Help Of A Psychologist. Do I Need It? How To Choose A Specialist

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

Many of us are trying to change something in our life - to start playing sports on Monday; break off a hateful relationship; not dating a specific type of boy / girl anymore; start doing what you want, and not what you expect; stop responding to criticism from others, etc. However, a new day dawns, and we again live life the way we don't like it.

If I feel that something is wrong with my tooth, I go to the dentist. However, if you feel that something is wrong with your soul, only a few decide to go to a psychologist.

What is the reason for this resistance?

First, in our country, for a long time, exclusively psychiatrists have been dealing with the problems of the inner world, and even then - in a painful form of their manifestation. From this, the majority of people formed the idea that everything that has "psi" in its content refers to the abnormal - it is necessarily associated with a hospital, a diagnosis and a pill. And also - with strong shame and fear - what if someone finds out! From this, people hold out their condition to an extreme degree - insomnia; nervous tension that does not allow you to cope with ordinary life; life limitation in panic disorder. Hoping that it is better to suffer than to turn to "psi"!

The other extreme is the devaluation of psychological assistance and psychotherapy, as some kind of excess, referring this activity to the category of extrasensory perception. Why go to a psychologist? What an absurdity! You can force yourself, overcome, develop willpower. Plus it's free. Or talk to a friend, have a drink, be distracted.

I would like to say that psychology is a science.

And in order to have the right to engage in psychotherapeutic practice, a specialist, in addition to basic higher education - a psychologist, a doctor, must undergo a long-term educational program in the chosen direction - psychoanalysis, gestalt therapist, psychodrama, etc. to master theoretical knowledge and practical methods of work.

A psychotherapist of each direction can work with any difficulties of the client. Only depending on the direction of doing this, he will be in different ways.

In addition, the future psychotherapist must undergo a course of his own long-term psychotherapy (on average, approx. 2 years of systematic psychotherapy). This allows you to deal with your own difficulties and not introduce them into the work with the client. Having mastered professional skills, the psychotherapist needs to demonstrate them to leading trainers and receive a certificate confirming the compliance of these skills with accepted standards.

There is also a process of accrediting a specialist among colleagues who, by this procedure, accept him into their community.

Even after passing all these stages, the psychologist-psychotherapist continues to maintain his professionalism, cooperating with the supervisor. A colleague who has more experience and helps to deal with the current difficulties in working with a specific client (observing the principle of confidentiality).

So a psychologist-psychotherapist is a specialist who has 10 years of educational experience at the time of the beginning of his practice. In his work, he relies on scientific, practical knowledge and has nothing to do with mystical magical actions.

It is important to emphasize that psychotherapy is always the work of two participants - a psychologist-psychotherapist and a client. Without the active participation of the client, no professional specialist will promise you changes.

Based on the above information, the following points can be highlighted that should be paid attention to when choosing a specialist:

- education - a person with basic psychological education can provide psychological counseling services - short-term explanatory conversations, no more. Psychologist-psychotherapist has additional education, which takes 4-5 years. You should be alerted by short-term training projects in non-core universities (psychologist-psychotherapist for 4 months);

- you should be careful if the therapist after the first meeting convinces you that he will cope with all your questions. To determine the prospects for work, you need 3-5 meetings at least. A good specialist will remind you of your participation in the work;

- working with a good specialist is not cheap, because in order to become such, he had to invest for 10 years in his education, pay for the conditions in which his work takes place, maintain his professionalism by visiting a supervisor and new training programs;

- give preference to your emotional reaction over your head, choosing a psychologist-psychotherapist. Believe me - it will be him;

- remember not to expect rapid changes. Qualitative changes in your inner world are the result of long-term systematic, joint work.