Who Is a Psychologist?

What kind of profession is a psychologist, how does he work and when should one pay him a visit?

The article below is sure to answer all these questions.

It’s not a secret that many people still believe only madmen go to psychologists, or, at best, weaklings and whimperers.

In case the destiny brought you to such specialists, you are to hide it thoroughly from others and feel ashamed, they say.

All these worries usually come from not knowing who a psychologist is, how he works and why people need him. Let’s figure it out.

So, who is he? Is a psychologist a doctor or just a person?

A psychologist is defined as a person, who has a special education in psychology and does a professional job in the sphere of psychology (as a science) and renders a psychological help.

Usually to a psychologist turn people, who feel necessity to change something, to solve a problem or to find a right path in their lives.

If you imagine that a psyche is a straight line, you can paint a dot, from where a man has some clinical changes of psyche, the so-called pathologies.

Only psychiatrists can work with these people.

Psychiatrist is a doctor, who has a higher education in medicine and who passed a special training for mental insanities. That’s why he can prescribe medicine, put an ill person in the hospital for the further treatment or define the degree of legal capacity.

A psychologist works only with mentally normal people, i.e. people, who are healthy but have some problems, which can be solved quicker, safer and more comfortable without the usage of medical products.

Who is surely not a psychologist?

A psychologist is definitely not a doctor.

You can read above why he is not a doctor.
A psychologist is not a teacher or a mentor.

He doesn’t know “what is right”. Every client has his rightness.

The aim is to find the best solution together with a client.
A psychologist is surely not a magician.

If you came with an old problem, don’t hope that one meeting would fix it.
A psychologist is not a friend.

Psychologists don’t work with their family members and friends because it seriously damages the effectiveness of the process.

So, who is a psychologist?

It’s a specialist. This is a person, who can look at your problem from the point of view of his professional experience and can help you find a solution. It’s a kind of guide, who carries a lamp, while you are coming to the light.

Major kind of work of the psychologist with the clients

Individual consultations.

At the consultation a psychologist and a client usually just talk to find out the reason of the client’s hardships.

Sometimes a psychologist can suggest drawing or playing some games. Nevertheless, you won’t be forced to do things you don’t want or talk about things you don’t want to discuss.

You may as well ask your own questions.

Your opinion will be considered and the choice will be only yours.
Training.

It’s learning by the practice.

At the training you master and practice new behavior models and the ways of solving different problems.

Usually for training a group of 10 – 15 people is required.

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

The result of the training consists in the practical knowledge which can be used in life.
Psychological diagnostics.

It’s an analysis of a personality with the help of tests.

Psychodiagnostics concerns many aspects, such as interpersonal attitudes, person’s attention, memory, professional self-defining, personal qualities, gifts, intellect, psychological state, etc.

Basing on the results of these tests some recommendations are given, depending on what factor was explored.

Effective tips, how to become smarter?

When should one turn to a psychologist?

Psychologist’s help is needed:

If you overcome a huge stress (the death of a close person, violence, divorce, etc.).
If you have a feeling of “moving in the circle”, when the situations repeat themselves and you don’t know, what to do because they seem to have no way out.
If you feel depressed for a long time and have no appetite or good sleep.
If the relationships with someone close are getting worse day by day and you are at a loss not knowing what to do.

Why shouldn’t one visit a psychologist?

Don’t waste your time and resources, if you come to a psychologist to change another person, e.g. a spouse, a child, a parent or a boss.

It’s impossible to do.

Eventually, a psychologist will redirect the attention to you, according to the philosophical thought “at first change yourself and the world around with change”.
When you decide to have a couple of sessions and figure out a lot there.

It’s almost improbable.

Many problems and hardships have been creating themselves for many years and to solve them you also need time.

Sometimes you can find support or settle some small issues during one consultation.

Defining and clarification of the things you’d like to do and how much time you need can be figured out on the first meeting with the psychologist.
If you want to transmit to the psychologist the responsibility for your life and decisions.

“Tell me what to do. Do something with me”
If you want to get from the psychologist a magical piece of advice or a pill, which will change your life and improve your conditions.

How to choose a good psychologist?

By the recommendations.

There are two popular methods that always justify themselves – a search of a psychologist on the Internet and asking your acquaintances for recommendations.

The advantage of the search on the Internet is that you can learn at one the specialization of this very specialist and read some feedback about him.

The advantage of the friends’ recommendations is the confidence that this specialist can solve some problems. Nevertheless, there are some delicate questions, which you can’t discuss with everyone.

That’s why it’s always difficult to look for a specialist with the help of friends.
The costs of the service.

When you chose a psychologist by the price of his service, remember that a good psychologist won’t work for free or much cheaper than his colleagues.

Though, choosing the most expensive one, infringing yourself upon the expenses on other needs is also wrong.

You should consider this at least because during consultations you will concentrate on the financial difficulties more than on the communication with the psychologist.
The presence of the higher education in psychology, but not just some extension courses.

It’s preferable a psychologist is a member of the professional community (association, league, etc.) as it guarantees his professional skills, competence and acknowledgement in the professional circles.

One can become a member of the professional community only if he has the needed education, skills, and abilities and has some clear groundwork.

In addition, he must be always improving his professional level.
Place of work.

A good specialist has a place to work with clients – his own or rented office or, at least, a separate room at home.

Visiting client’s home is possible only in very rare cases, when a client is not capable to come to the consultation himself due to some objective reasons.

As a rule, such consultation is paid twice the size of a usual payment.
A meeting with a psychologist is purely confidential.

All information the psychologist received from you during the meeting cannot be told to the third party, if you don’t allow it.

If the psychologist needs a consultation of other psychologists on how to reach client’s purposes in the quickest and most qualitative way, at the discussion of the problem only the essence of the problem will be explained and the consultation will be depersonalized (without names, surnames, date of birth, etc.)

As a rule, a good psychologist has an appealing look without superfluous gloss.

He is not focused on himself, but on you. He doesn’t aim to attract your attention to his personality, appearance and so on.
The style of communication.

The experienced and trustworthy psychologist won’t manipulate you and say how useful his help is going to be and what will happen if you don’t accept it.

At the first meeting he doesn’t impose on you the solution to the problems you don’t realize yet.
Real psychologist never advises anything.

The thing is that by giving a piece of advice he becomes responsible for the consequences.

In case the situation has bitter results, all blame will be directed to him.