Psychological defense: distortion of reality or preservation of one's "I"? Disadvantages of being a psychologist How did it happen

Chapter 16

Chapter 6 INDIVIDUAL-PSYCHOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PERSON.

Hierarchical data representation model. Its advantages and disadvantages.

Absent Mindedness -5. You are forgetting well-known facts. -ten. You forget your friends. -fifteen. You can even forget who you are!

Manic depressive syndrome. Manic-depressive syndrome. -5. Your mood deteriorates sharply and your mood improves just as sharply. -ten. One of your hypostases is a cheerful idiot, while the other is a lying bastard. -15 Your bouts of mirth or hatred of yourself and the world around you can cause you to lose all your money or get seriously injured. -twenty. You either don't remember the possibility of death, or you don't give a damn about it.

delusions. Delusions. You hear voices, communicate with aliens, claim a master's degree in exophysics, or consider yourself a god. Well, or something like that. -5. You risk exposing yourself to ridicule or losing your job. -10 You risk losing your fortune or going to a psychiatric hospital. -fifteen. You will be assigned to a psychiatric hospital only after you are pumped out. -twenty. Are you sure you're being kicked out?

Masochism. Masochism. You hate yourself and enjoy bullying yourself. -5. You like being verbally humiliated. -ten. You like being hurt. -fifteen. You like to be hurt with medieval interrogation tools...

Phobia. Phobia. You are afraid of something to the point of losing control of yourself. -5. You feel discomfort. -ten. You are paralyzed with fear. -fifteen. You go insane or berserk. -twenty. You fall into catatonia.

paranoia. Paranoia. You think you have enemies everywhere. In this regard, you: -5. Be wary of everyone you meet, trying to keep the maximum possible distance. -ten. Take real measures to combat "them". -fifteen. You run the risk of going to prison or a psychiatric hospital, or losing your entire fortune on countermeasures against "them." -twenty. Let me die, but "they" will not get me!

airhead. Daredevil. The wind is in your head. You quietly forget vital things. -5. You are confused in the well-known facts. -ten. You are forgetting important things. -fifteen. What you forget can cost you dearly. -twenty. Because of your forgetfulness, other people may die, but you - in the first place.

bad temper. Bad temper. Your manners can cost you a lot. -5. This will cost you a hefty fine. -ten. For this, they can be imprisoned. -fifteen. And for this, they will send you under the tower ...

coward. Coward. You are so afraid that you lose control of yourself. -5. You are afraid of everything that can be dangerous. -ten. You are paralyzed with fear. -fifteen. You start to panic and the urge to run away anywhere, but only away from here.

obsessed. Possessed. For the sake of your idea, you are ready to go to great lengths. -5. You are ready to lose your fortune in order to achieve your goal. -ten. You are not afraid to expose yourself to unjustified risk. -fifteen. You will gladly die in the name of an idea.

Shy. Shyness. You feel uncomfortable in the presence of strangers. -5. You prefer to remain silent. -ten. Avoid even meeting strangers. -fifteen. Actively avoid strangers by leaving when someone enters.

Stubborn. Stubbornness. You do not like to admit your own wrong, accepting with hostility all proposals that contradict your opinion. -5. This can cost you money or reputation. -ten. Even the risk of physical injury will not stop you. -fifteen. You don't even care about the possibility of your death.

Berserk. Berserk. When it comes to fighting, you become an out of control machine of destruction. And fights often come up. -5. Every little thing drives you crazy. -ten. You can only stop if you meet a friend along the way. -fifteen. You no longer distinguish between enemies and friends. -twenty. You attack everything that threatens you. Even the trees that are so predatory waving their branches in your direction!

unlucky. Jonah. You are pathologically unlucky. Something happens to you all the time, and almost always bad. -5. Small failures. -ten. Pure chance can cost you a significant loss of money or reputation. -fifteen. Your bad luck puts your life in real danger. -twenty. You are constantly at risk of accidental death.

Disadvantages of a person are qualities of mental and physical organization that are considered undesirable, they can reflect the personal, behavioral and physical manifestations of a person, include his actions and taste. Those. relate to absolutely any sphere of human manifestation, but do not satisfy either the person directly or someone who evaluates the personality. The advantages and disadvantages of a person have a subjective radical as the main one for definition. The impossibility of an unambiguous and static division of qualities into good and bad confuses the distinction and classification of human manifestations as shortcomings or virtues. Also, in different situations that introduce a different semantic context, the same actions have a different interpretation as a manifestation of a disadvantage or dignity (for example, quick response, without taking into account the smallest details, in family life is a disadvantage, while in a situation of military danger this quality plays a primary role). role and is considered a virtue).

The reference to a defect implies the context of a small amount or lack of something, although the same is true of character (lack of patience or honesty).

What are disadvantages?

Personality flaws mean vices and weaknesses that take the form of addictions or spinelessness of character, and the manifestation of negative and qualities from the category and should also be included here. The advantages and disadvantages of a person are polar manifestations, one helps to move forward, achieve success, inspires respect, the second destroys a person’s destiny, rebuilds his personality, by making him weak, hinders success, pushes him to unworthy or even illegal actions and is the main cause of disrespectful attitude and social avoidance.

Disadvantages are usually presented as a characteristic feature that is a characteristic of a person for a fairly constant and long time. Everything that happens situationally and not systematically can be called misbehavior, and it is not worth emphasizing such isolated manifestations as much as with a permanent variant.

There is an opinion that even flaws are liked in a loved one, but, unfortunately, love is not so powerful as to withstand serious personal changes that affect the lives of others. It's one thing when this feeling allows you to accept some inaccuracy, but putting up with uncontrollable outbursts against the background of alcohol addiction with subsequent beatings is unlikely to help. Accordingly, to expect that the world will continue to spin around and accept everything as it is, makes no sense or hope, shortcomings must be corrected, replacing them with worthy behavior and manifestation, learning new life strategies, otherwise indulgence of one’s weaknesses will lead to complete personal degradation and destruction of life.

From a similar concept of acceptance, some preachers of humility try and advise others not to get rid of shortcomings, but to accept them. And the idea itself is very wonderful, it is about accepting and valuing one's self, but it is impossible to show love for oneself, leaving destructive behavior active. Any kind of addiction is latent, any resentment takes place and spiritual energy, where love could be, the time spent on quarrels cannot be returned to do creation. For any manifestation, resources of time and energy are needed, which means that by spending them on unworthy things, you yourself deprive some of your effective part of the opportunity for realization. Honest recognition of the flaw and the search for a profitable and useful trend to replace it with is a surer path. It is to replace, and not just eradicate, since the empty space will need to be filled and it is better to choose in advance what you want to achieve or develop in yourself, until another one has taken the place of one shortcoming.

What are the disadvantages of a person?

