From the author: When quoting, please indicate (c) Anastasia UmanskayaHow to choose a psychologist. If you are reading this text, I can assume that the question of whether or not to go to a psychologist is no longer an issue for you. I assume that the decision is positive. But then you need to choose a suitable specialist who can help you. How to do this? As usual, there is no universal recipe, but still. I recommend paying special attention to those points that are more important for you. After all, if for you, for example, having a higher education is much more important than practical experience, you are unlikely to feel trust in a practitioner without a “crust.” So, let’s get started.1. Higher education. Having a higher psychological education is important. But still not necessary. There are many specialists who came to psychology from other specialties, having completed practical professional retraining courses. But higher education itself broadens one’s horizons and teaches some skills that are useful in the work of a psychologist. For example, often by the end of the institute, a specialist is no longer as arrogant as a third-year student who has learned the basics and believes that he has already mastered the profession. A specialist is often more able to admit (at least to himself) that he does not know everything and, in case of difficulty, turn to colleagues or literature for help. However, if having a certificate, and perhaps an academic degree, is especially important for you, I think you yourself pay attention to this point first.2. Additional postgraduate education. Often these are long-term training programs in a specific area of ​​psychotherapy. For example, Gestalt therapy, psychodrama, NLP, etc. Completion of these programs is confirmed by certificates. Serious training in any of them usually takes 3-4 years, which includes a large number of hours of practical work. Therefore, I want to warn you against specialists whose walls are hung with certificates. Especially if each of them mentions a separate direction. On the one hand, if each of them is the result of a long-term program, the question arises: when did this specialist practice? On the other hand, if mastery of gestalt therapy, NLP, psychodrama and systemic constellations occurred simultaneously within 1.5 years, this indicates “grabbing on top”, when none of the areas has been seriously mastered, and in the head there is a porridge of sometimes contradictory ones methods and principles of assistance. For me, a combination of 2-3 directions is possible, and then when one of them is the main one, while the specialist says about the others that he uses “separate techniques.” At the same time, many specialists are constantly learning, mastering new techniques in their approach or new approaches to work without interruption from practice.3. Experience. About experience It is important to know WHAT work experience a specialist has. After all, if a person worked for 15 years in a kindergarten, and then decided to work with aging problems, then he can be said to be a beginner in this area. Just like if a specialist worked for 10 years in one field, and in psychological counseling for 2 years, then his work experience is not 12 years, but 2 years. It is important to inquire about PRACTICAL work experience. After all, conducting scientific research and working with “living people” are different, often non-overlapping activities. Just like a psychologist, a training leader does not always provide individual counseling. Well, one more thing about experience - the more experience, the higher the price of an hour of work for a psychologist.4. Topics in progress. Since the field of human difficulties in different areas is extremely large, one specialist cannot cover everything. And if the same person offers to resolve your difficulties both in family relationships and at work, and to provide assistance in overcoming stress and treating drug and alcohol addiction, this is a reason to think. It is important that a professional clearly knows the boundaries of his capabilities and professional competence. At least he knew how to identify topics on which he would definitely NOT undertake to work.5. Marital status. Of course, the more life experience you havespecialist, it seems that he can cope with a wide range of problems. But on the other hand, the opposite effect is also possible - having experienced an experience similar to yours, some specialists may involuntarily direct you to solutions that were useful in THEIR experience. But these solutions may not be effective for YOU. Simply because your experience is DIFFERENT. On the other hand, a woman who does not have children is unlikely to be able to understand the problems of a mother of triplets. But choosing a psychologist whose life experience almost completely coincides with yours may not lead to the desired results. After all, the main thing in work is OTHER than your view of your situation. And this is unlikely to be possible if the life experiences of the client and the psychologist are largely similar.6. Personal Therapy: Personal psychotherapy is generally a requirement when completing a long-term training program in any type of therapy. However, it is impossible to limit yourself to the required number of hours in the process of learning yourself. And life changes, giving us new difficulties. This means that regular personal therapy is vital for a professional. For what? In order to encounter topics in work that are significant or painful for a specialist (as for any living person), do not abandon the client, saving yourself, but continue to remain productive. 7. Supervision. Supervision is a discussion of work situations with more experienced colleagues. Regular or periodic supervision is as necessary as personal therapy. But for different reasons. I have already touched on this point. If a specialist assumes that he “knows everything,” for me this means that he is not ready to develop, noticing his “difficulty zones” and learning to be in them, acquiring new knowledge and new experience.8. Charisma. This can only be found out during a personal meeting with a psychologist. Is his style of communication suitable for you (for example, for many it is unacceptable when a specialist uses swear words), his way of working (and this can be either questions or imposing his opinion, advice), and, finally, even his appearance. It happens that a person pushes us away very strongly with something and we cannot cope with the feeling of hostility. If you are brave enough, this is a good topic to work on, because most likely your feeling is more related to past than present experience. But on the other hand, in the absence of an established therapeutic relationship, not many will dare to raise such an issue, and it will be difficult to share your difficulties with the person who causes your hostility.9. Recommendations: Of course, it’s good if one of your friends or acquaintances has already been to exactly the specialist you are going to see. However, your priorities and the priorities of your friend may not coincide, and your situations are different. And, most importantly, in our country it is not yet customary to talk left and right about your experience of working with a psychologist.10. Location. If you decide to work with a psychologist for a long time, then, perhaps, it is important where the specialist’s office is located. After all, if for the sake of an hour of work you spend 1.5 hours traveling one way, then fatigue from the road can block the benefits received from work.11. A private specialist or an employee of the center. On the one hand, by contacting a renowned psychological center, you are in some way insured against running into an amateur, but on the other hand, you will be registered in any center, which means the fact of your application will be available to third parties. Both very competent and dubious people work both in the centers and privately, so for me this point is not significant at all, but for someone it may be useful.12. At the first meeting. Be wary if: - The psychologist, after the first 5 minutes of communication, has already “understood” what your difficulty is and knows what to do (= gives advice); - The psychologist, having barely seen you, gives you a “diagnosis” or meets you in a milder form phrases “as I see, you are the kind of person who...” - The psychologist insists on concluding a contract for several meetings; - The psychologist cannot explain, without terms that you do not understand, HOW the work will take place; - The psychologist is negative.