What Is It Like To Be A Client Of A Psychologist

2024 Author: Harry Day | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 15:43

When people sign up for the first consultation, many ask the question: "What do you need to have with you, what to prepare for?" When a person comes, he has many different expectations, anxieties, etc. To make it easier I decided to write how it is to be a client. Yes, I have been and am going through personal therapy too. In psychology (and even more so in psychoanalysis), this is a prerequisite for successfully helping others.

When visiting a psychologist for the first time, be prepared that it takes time to establish contact and build trust. Be prepared that the first 10 consultations will not be very clear. Talk more and ask questions.

You can and should also talk about yourself. You can talk about anything. At least about the weather, at least about what kind of pet you have. All this will provide invaluable information to your psychologist and allow you to ask about what is important to you. Do not be disturbed by the feeling of guilt that you are carrying nonsense and trifles. Great things are made up of little things.

Be prepared that from time to time you will lose the desire to go to psychotherapy. This is called resistance. Our psyche always strives for stability (and psychotherapy always tries to change it) and perceives any changes as a danger. It can manifest itself like this: there is nothing to say, nothing happens in life, everything seems to be okay.

Psychotherapy is the most important thing you have done for yourself. Yes, you change yourself and your future, make it happier. Get to know and understand yourself more. This is the most precious thing you can do for yourself. Caring for others is precious, caring for yourself is priceless.

Going to psychotherapy is normal and good. Ideally, everyone would go this way. Even if all is well in life, getting to know yourself a little more is also good.

You will talk a lot about feelings with a psychologist, you will feel. During psychotherapy, you will remember many past events and experience them emotionally. This is essential for successful promotion. More senses less intelligence. Intelligence often acts as a defense mechanism against change.

Change won't come overnight. You need to give yourself time to change. One 43-year-old man asked me: "How quickly can I get rid of my problem?" The answer is very simple: "The problem has been forming for 43 years, it will take time to change, how much we learn exactly in the process of psychotherapy, from ten consultations exactly."

Be prepared that the therapy sessions will be different in terms of emotional content. Some will bring happiness, lightness and inspiration. Others will be so exhausting that it will seem that this is the worst thing that happened in life. This is the normal process of psychotherapy. Your psychologist should make sure that you go deep into yourself, but at the same time the pain from this was bearable for you. Sometimes your counselor will annoy you with questions about you and your past or present. It's okay too. Just tell him directly about it. We all go through training and our personal therapy and learn to withstand the intensity of feelings that arise during psychotherapy.

The psychologist will not answer all your questions. You yourself need to learn how to look for answers to questions. You need to learn to take responsibility for yourself and your life. If a psychologist answers all your questions and takes full responsibility, then therapy will not be effective.

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And the most important thing. Psychotherapy, your session time, office address is one of the safest places. This is where you can open all your spiritual wounds and heal them. In therapy, you can express absolutely all the feelings that you have. And in the way you want it exactly.

Mikhail Ozhirinsky - psychoanalyst, group analyst.