Why do therapists call their patients clients?

The word client was adopted by the mental health field as a rejection of the medicinal significance of “patient.” Instead of a patient who needs a clinician to offer treatment, a client seeks the assistance of a counselor as more of a confidential teammate for improving a bio-psycho-social aspect of her life.

What does a therapist call their client?

For therapists, the choice to use the term “patients” or “clients” often reflects years of academic debate about the relationship between mental health clinicians (Psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, counselors, therapists, etc.) and those they are seeking to help.

How do therapists and clients know when treatment should end?

In the midst of talking about confidentiality, payment contracts, and consents, we would be wise to address how the client and therapist know when treatment should end. Ask clients to imagine what life will look like when therapy is over. What would be different? What skills would they possess that they do not currently have?

Should we refer to people seeking help as “patient” or “client”?

Yes, it is true that the people seeking help don’t necessarily care whether they are referred to as patients or clients. But this misses the point of the discussion—let me explain why.

Why do therapists use different terms?

The term a therapist uses is important—not because of what the patient thinks, but because of what the therapist thinks. Each of the different terms reflects a different ideology on the part of the helper.

Why do clients drop out of therapy?

Sometimes we get a cancellation email or text that says they will call us to reschedule when we really know it’s code for, “I ain’t coming back.” It is all too easy to blame clients for dropping out of therapy. We say very clinical things like, “They weren’t ready to do the work,” or “We reached a climax in treatment and it was too much for them”.