Just as all human nature has a physical and mental side of manifestation, so the shortcomings are divided in relation to these areas. Mental deficiencies include any deviations from the norm of the psyche confirmed by the medical and psychological commission (includes intellectual-mnestic and speech disorders, deviations in the emotional and mental sphere, developmental delays). Physical disabilities include any deviations from the normal criteria of physical development that limit physical, mental and social activity and are confirmed by a specially created medical commission.

These two types of shortcomings have normative criteria and are objectively recognized, but when it comes to human shortcomings, most people do not remember mental and physical ones, referring them rather to the field of clinical diseases, while defining some personal manifestations as shortcomings. It is the characterological features and models of interaction that are considered to be those shortcomings that need to be dealt with and that a person is to some extent able to overcome on his own.

Criticism of one's own behavior most often includes spinelessness and the inability to refuse. What prevents you from living your life, and in some cases contributes to a special exposure of your needs to a blow, while being quite convenient for others. The reasons lie in the desire to please everyone, and deliverance entails a certain restructuring of life. You will have to understand that not all of your acquaintances are pleasant to you, many simply use your reliability; you will have to accept your own aggression and strength, and learn how to handle them, and not push them into the darkest corner, as before. The inability to defend your interests and refuse people speaks of problems with intrapersonal boundaries and the ability to defend them - see if you are in a codependent relationship and how much of your own life you have left.

The next feature that does not add pluses in your interaction with society is arrogance, and it has been noticed that it is extremely rare for strangers in real life, but for a relatively close circle of people or on the Internet, statements with an arrogant look and in a humiliating form are increasingly appearing for others. It pushes for this illusory sense of security (it’s harder to get an unflattering answer from a loved one than from an outsider) and problems with. The world is full of people, better and worse than you, but neither the first nor the second manifestation is your concern, everyone is free to do as they please. You can call for humility endlessly, but think about why it is so important for you to stay on the imaginary top, criticize and strive to establish your own rules, is there really nothing more to do in your own life than to increase your importance in such ways?

Somewhere nearby, the need to control may pop up, and it’s good if it turns out to be the surrounding space, and you saw household members for the wrong sequence of jars in the kitchen, and if this starts to concern the life, actions and choices of others, then be prepared for the fact that others soon they will scream and run away. Again, talking about breaking boundaries and invading someone else's life. To take responsibility only for oneself and give advice only when asked - approximately this state of affairs should be strived for.

Many attribute to the shortcomings the unreasonable, bordering on and not allowing any of the partners to live in peace. This is not considered a manifestation of passion or fear of losing; at the level of sensations, this is perceived as distrust or even an insult by the fact that such thoughts are allowed. Soon, excessive jealousy entails another drawback, which can exist separately -. Apart from lying for the good, which is also a dubious undertaking, the reputation of a liar did not benefit anyone, but destroyed quite a few relationships.

There are many negative features, only those complaints about which are more common were considered, but in any case, when identifying shortcomings, one should focus on one's own system of values and feelings (among killers, killing is a craft that has been honed over the years and respected, but it is unlikely that it will become big dignity for a teacher in a children's group).

Disadvantages of a loved one

Starting a relationship with someone, we usually fall into that the person is perfect, but over time, the efforts to present only our positive qualities decrease and the real picture opens and the veil of raging hormones falls and it turns out that there is not such a prince nearby. Those who are lucky even like shortcomings in a loved one and they can find coincidences in these moments, but then these qualities cannot be considered as shortcomings in the partner’s worldview system, rather it is about an imposed social image. But when some manifestations of your partner begin to infuriate you, and you try to eradicate them, it means that you are faced with what is a drawback in your life model.

It is worth noting that the straightening of the behavioral and emotional manifestations of the other begins on both sides, consciously or not, since differences in characters without appropriate changes will lead to the impossibility of a peaceful existence in one territory. Everyone decides (or rather feels) what to consider as shortcomings on their own, but on the basis of habitual attitudes and family scenarios in parental families. But there are qualities and bells that require you to analyze the possible consequences.

This includes constant lateness, without regard for the value of your opinion, time and plans. Rudeness, manifested to others, relatives, to you personally. Perhaps this is a verbal form of violence, a scream or the use of force - the inability of a person to restrain his own impulsiveness and aggression is a critical shortcoming for building relationships. Excessive jealousy can please self-esteem at the beginning, then turning into a manifestation of possessiveness and restriction of your freedom.

Any shortcoming, before opening up completely and causing irreversible damage to your life or psyche, manifests itself in insignificant moments, there is nothing that does not indicate the possibility of a manifestation or deterioration of the situation. So, in order not to participate in rehabilitation activities, think at the beginning and be attentive to details.

Today we will talk about such a phenomenon of the human psyche as psychological protection.

What is psychological protection?

This is a system of mechanisms that protect us from negative experiences, mental pain, anxiety and many other negative factors that threaten the integrity of the individual. If it weren’t for psychological defenses, we would be constantly under great stress, crying or screaming for any reason, throwing ourselves at others, committing impulsive acts, etc. In a word, they would see life in black.

For the first time, the Austrian psychologist, psychiatrist and founder of psychoanalysis Z. Freud began to study psychological defenses. He interpreted the work of the defense system as a way to resolve the confrontation between unconscious drives and social norms (requirements, prohibitions, etc.).

Psychological defense mechanisms are universal: they are inherent in us by nature and are patterns of behavior or response to a traumatic situation.

Psychological protection does not change reality, events, people's characters, in addition, it distorts the perception of reality. As a result, many problems remain unresolved. What to do? Psychologists advise: for fear to go away, look into his eyes. Let's sort it out in order.

Three lines of psychological defenses

There are three lines of psychological defenses:

conscious stereotypes (help us to exist in society);
archetypal defenses (protect society, group, collective through personality);
unconscious defenses (protect our psyche from wear and tear).

At the same time, these lines form an integral system that maintains our spiritual balance and helps to cope with stress. Let's consider each of the lines in more detail.

Conscious stereotypes

These stereotypes are formed in our minds from early childhood, when we learn social norms and rules. At first, these are the norms of your family: wash your hands before eating; eat with utensils, not hands; draw in the album, not on the table. After some time, the child learns the norms of other communities: how to behave on the street, at a party, in kindergarten, at school, etc. All this allows us to avoid ostracism, and as a result, the society in which we exist accepts us. Thanks to the beginnings laid down in childhood, we save time for thinking and taking actions, and also increase the likelihood of a favorable resolution to the situation.

For example, we initially learn to observe subordination, speak respectfully with elders, show signs of attention towards them, take into account their opinion, etc. We also recognize the boundaries of what is permitted (for example, we learn that you can’t behave like at home in a store, etc.).

