therapist/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Neutral" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susie-orbach/there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-neutral-therapist/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/819/susie-orbach-14175_therapists_there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-neutral-ther_1651971.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/819/susie-orbach-14175_therapists_there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-neutral-ther_1651971.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/819/susie-orbach-14175_therapists_there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-neutral-ther_1651971.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There is no such thing as a neutral therapist.” — Susie Orbach", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Susie Orbach", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susie-orbach/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "There is no such thing as...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susie-orbach/there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-neutral-therapist/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susie-orbach/there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-neutral-therapist/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```