The decision to write an article arose as a response to a topic of the same name on the forum. A huge number of people (unfortunately) regard the profession of a psychologist as something completely unserious and obscure. So, what is the difference between just a heart-to-heart conversation and psychotherapy. In our country, the overwhelming majority of people still have the opinion that going to a psychologist is just a matter of talking. Yes, and also listen to how he (she), like so smart, will give advice on how to live, and even for my money! Am I a complete fool to pay him for this? Thus, there are certain criteria for distinguishing just a conversation on a topic from psychotherapeutic work: 1. Diagnosis of the problem and the reasons that led to its occurrence (genetic, family, influence of upbringing, society, etc.) 2. Establishing a psychological diagnosis (not to be confused with psychiatric!!!. The person may be completely mentally healthy, but may have temporary or permanent psychological difficulties) 3. Development of psychotherapeutic tactics (version, may change in the process) 4. Setting goals together with the client (to know what result to expect ) and conclusion of a contract 5. Monitoring the result at certain time intervals 6. As a rule, an agreement on a certain number of sessions, after which the results will be summed up and a decision will be made (together with the client) whether it is necessary to continue therapy further. In the process of therapy, the psychologist is not engaged in expressing his personal subjective opinion on this or that issue, but organizes the work in such a way (with the help of questions, projective techniques, work with images, etc., etc.) that the client himself found answers to his questions. Thus, “boltology” and psychotherapy have fundamental differences! Psychotherapy is not a nice communication between two people, where everyone expresses their personal opinion, but work, and in the process one declares his problem (the client), and the other (the psychologist), using various techniques, helps this person find the most optimal way out of the current situation.