Archetypal Defenses

This is a series of behavioral models that help to overcome difficulties and not get confused in extreme situations that arise in the life of a group, community, colleagues, friends, loved ones, etc. It is believed that these protections have been formed for thousands of years, and since the person has remained an element of the community, the protections continue to function. They do not always appear in our behavior, but only in cases where society is in danger. A person may not even be aware of the resources of his psyche and the capabilities of his body, and in a stressful situation, in order to save his relatives, he can perform heroic deeds that he would not dare to do in ordinary life. Disaster medicine knows cases when children, having found themselves in an extreme situation, without hesitation helped those who were weaker (for example, boys helped pull girls out, gave them their clothes; girls calmed adults who could not pull themselves together). They performed such actions automatically, on a subconscious level: "If your neighbor is bad, he needs to be helped."

You can observe subconscious behavior patterns in yourself. For example, your friend quarreled with his parents, and you automatically begin to help him - listen, console, give advice. Many are willing to make sacrifices for the well-being of others. And it's all about the subconscious, which dictates to us a program to protect a small or large society.

Unconscious defenses

Everyone hears what they want to hear.

The essence of unconscious protection is that our psyche, without distortion, perceives only that information that cannot injure it. If some fact, event, actions or words of a person threaten our peace of mind, cause anxiety or tension, the unconscious defense immediately turns on. As a result, we do not perceive incoming information at all or perceive it in a distorted form. For example, some wives defend their husbands: "He's not an alcoholic, he just has a stressful job." Or a sick person says: “Today I feel better, I won’t go to the doctor. Yes, I’m not sick, why are you all pestering? This is how the mechanism of denial works: “You are all wrong, everything is fine with me / we!” As a result, a person artificially restores his mental balance, protects himself from fears, and reduces internal stress. Unfortunately, this trick of consciousness helps only temporarily. An alcoholic remains an alcoholic, and the sick person does not recover. After some time, peace of mind needs to be restored.

Consider the forms of unconscious defenses.

■ Escape. In the Paleolithic era, in the event of a threat to life, a person defended himself or fled. Today, flight has been modified and taken on unconscious forms. For example, if a person has not been able to build trusting relationships with people since childhood, he increasingly withdraws into himself and, as a result, becomes an introvert. Or if a person is not sure of a favorable outcome of any complex matter, he will refuse to go to organizations, call people and generally make any efforts under any pretext.

Basic and painful consequence flight is the inability to communicate constructively, ask for help, make suggestions or make comments if something does not satisfy. For example, the fear of offending, the fear of presenting oneself in an unfavorable light lead to non-specific wording or replacement of requests. As a result, a person does not resolve his issue, wastes time and experiences personal discomfort because "again, nothing came of it."

For example, an employee returns from vacation and sees a mountain of other people's papers on her desk. She is ashamed to ask the culprit to clean up after herself, and she does it herself. As a result, the problem is not solved, and the situation is repeated after each vacation.

Sometimes flight manifests itself in the form of going into a specific activity (not to be confused with a hobby). In a situation of flight, a person is so carried away by his favorite activity that he directs all his spiritual and mental forces only to it. This activity saves him from unrequited love, from self-doubt, helps to forget about problems and personal shortcomings. Of course, such a person can demonstrate outstanding results in his field, but he will not be able to make friends or friends, because his personality has been developing disharmoniously all this time.

■ Negation characterized by selectivity of attention: "My hut is on the edge, I don't know anything."

Selectivity helps us to ignore what causes us anxiety and increases the strength of the conflict. Often denial is the first reaction to irreversible events - illness, death. Also, denial can be seen in family relationships: it is easier for many to close their eyes to a problem than to solve it. For example, a wife does not notice her husband's aloofness and instead of talking, pretends that everything is fine. As a result, the husband leaves for another. Or parents do not notice that the son is addicted to drugs. Outcome: the son has a severe drug addiction. Why is this happening? People simply do not allow themselves to think that such a thing can happen in their family.

In addition, the form of denial can take the form of self-praise. For example, a child performed poorly at a competition, returns home and tells everyone about his victory, and he himself fully believes in this victory, or a lazy worker who creates the appearance of work: fills up his desk with papers (supposedly there is no time to clean up), walks along the corridor with documents, idle in the waiting room, answering the phone in an irritated voice, as if hinting: "I'm so busy, and here you are." And he sincerely hopes that he will not be bitten.

■ Rationalization. Sometimes it seems to us that it is easier to eat a toad than to admit we were wrong. And in order not to recognize it, nature has come up with a wonderful mechanism - rationalization. This mechanism helps to find explanations for one's own unseemly act. Thanks to rationalization, you can isolate yourself from the "evil world" and feel like a king against the backdrop of people who do not understand anything.

For example, a person who does not want to look for work makes excuses that there are no worthy offers; a child who eats all the sweets in the house believes that he is still small and everything is possible for him; a boss who bullies his subordinates proves to himself that he is performing a great mission by not allowing employees to relax.

By the way, the hero of the story "Sakhalin" A.P. Chekhov, having killed his victim, justified his behavior by the fact that he munched loudly at the table, violating the general etiquette.

■ suppression expressed in the fact that we can forget some feelings, facts, events and people who brought us pain, suffering or just some unpleasant emotions in their time. For example, the name of the person who once offended us, or the opening hours of the office where you need to go to solve an unpleasant issue. Thus, the psyche defends itself, tries to save us from communicating with unpleasant people, to protect us from going to unpleasant places, etc.

■ crowding out also associated with a special mechanism of memory. Repression is similar to suppression, except that the event is not completely forgotten. The most traumatic part is erased from memory.

For example, a friend constantly complains to you that her mother-in-law is cruel to her. When you ask her for examples, she can't really say anything. He remembers that there was a conflict, but on what occasion and what served as the starting point, he does not remember.

Remembering more good than bad is a natural function of the psyche. But especially sensitive people, on the contrary, remember only the bad. This leads to a depressing state, depression, painful memories of traumatic situations: “But he told me this, but he did this. How could he?

■ substitution expressed in the form of satisfaction of an unacceptable desire in a different way, allowed by society. It can also occur as a transfer from one reaction to another. On the one hand, this transfer allows you to solve the problem, and on the other hand, to avoid the censure of society.

For example, one person is angry with another for something and wants to take revenge on him. Since revenge is condemned by society, a person takes revenge on his enemy with offensive jokes. If he is offended, he immediately apologizes, saying that he did not want to offend anyone, this is just a joke.

Therefore, if you are constantly made fun of, do not blame yourself for being too touchy. Perhaps these people hold a grudge against you, but don't know how to express it.

In office life, latent hostility can manifest itself in the form of hypercontrol over subordinates. For example, the boss does not like an employee who is very similar to his daughter's negligent boyfriend. He understands that if he tries to tell someone from the environment about the reason for his hostility, he will be laughed at. Therefore, the boss finds an artificial reason to throw out his aggression on the subordinate - he begins to control him excessively, finds fault, accuses him of not doing anything, etc.

