From the author: This article will be useful for both psychologists and clients. And also for those who are still thinking about improving their lives with the help of psychology. People who have never been to a psychologist often have absolutely no idea what is happening behind the office doors. Some people are even openly afraid and therefore hesitate to choose a specialist or call one who has already been found. Most often they fear: Will the therapy drag on for many months or years? Will it burn up a fortune, ruining the budget with a well-aimed burst of shot-sessions? Will the psychologist be fooled by the idea that things are getting better, although in reality it will be worse? Will they not be forced to stew all the time in the hell of unpleasant emotions and terrible memories from a difficult childhood while therapy is going on? It happens that for those who are already consulting, these horror stories do not disappear, but are only aggravated by financial stress - money is already so dripping from your pocket. And they have added special concerns: How close have I gotten to my goal? Am I stuck dead midway? A psychologist, especially a beginner, does not always dispel all these fears. Because, it seems, no one clearly understands: what stages the process of psychological assistance consists of; what the timing and features of these stages are. Or they understand, but cannot explain to other people in simple words, very clearly. And such “understanding” is often superficial, illusory and harms the case more than a direct “I don’t know.” This article is a “Road Map” for the process of psychological assistance. In it you will find: 5 key points, each of which any client will have to visit on the path to getting rid of the problem; 4 stages of psychological assistance between these points; Timing and pitfalls of each stage; Life hacks - simple recommendations on how to go through all the stages quickly and effective; Point No. 1 - “Oh, something is wrong...” A person understands and feels that he has a psychological problem, wants to solve it, but cannot. And if by: The person has obvious problems, for example, alcoholism on the verge of the second stage, but he thinks everything is fine. Then attempts to drag the poor fellow to a psychologist, to do good, to “cure” are doomed to failure. Stage I - FIND A REMEDY So, a person has a problem and he is looking for a solution. He sifts through the Internet, swallows tons of books and articles, eagerly listens to free advice from colleagues, TV stars and a tear-off calendar for the year nineteen hundred. And finally he understands that all free cheeses are equally useless. Selects a reliable psychologist and makes an appointment. Duration: from 5 minutes to 50 years. Trap: You can get stuck at this stage, trying different methods, studying polar opinions, carefully and leisurely choosing from thousands of psychologists... ad infinitum. Life hack: Don’t waste your life - call a reliable psychologist right away! Point No. 2 - “Good evening, Oleg Sergeevich!” A person, having found the right psychologist, paid for the first session and at the appointed hour went into the office or knocked on Skype. And if by: You can spend years doing self-examination and self-medication. As a rule, there is either no sense at all or only thimbles. They never dialed the coveted number of the psychologist, and time was gone forever - life was not a success. Stage II - UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU WANT The client finally reached the psychologist. He complained that something was wrong with his life. He wants this “not so” to turn into “so”. And “so” – how exactly? – the psychologist is immediately interested. And so they, together with the client, carefully formulate the goal. According to all the rules. So that it is real, important, definite. And they check and hone a couple of dozen other points. Up to whether it will have a bad effect on relationships with distant relatives. Duration: from 20 minutes to many, many months (years). Trap: Searching for reasons (instead of searching for a goal) is a swamp in which you can get completely bogged down. Endlessly and to no avail, remembering childhood grievances, birth pains or failures from past lives. Trap: Foggy dreams - to outline the goal somehow, approximately - a rash move. Even the latest minibus drivers know about this...!!!