What is a psychologist? What is a psychologist not? The clinical psychologist is most often faced with. What is the psychologist responsible for?

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We are talking and hearing about mental well-being much more than we did just a few years ago. And this is good, because without healthy emotions it is difficult to enjoy life. But the increased interest in everything that begins with "psycho" has led to an influx of amateurs.

website learned 9 things a good psychologist or mental health professional wouldn't do. Read and be healthy!

1. Work around your competence

Emotions are treated by psychologists, psychotherapists and psychiatrists. These professionals have the following competencies:

• Psychologist. This is not a doctor. More often he hears from patients: “I am ugly”, “My child does not obey me”, “Nobody loves me”.
• Psychotherapist. It may or may not be a doctor (we will explain why this is so below). More often he hears from patients: “I am afraid of germs”, “I am drawn to steal something”, “I often have panic attacks”.
• Psychiatrist. This is a doctor. More often he hears from patients: “I hear voices”, “I want to jump beautifully from the 9th floor”, “I am God, kneel, slave!”.

A good psychologist will not undertake to help a patient with a phobia, just as a good psychiatrist will not treat self-doubt, because these issues are beyond professional competence. But amateurs undertake to treat everything and everyone, often promising a quick and high-quality result.

2. Hide education

Many so-so specialists cover up the lack of the necessary education with various diplomas, often receiving them at accelerated online courses. But no piece of paper cancels the fact that a psychologist should have a higher education in psychology, a psychiatrist should have a higher education in psychiatry. With psychotherapists it is more difficult. The right to engage in psychotherapy gives:

• Basic education(medical or psychological). It can be spent both 8-10 years in a medical school, and 2 times less time in some university where psychology is taught.

• Retraining. You can pass both in 2 days, having received a certificate of an art therapist, for example, and in 5 years, becoming the owner of a diploma in psychoanalysis (a psychotherapist who deals with psychoanalysis).

Obviously, regardless of which specialist you turn to for help, you should ask him in detail about education. A professional without hesitation, embarrassment or nervousness will answer all your questions.

3. Violate session times

The professional will not end the session either earlier or later than the agreed time. First of all, it's an elementary courtesy, because you may have plans. Secondly, adherence to time frames creates a sense of stability in the patient and helps him to follow the developed therapy plan.

4. Criticize colleagues

If you visited a psychologist who, together with the psyche, promised to “treat” energy and teach you to read tarot, and then turned to another specialist, he can tactfully explain why you should avoid “healers” like the one you turned to before him. Do not laugh out loud, but tactfully explain. In other cases, a self-respecting psychologist, psychotherapist or psychiatrist will not criticize the methods of work of the previous specialist, since he will not know the true state of affairs.

5. Be familiar

A good psychologist, psychotherapist or psychiatrist will do everything to establish a trusting relationship with the person who turned to them for help. They will ask for feedback, for example, after the session, to discuss doubts or the reason for your discomfort, if any. But they will never switch to "you" without your consent., tell obscene jokes, give dubious compliments. And a qualified specialist will not become friends either.

The well-known psychologist and psychotherapist Mikhail Litvak states: “The qualification of a psychologist is inversely proportional to the amount of advice he gives.” The same applies to other specialists in the field of healing the soul. Their task is for the patient to approach the problem himself and find the right solution for himself. Of course, with the exception of cases where only drugs can help.

• Not right:“Do you feel like you don’t need anyone? Get a dog!
• Correctly:“Do you feel like you don’t need anyone? What do you think will get rid of this feeling? Do not know? Remember the moments when you forgot about him ... And so on until you realize that you feel needed when, for example, you write poetry.

After all, a good specialist does his best to make you relax and feel comfortable during the session, and vague terms are not at all helpful in this.

9. Impose your services

There is no universal advice that would allow you to find a psychologist, psychotherapist or psychiatrist that is right for you. Ideally, after the very first session, there is relief, a feeling that they are listening to you and trying to help you. If it didn’t happen, it doesn’t even mean that the specialist is bad - maybe he just isn’t for you. And a professional will not call you and put pressure on you to return.

