From the author: An appointment with a psychologist As a rule, the question of how an appointment with a psychologist goes is asked by those who seek psychological help for the first time. But it can also occur in people who already have some experience of therapeutic meetings. Read about the difference between a psychologist and a psychotherapist in the article “Who is a psychologist, psychotherapist, psychiatrist?” The fact is that the content of any psychotherapeutic meeting is unique. Moreover, there are many theories and methods of psychotherapeutic influence that have different working methods. For example, art therapy and behavioral therapy, cognitive approach and gestalt therapy. If you are used to being prepared and do not like surprises, then, despite all the diversity, there are universal stages and forms of work in seeing a psychotherapist and psychologist of any direction. Let's look at each in more detail. Stages of receiving a psychologist Making an appointment. After you have chosen a psychologist, you should decide on the date, time and place of the meeting. This can be done by phone, Skype or e-mail. Everyone chooses a method of communication that is convenient for them. You need to determine in advance the time and place that is suitable for you. It’s good when the psychologist has his own office. Then you can be sure that the meeting will take place in a convenient environment for you and no one or nothing will interfere. But it also happens that meetings take place at home, in a park or in a cozy, uncrowded cafe. Everyone chooses what is closest to them. Getting to know each other. The first few minutes of a personal meeting with a psychologist are an introduction. It is rare that a consultation begins immediately after a greeting. It is important for both the client and the therapist to tune in. The client orients himself in a new environment, asks questions, talks about himself. At this time, the psychologist analyzes the client’s current emotional state and conducts an initial analysis of the problem. This stage is especially important during the first meeting. Each meeting is individual, so there are no strict rules. Although there are a number of areas in which each stage takes place precisely in minutes, for example, psychoanalytic counseling. The next step is studying the problem of treatment and setting goals and objectives. It often happens that a client comes with one problem, for example, conflictual relationships in the family, and Thanks to the therapist’s leading questions, it turns out that the reason for the treatment is insecurity about one’s appearance. Therefore, the purpose of the request is clarified and as work progresses, the purpose of the initial request can be leveled out as a pleasant side effect. The main content of this stage is the formulation of the desired goal of the consultation, what we want to achieve to improve the quality of life. The consultation itself. The client describes his situation and talks about his experiences. The psychologist analyzes the content of the problem and the characteristics of the client’s behavior, asks clarifying questions, and draws conclusions. It is worth paying attention to the fact that the dialogue between the psychotherapist and the client differs from an ordinary conversation with friends in a cafe or family in the kitchen. At a psychotherapeutic meeting, interaction occurs purposefully and is based on knowledge about the human psyche. An important point of this interaction is trust and mutual understanding between the client and the psychologist. The average duration of one meeting is 50 -120 minutes. Sometimes one consultation is not enough to resolve the issue and a second consultation is required. I hope that getting acquainted with the main stages of psychological consultation has allowed us to lift the veil of “secret” about how a psychologist’s appointment goes and has given you an understanding of what to expect from a meeting with a psychologist. I wish you good luck specialists and productive consultations!