Psychologist ‘s Advice and Psychological Counseling

How often we hear remarks about this content:” You have depression! You need a psychologist, or, you need psychological counseling”. Sometimes we come to such an understanding and begin to look for a good professional – a therapist, psychologist, or analyst (following the books and movies of Freud information). What is a psychological counseling? How does it occur? When it is necessary and under what conditions is possible?

Any professional psychologist or psychoanalyst should ask themselves and discuss with a potential client a number of important issues on the assessment of which depends the effectiveness of future work before making a decision about the possible psychological help.

The main question here is:

how to evaluate a request for advice and assistance of a psychologist?

There are some basic conditions that allow a psychologist to take a positive decision on granting aid. Unfortunately, not all of these conditions are evident immediately, during the initial conversation with the client.

How the person is aware of his mental suffering? How to know you need psychological counseling?

It may seem self-evident that the client suffers, otherwise, why would he see a specialist? This condition is not always present. Here are some common examples.

Some people look for psychological help or psychotherapy, in case when other request. For example, a person in a relationship can say that she will not continue the relationship if her partner will not do “something” to solve their problems.

Or, a doctor may advise to seek consultation from a psychologist. This can happen when a person suffers from a disease that has a psychosomatic origin. Some of the people who suffer from psychosomatic symptoms are in complete ignorance of any mental pain and may deny any hint of a relationship between physical pain and unpleasant psychological experience. In most cases a joint study on symptoms advances the understanding of the phenomenon of patient’s inner life and reduces the risk of psychosomatic vulnerability, a cure of neurosis. Sometimes (in case of a sufficient alienation of man from his mental and body processes), psychoanalysis can be not only useless but dangerous. This is a potential risk of psychosis.

The same can be said about people who are addicted to drugs and alcohol. The problem of dependence is not permitted at the disposal of chemical stimulation. The psychoanalyst has to offer people to think about their possibly intolerable feelings and thoughts, from which they fled in a dependent behavior.

Are you open to psychological help?

In summary, regardless the cause of seeking psychological counseling, the most important is the desire of the client to attempt to change – that means to undergo psychotherapy or psychoanalysis for yourself. When a person does not recognize the psychological suffering, she should not be considered as a candidate for a course of psychotherapy or any other kind of psycho-correction, while other people around that person are likely to insist that she needs a psychological counseling. Regardless of the severity of the symptoms of a psychologist or psychoanalyst, despite all their efforts and professionalism they will not be able to help that client that does not have his own desire to work on his problems. Therefore the first requirement for prospective clients is that they recognize that going through something – stress, depression, disappointment or are in disarray – in connection with the situation in which they find themselves. In a situation where they see no way, do not understand the significance of their symptoms and so on and find that the same negative experiences in their lives are repeated all the time.

Thus, when a potential client asks for psychological help by himself or because other people suffer, it may be necessary some initial meetings to determine what motivates him, how he tries to understand himself and change his situation. This leads to the second important requirement for a potential client.

The desire for self-discovery.

For example, if the client is aware of his mental suffering and does not go to therapist to take medicine and does not act on someone’s behalf, than it does not mean that he understands his suffering as a result of having his own motives.

Many of those who come to the therapist, often blame their disasters on external circumstances, citing the unfavorable situation in the society, family, their biological sex, etc.

Despite the fact that any of these factors may contribute to the current problems, if the client is not interested to know why he continues to experience similar traumatic factors, this ratio can be regarded as a hidden refusal to take responsibility for his life.

The desire to understand better, clarify the hidden meaning of unsatisfying life situations or unexplained symptoms, involves the fact that causes the psychological symptoms that are inside the person.

Is the person ready to get psychological help?

The last condition which should be considered by a psychologist is the will of patient to receive psychological care. Many potential customers are projected onto the therapist omniscience, as if he knows everything that they do no know about themselves (and therefore, expect that he will “treat” them). Others show a certain arrogance (caused by fear, envy or otherwise hidden feelings). Still others seek to control of a specialist in some way. Such a device could mean that any discoveries that they have not done by themselves, will rather hurt their self-esteem that will cause a negative reaction against the therapist and therapy. This position is a contradiction to undergo psychotherapy.
In reality, any desire to get rid of the psychological symptoms is always controversial, because they symptoms are the children’s attempts of self-treatment and were formed to get rid of psychic pain. Thus, apart from the conscious desire of the client to get rid of their symptoms, phobias and anxiety, neurosis or depression there is an internal force that was “afraid” of losing these symptoms, despite all the suffering they cause. This force creates a serious resistance psychotherapeutic process. Mindset to healing and resistance to the healing process exist in parallel. However, resistance – is a natural component of psychotherapy, in contrast to no will to change themselves and the ability to receive assistance from another person.