■ Projection. Recall the folklore: “There is no point in blaming the mirror if the face is crooked”, “Whoever calls names is called that himself”, “You look at your neighbor with all your eyes, and at yourself - lowering your eyelids” (Vietnamese proverb).

The correctness of these expressions is undeniable: before you evaluate someone, look at yourself. It hurts to criticize yourself - it's easier to recoup on someone else. In psychology, this behavior is called projection. During projection, a person, seeing his shortcomings, does not want to admit them, but notices them in others. Thus, a person projects his vices and weaknesses onto other people. Agree, how difficult it is to admit to ourselves that we envy someone, and how easy it is to see this envy in another person!

Feelings, thoughts and even behavior can be projected. So, it seems to a deceiver that everyone around is cheaters and want to deceive him, to a greedy person, others are seen as stingy, and someone in need of money will hate people with low incomes.

By the way, the projection has not only negative, but also positive manifestations. For example, if it seems to you that everything around is wonderful and wonderful, this means that you are in harmony with yourself; if you see only friends in the face of colleagues, this means that you are a kind and sociable person. No wonder they say: "Smile at the world - and the world will smile at you."

■ Identification It is expressed in identifying oneself with any person, in appropriating his personal qualities to oneself, in elevating oneself to his image. Identification can also be expressed in the desire to be like not only one person, but also a group of people. Identification protection is also called social mimicry. Most often, social mimicry is manifested in adolescents. For example, a student strives to be like everyone else, tries to merge with his company. If everyone in the company wears expensive jeans, he will beg for them from his parents; if it is customary to smoke in the company, he will definitely become addicted to this addiction. The desire to be like others creates the illusion of security in a teenager.

Social mimicry also manifests itself in the desire to be like people we fear or depend on. Very often, people who are offended begin to copy the behavior of their offenders. Some people need this identification in order to become just as “strong-willed” and “strong”, while others need it in order to recoup the weaker ones. In psychology, this mechanism is called "identification with aggression."

■ Alienation expressed in the division of our "I" into several parts and their consistent use. This process occurs at times when a person experiences severe physical or mental pain. Let's take the simplest example. A person who has lived in his native land almost all his life suddenly leaves for a foreign land. Undoubtedly, it will be very difficult for him to leave his native land, especially if people dear to him remain there. In a new place, it will seem to him that a piece of his soul has remained in his native land.

■ Fear of the new. Have you ever noticed that your loved ones, relatives and friends seem to be asking for your advice, but in fact they do not need it? Such people are generally afraid to learn something new, because they need to rebuild, reconsider their views on life, doubt previously acquired knowledge, theories and opinions. Therefore, such people subconsciously defend themselves from advice - they talk a lot themselves and do not let you speak out, complain and do not listen to you (syndrome of looking for a vest), act up, protest (they say that you come up with inappropriate advice), accuse you of incompetence, promise to follow the advice then, but do not keep promises.

■ Artificial psychostimulants. Alcohol, tobacco, drugs not only reduce health to nothing, but also create the illusion of "management" of one's psycho-emotional state. They, of course, do not solve the problem that has arisen.

Other unconscious defenses

They are commonly referred to as:

psychosomatic diseases (the occurrence of somatic diseases due to mental trauma);
passive aggression (tendency to be late everywhere and everywhere, unwillingness to do certain work);
reacting, or aggression on the innocent (sharp jumping up, screaming, hitting the table, aggressive attacks on people for fictitious reasons);
dissociation (after traumatic situations, the tendency to pretend that nothing happened, unwillingness to solve problems, self-elimination);
internalization (refusal to get what you want: “Yes, it hurts me. I’ll manage”);
regression (return to children's behavior patterns - whims, tantrums, throwing things, etc.).

The benefits and harms of unconscious defenses

First, let's look at the benefits.

Psychological defenses:

help to preserve the integrity of the personality and protect it from disintegration, especially when desires are inconsistent. It is known that in a person there are many different "I" (one "I" wants one, another - another, the third - the third). Psychological defenses are needed to bring all these "Selves" together and allow them to "negotiate";
help to resist diseases, to believe in one's own strength, reassure that everything will be fine, everything will be restored;
prevent disorganization of mental activity and behavior. For example, in a moment of sudden stress, disbelief in everything that happens saves consciousness from destruction;
protect from negative qualities that a person does not possess, but mistakenly recognizes for himself. For example, it seems to a person that he is unnecessarily demanding of others, although in reality he is not. For the purpose of protection, he may begin to convince himself that overly demanding people are more successful in business, have excellent insight and are demanding of themselves. Thus, defenses save a person from mythical shortcomings and reduce self-blame;
restore self-esteem, help to accept a painful situation without lowering self-esteem: “Well, let it be. I'm still better than them", "These people are not worthy of me", etc.;
help maintain social approval. For example, a person did something wrong and, knowing about it, turns the situation around: “I am not to blame, but other people / fate / circumstances”, “I am not like that - life is like that”;
maintain relationships between people. For example, an employee does not like that his colleague gossips all the time and tries to drag him into a conversation. He prefers not to bring the situation to a conflict and instead of expressing everything, he pretends to be uncommunicative.

If we talk about the dangers of psychological defenses, then they:

do not change the order of things, but only relieve anxiety and inconvenience for a while;
distort reality, do not give a normal assessment of it. This is especially true in the evaluation of loved ones. For example, they say that "love is blind." If a loved one suddenly commits a terrible act, we refuse to believe it, we blame ourselves for not immediately understanding what kind of person he is, or we rush to defend the offender;
displace facts and events from consciousness. This temporarily calms, but the fear remains driven into the subconscious and from there affects the person for a long time;
confuse a person. For example, instead of admitting to himself in a hostile attitude towards his child, to understand the causes of this problem and work it out, the parent hides behind hyper-custody, obsession with his child, which further complicates the relationship.

Mature unconscious defenses

There are natural unconscious defenses that are not harmful and help to cope with stress. They are called mature unconscious defenses. These include:

■ cry- a natural and natural protective reaction of a person to stress. Everyone knows that after crying, the soul becomes relatively lighter. It's all about the physiological processes taking place at this moment in the body.