It is important to understand that work on your state of mind is first of all your efforts. And, if you do not make an effort, a miracle will not happen, just as a beautiful figure will not appear from the fact that you are just listening to a fitness trainer.

It's no secret that many people still believe that only madmen go to psychologists or, at best, weaklings and whiners. If you yourself interact with such a specialist, you are ashamed to tell other people about it, and you hide it. All these worries, as a rule, appear from ignorance of who a psychologist is, how he works and why people need him. Let's find out.

So, who is he, a doctor or just a man?

A psychologist is a person who has a special education in the field of psychology and performs professional work in this field (as a science) and provides psychological assistance.

As a rule, people who feel the need to change something, solve a problem or find the right path in their life turn to a psychologist.

If we imagine that our psyche is a straight line, then a point above or below this line can be considered a pathology and carry a clinical change in the psyche. Only psychiatrists can work with this group of people.

A psychiatrist is a doctor who has a university degree in medicine and has undergone special training in a psychiatric institution. That is why he can prescribe medicine, refer a sick person to a hospital for further treatment, or determine the degree of disability.

The psychologist works only with mentally normal people, that is, with people who are healthy, but have some problems that can be solved faster, safer and more comfortably, without the use of drugs.

A psychologist is a specialist who can look at your problem from the point of view of his professional experience and can help you find a solution. This is a kind of guide that carries a lantern while you walk towards the light.

Methods:

1. Individual consultations.

At the consultation, the psychologist and the client, as a rule, find out the cause of the client's difficulty and look for solutions.

Sometimes the psychologist may suggest using other tools for work, such as drawing or playing games. However, you are not forced to do things you don't want to do or talk about things you don't want to discuss.

You can also ask your own questions.

2. Training.

This is learning by doing.

At the training, you are offered to master and apply new behaviors and ways of solving various problems.

Usually for training groups consist of 10-15 people.

The participants of the training do interesting exercises and share their impressions with the group.

The result of the training is to obtain practical knowledge that can be used in life.

3. Psychological diagnostics.

This is a personality analysis with the help of tests.

Psychodiagnostics concerns many aspects such as interpersonal relationships, human attention, memory, professional self-determination, personal qualities, abilities, intelligence, psychological state, etc.

Based on the results of these tests, some recommendations can be made in the field of study.

When to contact a psychologist?

You may need the help of a psychologist:

• If you have experienced tremendous stress (death of a loved one, violence, divorce, etc.).
• If you have a feeling of "moving in circles". When situations repeat themselves and you don’t know what to do, because it seems to you that there is no way out.
• If you feel depressed, depressed for a long time, your appetite and sleep are disturbed.
• If the relationship with someone close to you is getting worse day by day, and you are at a loss, not knowing what to do.

Do not forget we are all different, we each have our own unique set of events from the past, which is a tragedy for one, a mere trifle for another.

Hello dear guests! This article will talk about how a psychologist works, about his role in therapy and forms of work. You will also learn what not to expect from a psychologist.

Therapy with a psychologist takes place in different ways: it can be mainly a conversation, which can include elements of a staged game, or the session is entirely conducted in the form of a game, group trainings are also possible. For married couples, psychologists have their own methods of work, which are also very diverse. It is not so much how the therapy is carried out that is important, but its effectiveness.

A good psychologist is not the one who gives advice, indicates what to do, what to say and do. The role of a psychologist is to help a person understand himself, to teach him to make decisions on his own, not to be afraid, to be in harmony with himself. It is not a psychologist who solves your problem, but you yourself, with the help and under the guidance of a specialist. The psychologist helps you to look at your problem from the outside, from different points of view, will express his opinion. Only your efforts and frankness determine how effective your work with a psychologist will be.

A good psychologist will teach you to be more independent, morally savvy, stronger. The goal of a psychologist is not just to help solve the difficulty, but to teach you how to cope with them on your own in the future. Many are afraid of becoming dependent on a psychologist and helpless without him. If nothing changes in the client's life after visiting a psychologist, then such therapy is not needed. But, of course, if a person wants to waste his strength, nerves, time and money senselessly, then this is his right. A good psychologist does not have dependent clients at the end of therapy. I think even for an unenlightened person, after several sessions of therapy, it will not be difficult to understand whether the work of a psychologist brings at least some benefit.

