A note for those who have never sought help from a psychologist and have no idea what to expect.* What is included in the concept of “psychological consultation”?* What problems can you deal with? contact a psychologist?* What can you expect from psychological consultation?* How is psychological counseling carried out?* How long can psychotherapy take? What is included in the concept of “psychological consultation”? Psychological counseling is one of the types of psychological assistance that has emerged from psychotherapy. The main difference between psychological counseling and therapy is the depth of elaboration of the client’s problem. Psychotherapy is a deeper and longer-term work that is aimed at changes in the client’s personality structure. Psychological counseling is aimed at achieving changes in the field of interaction in society, in interpersonal relationships, in achieving current goals, etc. A well-known specialist in the field of psychological counseling, Doctor of Psychology R. Kociunas believes “that this professional activity arose in response to the needs of people who, without having clinical violations still sought psychological help. That is why specialists in psychological counseling help, first of all, people experiencing difficulties in everyday life, activities, communication, etc.” However, at this stage of time, many experts note that it is impossible to draw a clear line between psychological counseling and psychotherapy and the boundary between them is conditional. Often these two terms are used interchangeably. What problems can you address to a psychologist? The specialty of a psychologist belongs to the helping professions and has a close connection with teaching activities. A psychologist does not treat people with mental disorders. A specialist psychologist can engage in non-medical psychotherapy and provide assistance in cases where a person is faced with a traumatic or stressful situation. This could be: a situation of divorce, serious illness of loved ones, care and lives of loved ones, loss of work, dependent behavior, violence, abuse, etc. You can contact a psychologist in case of planning a child, psychogenic infertility, perinatal loss, as well as in those cases when a person experiences various difficulties in communication situations with family or friends, difficulties in relationships with other people and other difficulties in communications. A psychologist can help if a person is faced with psychosomatic manifestations, such as: vegetative-vascular dystonia, chronic fatigue syndrome, with complaints to unpleasant bodily sensations of unclear origin, panic attacks, anxiety, insomnia, etc. In short, there can be a huge variety of reasons why you can seek psychological help, and a psychologist can provide help and support in solving these difficult life situations. What can you expect from psychological consultation? Whether psychological assistance is called psychotherapy or psychological counseling, first of all it is communication, it is a conversational practice through which assistance is provided to the client. Whatever method or direction of psychotherapy the specialist uses, his main tool is his personal qualities, such as emotional and mental maturity, responsiveness, attentiveness, flexibility of thinking, philanthropy, empathy, listening skills, etc. During the consultation, the psychologist builds interaction with the client , as an individual with an individual, on equal rights, as equal partners who have the same goal. At the first meeting, the client gets acquainted with the psychologist, contact is established, research is carried out on the problem with which the client has addressed, a contract is concluded (if necessary). Further consulting work is built on according to the client's request and the depth of the problem. Most.