Scientists believe that tears reduce pain, heal small wounds on the skin, and protect the skin from aging. In addition, crying normalizes blood pressure and has an anti-stress effect;

■ dream. After a lot of stress, many people need a long sleep to restore their mental and physical strength. This is how the compensation mechanism works. So if your loved one is a sleeper, do not wake him up for no apparent reason, perhaps his body is now busy processing stress;

■ dreams. In the last issue, we talked about how dreams help us cope with the stress accumulated during the day, that situations are simulated in a dream in which you can prove yourself strong, courageous and decisive, which means work through all your stresses and overcome fears. Only this mechanism is connected not in the real, but in the imaginary world. Consequently, a person suffers less and does not have a negative impact on others, unlike, for example, projection or rationalization;

■ sweets, as you know, raise the level of glucose in the blood, and this contributes to the production of the hormone of joy - endorphin. Therefore, moderate consumption of sweets leads to the processing of stress. The main thing is not to get carried away and follow the rules of a healthy diet;

■ sublimation– transformation of unwanted, traumatic and negative experiences into various types of constructive and demanded activities (sports, creativity, favorite work). The more success a person achieves in his favorite activity, the more stable his psyche becomes;

■ altruism. No wonder they say: "If you feel bad, help someone who is even worse." In fact, all misfortunes are known in comparison. When we see that another person is having a much worse time, our own problems seem petty. In addition, any help to the needy helps us feel needed, and this is the best way to save us from stress;

■ good and harmless humor . As you know, a joke told in time relieves the situation and improves relations between the interlocutors. Learn to laugh at yourself and your problems. Try to associate your problem with a joke, turn it into a funny story, look at funny photos, download a good movie. And most importantly - smile more often, because laughter prolongs life.

Counseling in the process of providing psychological assistance involves a joint discussion of the doctor, clinical psychologist, on the one hand, and the patient or client, on the other hand, about the problems that a person has, possible options for overcoming and preventing them, as well as informing the individual about his individual psychological qualities, specific types of response, methods of self-regulation. Counseling is aimed at developing an active position of a person in relation to psychological problems, frustrations and stresses in order to learn ways to restore or maintain emotional comfort in critical life situations.

The diagnostic process in the structure of psychological counseling includes clinical interviewing (see Chapter 1) and the use of a battery of experimental psychological techniques to determine the functioning of mental processes and personality parameters. Essential at

Counseling in practical terms is the process of informing a person about the objective parameters of his mental activity and the properties of individuality, as well as teaching the methods of mental self-regulation.

^ Informing the client is a rather delicate and complex process, since it involves not only an impartial presentation of facts, but also taking into account the possible reactions of a person to information about himself. There are several communication strategies that differ fundamentally in the degree use of scoring categories, focus and terminology used.

Taking into account the fact that a clinical psychologist or doctor receives a fairly large amount of objective data during the examination of a client (patient), various focusing when informing. You can fix attention on: a) obvious deviations in the functioning of the body and psyche; b) all existing deviations; c) deviations that the individual is able to comprehend and change; d) the whole spectrum of manifestations - both normal and abnormal; e) normative signs and manifestations. There are three approaches to focusing attention and informing a person: optimistic, pessimistic and neutral. The same information can be perceived as positive, negative or indifferent. A classic example is informing about the amount of liquid in a glass of water: 1) the glass is half full, 2) half empty, or 3) the liquid in the glass takes up half the volume. It is possible to choose different objects of focusing a person's attention in the process of providing psychological assistance. These can be separate functions or activities of the entire organism of cash (“You have a qualitatively impaired process of motivational mediation of activity and a changed hierarchy of values” or “You have significant deviations in behavior due to character accentuations and violations of volitional regulation of activity”).

In the process of informing, there is a different approach not only to focusing, but also to describing and evaluating the clinical phenomena identified in the process of interviewing and diagnosing. Possible evaluative or descriptive approaches . In the first case, informing includes evaluation categories (adequate-inadequate, normal-pathological, healthy-sick, defective, etc.). In the second case, when informing, a psychologist or a doctor tries to avoid evaluative categories and focuses only on the description of clinical phenomena, providing, if necessary, a multivariate interpretation of the facts obtained.

Essential in the process of informing is also used by the clinician (psychologist or doctor) terminology . He can use specific scientific terminology and even jargon (“diversity of thinking”, “use of causal attribution”, etc.) that are incomprehensible to the examined, or, taking into account the language and other parameters of the client, draw a conclusion in ordinary language.

^ Skills training self-regulation in the process of psychological counseling is carried out in various ways with a focus on the priority of providing the client or patient with the maximum possible information about the methods and methods of psychological protection and compensation, sano- and pathogenetic patterns of thinking and forecasting, patterns of development, stages and outcomes of interpersonal and intrapersonal conflicts. In the process of counseling, an individual learns the skills of a reflective style of thinking, common sense and adaptive forms of response solely with the help of information, since the training method is included in the structure of another type of psychological assistance - psychocorrection.

First of all, the client or patient acquires knowledge of the ways psychological protection. Their essence is to maintain a balance between external forces acting on a person and internal resources. The following variants of psychological defense mechanisms are distinguished: rationalization, projection, repression, identification, compensation, hypercompensation, fantasizing, dominant ideas (M. Yarosh).

Rationalization - the desire for self-justification, the search for the causes and motives of their actions in the external environment. Blaming, for example, other people for causing an illness or psychological problem. The patient at the same time tries to find the most convincing and plausible evidence of the external conditionality of his painful statements and inadequate actions, trying consciously or subconsciously to avoid recognizing the painful fact of the development of his illness.

Projection - attributing to others their unfavorable character traits. This mechanism of personal protection is most often noted in patients with borderline

Personal mental pathology (with personality disorders and neuroses). The patient consciously or unconsciously tries to give the doctor the impression that his painful breakdown is the result of negative character traits of people close to him.

crowding out - manifests itself in forgetting, ignoring the obvious facts of incorrect behavior or symptoms of the disease, up to its complete non-recognition. Most clearly, repression is manifested in hysterical disorders - the patient often does not remember the most unpleasant and difficult events for him.

Identification - achieving inner mental calm by comparing, identifying oneself with someone else (for example, with one's children - the desire that they achieve in life what he did not achieve himself).

Compensation is based on the desire to achieve success in one area and, thus, to compensate for failures in another area, caused, for example, by insufficient physical abilities, lack of talent, speech defect (for example, increased music lessons in order to be different from someone to draw attention to yourself).

Hypercompensation - the desire to achieve success and a sense of significance precisely in the area that has so far been the most difficult (a physically weak person tries to be the strongest in any sport with the help of intensive training, a timid and cowardly person hides behind feigned swagger and rudeness, a deceitful person seeks to convince others and is partly even convinced of his exceptional honesty).

fantasizing manifests itself in the form of imagination of the fulfillment of unrealizable desires or the successful resolution of some painful situation, in identifying oneself with some literary or epic hero. It helps to reduce painful intrapsychic stress caused by life failure or illness.

Dominant or overvalued ideas - beliefs with a strong emotional charge, which are taken as the most important in life and serve as a motivational stimulus to achieve a specific goal, despite the difficulties that arise. At the same time, one's own inconveniences and insults caused to others are not taken into account.