It is not possible to describe in detail the forms of work of a psychologist. There are many types and ways of working within the framework of various psychological schools, of which there are countless. In addition, each psychologist in his work chooses specific techniques and methods. One thing that unites almost all psychologists is that they conduct a psychotherapeutic conversation with you. In addition, the psychologist can use games, drawings, music, bodily techniques, theatrical scenes and much more. As you can see, everything depends on the specific psychologist, his preferred methods of work, the personal qualities of the client, the specific request (the topic with which the client came to therapy). Based on all known parameters, the psychologist chooses the method by which he will work with the client. Different psychologists can work with the same topics using different approaches and methods, but with the same success. Before seeing a psychologist, you should not worry and ask yourself the questions “what to say to a psychologist?”, “What questions do psychologists ask”. The specialist will explain everything himself.

What a psychologist does not do:

1. The psychologist never gives advice. Correction: A GOOD psychologist never gives advice. There is no universal advice for all people. No person, no matter how wise and experienced, can give advice that will definitely help another person, make him better. Therefore, advice at least does not make any sense. As for psychotherapy, advice plays a very cruel joke - in this case, the client goes to a psychologist uselessly: he does not learn to make decisions himself, think them over and take responsibility for his actions, but blindly follows advice (which, moreover, does not help ).

2. The psychologist does not work with people in absentia. For example, when a person comes with requests like: "Invite my husband, explain to him how to behave!" or "I'll bring my daughter to you, fix her!". The psychologist works only with the person who came to him on his own, decided to visit him. You can’t force a person to change if he himself is satisfied with everything in life. In this case, the psychologist can offer help to the person who came to him with such a request.

3. The psychologist does not prescribe or recommend any medicines and medicines, this can only be done by a doctor - a graduate of a medical school, in this case - a psychiatrist or psychotherapist, but only with a medical education. You can read about how these specialists differ from each other in this article.

So, to summarize: It is not so important how exactly the psychologist works, as long as your joint work bears fruit, is effective.

The range of problems that can be addressed to a psychologist is described in detail.

It would seem now that everyone knows who a psychologist is and why he is needed. For many, this is even an indicator of a certain status, it's kind of cool to have a personal psychologist.

But nevertheless, in our society there are a number of stereotypes and barriers that do not allow a person to seek qualified help. Until now, psychologists are confused with social workers, healers, psychiatrists, etc. So who is a psychologist and why is he needed?

Now, psychologists are increasingly in demand in business training. People who were sent by their leaders come to trainings in order to increase their efficiency in work. And in each such case, a person is a tool to achieve some goal. Whether he comes himself, whether someone else directs him ... On such, skillful (training in techniques and methods of influencing others) very often, individual psychological difficulties are revealed. For example, we learn to ask questions, it would seem, what is there to learn? And someone suddenly discovers that he is embarrassed when everyone is looking at him and waiting for his question, but he cannot “squeeze” it out of himself - he enters into a stupor. And here it is an individual psychological difficulty - how to deal with embarrassment, because, in fact, I know how to ask questions, I can write it on a piece of paper, I can suggest it to a colleague from the left and right, but as soon as people's attention is on me - I I pass out.

And most often, the sources of such “difficulties” are unresolved human problems.

In fact, we constantly meet with all sorts of problems, and even if for someone they seem ridiculous and sucked from the finger, for us, at this very moment this is a real, insoluble problem. At the same time, not every time we run for help. Moreover, problems often have a beneficial effect: they teach us independence, resistance to stress, and contribute to the development of both mental and spiritual. But when we encounter a situation for the first time or in an unsuitable state for this (we are neither physically nor morally able to survive it), then it becomes critical. And this means that there is a risk of getting stuck in this situation. At this moment, at this time, we are simply unable to think and look for a way out. And this state of failure, confusion and powerlessness begins to haunt us in similar situations.

