How to choose “your” psychologist? So, you decided that it was time to turn to a psychologist: you went to a website with psychologists’ services and found dozens and hundreds of completely different profiles. How to figure it out and understand what is the main guideline? 1. The presence of “contact” or comfort. Let’s say you liked the picture or the abundance of titles, or maybe all together. The next step is to write or call in advance, in any messenger. Already at the stage of correspondence (I note that not everyone is ready to call right away due to different emotional states) you will feel: in what style the person answers, what questions he asks you, maybe he will “strain” you from the very beginning or, on the contrary, will win you over. As a result, at this stage you already understand the advantage to the side: whether there is more “Contact” or not (we look for it, we write off further). The presence of contact, understanding is the basis for further COOPERATION and TRUST. A person in search of a psychologist is most often ALREADY in comfortable state, therefore it is so important that you feel comfortable talking about what is inaccessible to others. 2. We narrow down the search based on our preferences (if any): - Gender. Think about who would be more comfortable working with, men or women? - Age. Do you want to work with someone older, younger, or around your age? - Religiosity. How important is it to you if a psychologist adheres to a certain faith? PS it is absolutely normal if you don’t know who you would like to work with or you don’t have preferences. Usually in his profile the psychologist shares brief facts about himself (age, presence of children, interests etc.). Try to find someone who, based on a brief description of themselves, already responds to you at least a little. 3. Education. The key here is the presence of a higher specialized psychological education. Availability of a diploma of the established form (this can be checked). Only on the basis of specialized education does a specialist receive further specialization in the chosen direction. There are hundreds of directions in psychology.. Important: A psychologist cannot call himself a psychotherapist or therapist if he does not have a medical education, pay attention to this - otherwise it is a deception. Remember that credentials and directions in themselves do not work and do not help if not “ “contact” between you and the specialist. The personality of the specialist, and his knowledge, skills, and abilities work, which in total gives trust, comfort on your part and changes in your life for which you contact “Your” psychologist can not be found from the first times, but “it’s worth it”! This is the minimum you should aim for. All the best, Anna