Does it matter who treats you?

The examination of social workers' personal qualities has been surprisingly scarce in Finnish research on social work. According to research on psychotherapy, the differences in efficiency due to therapists' personal qualities have a significant impact on the outcome of psychotherapy. The therapist's role is crucial, particularly considering the founding and maintaining of a therapeutic alliance. Against this background, it is not surprising that there is also a connection between the therapist's style and the interruption of treatment. On the basis of earlier research there is reason to assume that there are non-specific factors which have a major impact on the outcome of therapy. Being positive, respectful, and supportive towards the client is essential in all forms of therapy. Skilful non-professional helpers apparently work in the same way. The origin of such skills and the question of how to teach them are questions of great importance. The article gives a review of the research conducted on the subject matter and offers three subjects of study for research on social work: first, differences in effectiveness between social workers; second, non-verbal communication in social work interaction; and third, practices of non-professional helpers and the efficiency of these practices.