Any living person needs the presence of someone nearby so that he can help to survive what is happening, so that he can support and, if necessary, explain what is happening. When we tell someone about our feelings and experiences, we give him a part of them. In psychology, this process is called "containment of feelings." The psychologist is the one who temporarily acts as such a container. The psychologist never evaluates either the actions of a person, or his personality, or his feelings. For him, each person is a unique, valuable person who is simply confused in this period of time and needs support.

The psychologist does not act as a teacher, adviser, expert or friend, he just walks beside you, sharing a heavy burden of feelings, allowing you to be the way you want to be at this moment.

“The patient does not understand, and my task is to explain to him ...” - I sometimes hear from colleagues. And the patients themselves often look for explanations in the psychologist's office, and sometimes they call working with a psychologist lessons. Yes, and how else? The psychologist studied psychology, knows its laws and can teach the patient, explain to him. At the same time, he turns out to be something like mom, dad and teacher in one bottle, and the patient is not very capable, if he himself did not understand, a student. It may be pleasant for a psychologist to play the role of big, smart and strong, but, freed from self-importance, it is not so difficult to see that this approach to psychotherapy does not work. And the patients themselves express it best of all: “I understand everything with my head, but my soul suffers.”

I imagine doing my life like embroidering on a canvas. A good, correct canvas, and I came up with a wonderful drawing, and I perfectly understand what and how to do ... But it doesn’t work out - I want the best, but it turns out as always ... Why? I embroider with a thread that I spin from the experiences of my life experience, in which, for all the intelligibility of the experience itself (here I did the right thing, here I made a mistake, there it was necessary like this, and there that way, etc. etc.) there are a lot of knots , knots and loops. And now I need to lay an important stitch in my life. I understand that it is necessary and what it is for, but the thread keeps getting stuck or broken. With this, I go to a psychologist so that he can help untie, dissolve these invisible, unknown to me, but so interfering mental loops and knots.

Family and friends cannot help because, for many reasons, they will discuss the experience itself and not how it is experienced. This is due to the boundaries beyond which we cannot step in the framework of our real relations with their history, character and interests of the participants. Therefore, the psychologist is prohibited from psychotherapy of family members, friends and those with whom he is associated with personal or business relationships.

Externally, psychotherapy is a conversation between two people. What makes it different from just talking?

– Just like a lawyer and a doctor, a psychologist serves the interests of this one person. So, when working with a difficult child, he does it for the child, and not for the family or school.

- Knowing the circumstances of the patient's life, the psychologist concentrates not on them, but on their experience. One and the same divorce can be experienced as the happiness of liberation, as the collapse of life, as something unimportant...

– From this follows what Alexander Badchen calls the psychotherapeutic transformation of the ethical: the good of a particular patient is more important than the good of the world with its morals, rules, etc. If, for example, the crime of Rodion Raskolnikov had not been solved and if he had come to a psychologist in 10–15 years with the words - they say, he killed two aunts for nothing and now I can’t live with it, the psychologist will accept his words as an expression of spiritual torment, with which he will help to deal with, and not as a confession or confession for the sake of absolution.

The psychologist accepts the patient as he is, without value judgments. Evaluation of the patient's actions as good or bad, right or wrong, etc. lies outside the scope of psychotherapy.

- The psychologist does not take what is happening between him and the patient beyond the limits of their communication. Even to law enforcement agencies, he has the right to give the necessary information only under a special legal decree.

- The psychologist does not teach, does not edify, does not prescribe opinions and behavior to the patient, but helps him to explore those unconscious experiences of past and present experience that give rise to problems that interfere with the patient. The patient, for example, is well aware that the difficulties in financial relationships are due to the fact that he establishes too close relationships with people. The task of the psychologist in this case is to help the patient explore the origins of the desire to seek close relationships and work out with him the experiences associated with these origins.

All of the above makes the psychotherapeutic relationship really unique, and therefore helping a person to untie the spiritual knots that torment him and prepare himself for life without this pain.