According to P. Leister, the main protective mechanisms of the personality have both advantages and disadvantages, which is important to inform the client in the process of psychological counseling in order to form his conscious or unconscious attitude to psychological problems associated with life difficulties or intrapersonal conflicts (Table 22) .

Assimilation by an individual of knowledge about the mechanisms of psychological defense is able to form a new look at their own psyche, patterns and features of mental response in stressful situations; change these perceptions if they are found to be unacceptable after appropriate analysis. Thus, in the process of counseling and obtaining information about the methods of psychological protection, the person himself will be able to choose from the options that suit him. Counseling does not impose on the client or patient the only correct way to solve interpersonal or intrapersonal problems, but provides a multivariate overview of possible behavior. Unlike psychocorrection and psychotherapy, the choice of a way to resolve problems or personal transformation remains with the individual.

Psychological counseling is used for any psychological problems of a person as the initial stage of therapy and "personality reconstruction". Often its use is combined with the use of psychocorrection and psychotherapy. A specific target of counseling are psychological phenomena caused by identity crises and other worldview problems, as well as communication disorders. In the field of analysis and evaluation of worldview crises, existential problems, the use of psychocorrection or psychotherapy is considered unreasonable and ineffective. The only way to provide effective psychological assistance to a person during an existential crisis that is not accompanied by pronounced psychopathological manifestations is the use of psychological counseling - joint (client and psycho-

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^ Table 22 Advantages and disadvantages of psychological defense methods
Advantages		Flaws
Rationalization
Looking for justifications for their actions, hiding the true motives. It serves to preserve. Self-respect and self-assertion against external criticism		A businesslike and constructive discussion of the problem is eliminated, the person creates an obstacle for himself in order to look better from the point of view of other people
Projection
You can "not see the beam in your own eye" and criticize it "in the eye of another." You can fight your own mistakes without doing anything to yourself		Difficulty in self-knowledge and maturation of personality. An objective perception of the external world is impossible. The projection is hardly distinguishable by a person, this deprives it of realism
crowding out
Unfulfilled desires and unacceptable ideas are forced out of consciousness for the sake of peace, which brings instant liberation		Repression requires energy to maintain it. The problem is not solved, it remains, and it becomes a threat to mental health
Identification
Thanks to introjection, the formation of the Super-I occurs, the norms that bring liberation from conflicts are adopted.		The controller (Super-I) becomes an internal tyrant. A person becomes a slave to introjected norms and therefore not free. Through identification with the aggressor and authority, the principle spreads further: what they do to me, I do to others.
Sublimation
The energy of tension will fully respond in socially useful activities: creativity, sports, etc.		The causes of tension are missed. Sublimated tension does not disappear, so a more or less conscious state of frustration arises.
^ Formation of reactions
Masking already existing feelings, reducing tension due to new types of interaction		The formation of reactions leads to a lie that draws in both the person himself and the people around him.
Advantages	Flaws
Escape
A person avoids criticism and due to this frustration	The position of the observer reduces the productivity and activity of a person, in self-regulation problems in the future
Stun
Thanks to alcohol or a drug, conflicts, frustrations, fears, guilt are eliminated, a feeling of strength is achieved. This is salvation from the frightening reality	Dependence on alcohol and drugs. Change in organic structures, disease
Screening
Fencing off from mental stress, depressive moods, fears, anxiety occurs in a short time. There is a transient feeling of peace, stability, relaxation, balance and, as a result, a satisfactory temporary release	Symptoms disappear without removing the causes. This leads to the accumulation of negative experiences.
^ Interpretation of impotence
“I can’t do anything - such are the circumstances” - thus a person avoids solving problems	Psychological problems are not eliminated, but spread further. There is a risk of manipulation
^ role playing
The role mask brings security. The need for security is stronger than the blocked freedom of expression of individuality	Inability to find oneself behind a put on, programmed mask
^ Petrification, dulling of the senses
A business mask, a picture of complete emotionlessness and mental equanimity. The shell on the feelings does not allow them to manifest themselves outside and get inside. A person is guided by the behavior of the machine	Interpersonal contacts are impoverished, repressed feelings are a burden on the organs and muscles. Who does not allow himself to be emotional, then becomes sick physically and mentally

log) the search for truth, consideration of the philosophical issues of being, life and death from various positions and points of view, as well as emotional support for a person. At the same time, it should be borne in mind that the choice of a method of action in such conditions remains with the individual.

A classic example of a collision of various types of psychological influence is the suicidal intentions of an individual, due to interpersonal or intrapersonal conflicts. After excluding the psychopathological (unconscious or painful) motives of a person's desire to commit suicide, a clinical psychologist, as a rule, can choose three well-known ways of psychological influence on a person: "the path of counseling", "the path of psychocorrection" and "the psychotherapeutic path". His choice will be based primarily on theoretical preferences and understanding of the mechanisms of suicidal behavior, while the individual psychological characteristics of a potential suicide may not be considered at all. Due to theoretical (ideological and professional) views, a psychologist can choose either counseling using a joint discussion of existential issues and transferring responsibility for making a decision to the client himself; or psycho-correction, in the conditions of which he will engage in training aimed at maintaining the focus on saving life with the help of a system for eradicating the “wrong ideological attitude” to death; or psychotherapy, in which it will consider suicidal thoughts and intentions as a pathology that requires relief, for example, suggestion.

The target for psychological counseling is also interpersonal conflicts: divorce, betrayal, dismissal, punishment, and others, which are considered by the individual through the prism of worldview and moral problems. External psycho-traumatic events are interpreted by a person as immoral and bring to life the fundamental questions of being - justice, fidelity, trust, etc. Therefore, in these cases, the use of psychological counseling should be recognized as the most adequate and given preference over other methods of psychological influence. A similar process occurs when a person has a somatic disease. It also requires not correction or therapy, but, first of all, counseling.

The most well-known methods that relate to the methods of psychological counseling are rational

psychotherapy (P. Dubois), logotherapy (V. Frankl), self-realization psychology (A. Maslow), positive psychotherapy (N. Peseschldan), cognitive therapy (A. Vesk), rational-emotive psychotherapy (A. Ellis) and psychotherapy " common sense." Despite the fact that the term psychotherapy is present in the name of the methods, in fact these methods should be recognized as advisory. This is due, firstly, to the fact that psychological assistance is provided by influencing the worldview; secondly, because the main method is the method of informing the client and thirdly, because of the “therapeutic target”, which in this case is the worldview and worldview of a person and, secondarily, psychological problems and neurotic symptoms. Domestic methods, which should also be classified as advisory, first of all, include the so-called. pathogenetic psychotherapy based on the theory of personality relations V.N. Myasishcheva. Main task pathogenetic psychotherapy is to inform the patient or client in order to:

Awareness of the motives of their behavior, the characteristics of their relationships, emotional and behavioral reactions

Awareness of the non-constructive nature of a number of their relationships, emotional and behavioral stereotypes

Awareness of the connection between various psychogenic factors and neurotic (psychosomatic) disorders

Awareness of the extent of their participation and responsibility in the occurrence of conflict and psychotraumatic situations

Awareness of the deeper causes of one’s experiences and ways of responding, rooted in childhood, as well as the conditions for the formation of one’s system of relationships

Learning to understand and verbalize your feelings.

Self-regulation training

Pathogenetic psychotherapy is carried out in four stages. At the first stage, the patient's misconceptions about his disease are overcome; on the second - awareness of the psychological causes and mechanisms of the disease; on the third - the solution of the conflict and on the fourth - the reconstruction of the system of personality relations.

Logotherapy refers to the humanistic direction of psychotherapy in the broad sense of the term and aims to treat noogenic neuroses by acquiring the meaning of life lost by a person due to some reasons. The mechanism of development of psychological problems and neurotic symptoms is

Matrivaetsya in the moral quest of man, the conflict of conscience and, in general, in the "existential crisis". The task of logotherapy becomes the restoration or acquisition by a person of lost spirituality, freedom and responsibility, based on the well-known position of A. Einstein, expressed in the following words: “A person who considers his life meaningless is not only unhappy, he is hardly fit for life at all.” V.Frankl believed that it is possible to return the lost meaning with the help of the method of persuasion. Belief uses a system of logical justifications for the uniqueness of the values (meaning) of life with the absolute value of transcendence - the essence of existence. The basis of logotherapy is the healing of the soul through the formation of a meaningful desire for meaning and even for the final meaning (supermeaning) as opposed to the desire for pleasure or power.

As part of psychology of self-realization the emphasis is on developing a psychological strategy to make the most of your own personal potential in life, which includes:

1. The inner nature of a person, his individual self in the form of basic needs, abilities, individual psychological characteristics.

2. Potential opportunities, not real final states, the realization of which is determined by extrapsychic factors (civilization, family, environment, education, etc.).

3. Authenticity - the ability to know your true needs and capabilities.

4. The ability to accept yourself.

5. The need for love.

A.Maslow recognized that an individual has values of being (B-values) and values that are formed on the basis of the elimination of scarcity (D-values). The values of being include such as: 1) integrity - unity, integration, striving for homogeneity, interconnectedness; 2) perfection - necessity, naturalness, relevance; 3) completeness - finiteness; 4) justice - legality, obligation; 5) vitality - spontaneity, self-regulation; 6) completeness - differentiation, complexity; 7) simplicity - sincerity, essence; 8) beauty - correctness; 9) righteousness - rightness, desirability; 10) uniqueness - originality, individuality, non-comparability; P) ease - lightness, lack of

Tension grace; 12) game - fun, joy, pleasure; 13) truth - honesty, reality; 14) self-sufficiency - autonomy, independence, the ability to be oneself without the participation of other people.

positive psychotherapy proceeds from the principle of a person's ability to self-development and harmony. The main goals of positive psychotherapy are:

Changing a person's ideas about himself, his actual and basic abilities

Knowledge of the mechanisms of conflict processing traditional for him, his family and culture

Expanding the goals of his life, identifying reserves and new opportunities to overcome conflict situations and illnesses

For these purposes, a transcultural approach is used to assess certain psychological phenomena and painful symptoms. Its essence is to provide the client or patient with information about the attitude to similar psychological manifestations, symptoms, problems or diseases in other cultures. For example, with a pathological emotional reaction of an individual to alopecia (baldness) detected in him, he is given an example of the attitude to baldness in some African tribes, where the standard of beauty is not thick hair, but bald voices. Transcultural comparisons are aimed at developing a client's understanding of the relativity of life values. Another way in positive psychotherapy is a positive interpretation of any problems and symptoms (for example, impotence is interpreted as the ability to avoid conflicts in the sexual sphere, frigidity - as the ability to say “no” with the body, anorexia - as the ability to get by with a minimum of food, etc.).

Particular attention in positive psychotherapy is paid to the formation of personal and characterological harmony by providing information on traditional transcultural ways of processing conflicts and forming values (see Chapter 4).

Cognitive Therapy considers the mechanisms of the emergence of various emotional phenomena in connection with the patient's deviations in assessing reality in the form of "systematic biases". It is believed that emotional

Disorders arise due to "cognitive vulnerability" - a predisposition to stress due to the use of cruelly given irrational delusions ("cognitive distortions") in the analysis of external events. Among them stand out:

Overgeneralization (unjustified generalization based on a single case)

Catastrophization (exaggeration of the consequences of any events)

Arbitrariness of conclusions (unproven and inconsistency in making conclusions)

Personalization (tendency to interpret events in terms of personal meanings)

Dichotomy of thinking (tendency to use extremes in thinking)

Selectivity of abstraction (conceptualization of a situation based on a detail extracted from the context).

The purpose of cognitive therapy is to correct the erroneous processing of information and modify beliefs in the direction of its rationalization and the development of a life strategy of common sense.

Similar in meaning to cognitive therapy is considered rational emotive therapy , aiming at the eradication of cognitive distortions, etc. "irrational attitudes and thoughts." A. Ellis described twelve basic irrational ideas that should be corrected in the process of counseling:

1. For an adult, it is absolutely necessary that his every step be attractive to others.

2. There are vicious, bad deeds. And the perpetrators should be severely punished.

3. It's a disaster when things don't go as planned.

4. All troubles are imposed on us from the outside - by people or circumstances.

5. If something scares or causes fear - be constantly on the alert.

6. It is easier to avoid responsibility and difficulties than to overcome them.

7. Everyone needs something stronger and more significant than what he feels in himself.

8. One must be competent, adequate, reasonable and successful in all respects.

9. What has greatly affected your life once will always affect it.

10. Our well-being is influenced by the actions of other people, so we must do everything so that these people change in the direction we want.

11. Going with the flow and doing nothing is the way to happiness.

12. We have no control over our emotions and cannot help but experience them.

In accordance with the principles of rational-emotive therapy, on the part of the client or patient, there must be a “relinquishment of requirements” to reality and to oneself, based on irrational ideas (settings), which are divided into four groups: obligatory attitudes(“people must be honest”, “the spouse must be faithful”); catastrophic installations(“everything is terrible and irreparable”); setting the mandatory implementation of their needs(“I should be happy”); appraisal setting. The main method of therapy is the Socratic dialogue - a cognitive dispute using the laws of logic.

The method is also based on the logical persuasion of the client or patient. regional psychotherapy, aimed at teaching a person to think correctly, avoiding logical errors and delusions in order to prevent the appearance of neurotic symptoms.

Psychotherapy "common sense" includes, along with elements of rational psychotherapy, i.e. persuasion of a person on the basis of logical argumentation and the formation of correct thinking based on certainty, consistency and evidence, the formation of a multivariate way of understanding reality. Oi is opposed to one-variant (rigid), which is part of the Pathological mental pattern with the so-called. causal attribution. The basis of the personal position in psychotherapy "common sense" is considered "anticipation consistency"(V. D. Mendelevich) - the ability of a person to anticipate the course of events, to build a forecasting process on a multi-variant flexible basis, using past life experience. It is believed that harmonious characterological traits and personality traits, as well as neurosis resistance, can be formed only if such principles are used as: a) waiver of claims(“No one owes me anything”); b) denial of unambiguity(when interpreting current events - “it can mean anything”); in) renunciation of fatality(at

Interpretation of future events - "everything is possible"); G) developing a strategy of "anticipatory coping" and "anticipating sadness" instead of "anticipating joy".

Until quite recently, the profession of a psychologist in our country was not even known. The science of psychology was represented in our country mainly by psychiatrists, in the office of which ordinary citizens really did not want to get. Today, thanks to American TV series, psychologists have become not just popular, but in-demand specialists, whose services are used in a variety of life situations.

More recently about psychology profession in our country they did not even know. The science of psychology was represented in our country mainly by psychiatrists, in the office of which ordinary citizens really did not want to get. Today, thanks to American TV series, psychologists have become not just popular, but in-demand specialists, whose services are used in a variety of life situations.

From the same American TV series, the work of psychologists seems to us easy and not burdensome: a cozy office, a beautiful secretary, a comfortable couch and a patient with whom the specialist conducts a leisurely intimate conversation. But does reality match what we see on television? Is it really easy for psychologists to work? About all this, as well as about other features of this profession, we will try to tell you in as much detail as possible within the framework of this article.

What is a psychologist?

- a qualified specialist who studies the psyche and emotional state of a person and provides psychological assistance in the event of psychological or everyday problems in the life of each of us.

The name of the profession comes from the ancient Greek psycho (soul) and logos (knowledge). In other words, psychologists study the human soul, all its facets, states and possibilities, and on the basis of the knowledge gained, help us achieve spiritual harmony. The history of the profession goes back to ancient times, and the first "healers of souls" can be safely considered shamans, healers and sorcerers, who treated not so much by the "laying on of hands" as by the power of words and suggestion.

The official date of the emergence of psychology as an independent science is considered to be 1879, when the world's first psychological laboratory was opened in Leipzig. From that moment on, psychology began to develop actively, as a result of which a variety of its directions appeared: psychoanalysis, behaviorism, family psychology, pathopsycholinguistics, developmental psychology, etc.

Today, psychology covers almost all spheres of human life, and representatives of this profession help to solve almost any problems associated with the psycho-emotional state of a person. Professional duties of a psychologist directly depend on the field of activity of a specialist. Thus, a theoretical psychologist is engaged in research and conducts teaching activities, and a practical psychologist provides direct assistance in a person’s public and personal life. For example:

clinical psychologist - in hospitals, rehabilitation centers or sanatoriums, corrects the altered psycho-emotional state of patients;
organizational psychologist - in companies and enterprises advises management on issues of improving the efficiency of management and marketing;
legal psychologist - specializes in criminal psychology and helps law enforcement agencies in special laboratories for forensic psychological examination;
child psychologist - works mainly in children's organizations (kindergartens, schools, gymnasiums, sports schools, etc.) and helps children adapt to society.

In general, professional duties look something like this: identifying the individual characteristics of a person, helping to determine the source of problems, finding ways to solve the problem that has arisen, and teaching methods of emotional self-regulation.

What personal qualities should a psychologist have?

It is not difficult to guess that since the main part psychologist's work is to communicate with patients, the specialist must be sociable, polite and friendly. In addition, such personal qualities as:

It is a mistake to think that in order to carry out their work, it is enough for a psychologist to have only knowledge in the field of psychology. A good specialist is also competent in such areas of knowledge as pedagogy, philosophy, sociology, natural science, philology, political science, law, history, etc.

Benefits of being a psychologist

Main advantage of the profession of psychologist, no doubt, is the moral satisfaction from the realization of the importance and usefulness for society. After all, a psychologist is a profession that provides real help to people, and the result can often be seen "here and now."

It should be noted that feeling like someone's "savior" is not only pleasant, but also beneficial, since people are ready to pay well for help in solving their problems. Today, the average monthly income of psychologists in Russia is about 50-60 thousand rubles (and we do not take into account the income of psychologists who provide services in private).

It is not difficult to guess that psychologists have the opportunity to work not only as a full-time employee of an organization (and a specialist in psychology is in demand today in almost organizations of all fields of activity), but also to carry out private practice. Moreover, for this they do not need large investments, since there is no need to buy expensive equipment or rent premises with a large area.

And most importantly, a psychologist is not so much a profession as a way of life, so a specialist applies his professional knowledge and skills, both in professional activities and in his personal life. And this means that a good specialist is guaranteed a life without problems (at least in psycho-emotional terms).

Disadvantages of the Psychologist Profession

However, do not think that the work of a psychologist consists of continuous advantages. Available from professions of a psychologist and shortcomings. In particular, the main difficulty for a specialist is the need to solve the client's problems in a detached way. That is, the psychologist should not cross the line when the client's problems turn into the specialist's own problems. Otherwise, in the shortest possible time, the psychologist is threatened with mental fatigue and emotional burnout.

The disadvantage of this profession can also be considered the fact that a novice psychologist will first have to gain practical experience at work in budget organizations, for a fairly modest salary. Therefore, it is not worth counting on the fact that immediately after graduation from the university a young specialist will be able to achieve financial and career growth.

It is very difficult sometimes for a psychologist to develop relationships with a close environment. And all because professional activity leaves the imprint of a "know-it-all" on specialists, and they have a desire to give advice to everyone and everything with or without it. Naturally, not everyone likes such active interference in their personal space, against which conflict situations arise.

Where can you get a job as a psychologist?

Since in our country it is still sometimes mistakenly believed that a psychologist, a psychiatrist and a psychotherapist are different names for the same profession, young people who dream get a job as a psychologist They don't know which university they need to go to.

It is important to understand that the psychiatrist and psychotherapist are medical professions that treat pathological changes or disorders of the human psyche. A psychologist deals exclusively with the state of mind and the inner world of a person, so he does not treat, but rather acts as a person who helps to see the problem from the outside and advises the most optimal ways to solve it.

In other words, to become a psychologist, you need to enroll not in medical universities, but in the psychological faculties of specialized educational institutions. And, of course, preference should be given the best psychological universities in Russia whose graduates are more likely to be employed successfully. These universities today include:

Moscow State University V.M. Lomonosov;
Institute of Psychology. L.S. Vygotsky Russian State University for the Humanities;
State Academic University for the Humanities;
Russian State Social University;
Moscow City Psychological and Pedagogical University.