When you feel that you can’t deal with your problems alone and decide to seek help, it’s critical that you know your rights and make the most of your visit to the psychologist you’ve chosen, regardless of whether you have one or more sessions. I propose these ideas, in the hope that they will make the most of the encounter with these health professionals, psychologists.
“The great discovery of my generation is that human beings can change their lives by changing their mental attitudes. “- William James-
- One of the most important aspects is that you feel comfortable.
- That you have a good feeling with this person so that you can make the most of your time and talk about everything about yourself.
- Open yourself to that person and loosen your control over the discourse; The professional in front of you won’t judge you.
- Besides.
- Psychologists are governed by professional secrecy.
- So nothing you say comes out of this room.
Don’t be afraid to deal with difficult or embarrassing issues, your role will not be to accuse him or increase your already heavy burden, the meaning that the psychologist develops the most is to hear, he is to listen to you, he has the tools to help him find answers to his problems or concerns, not to lead a court.
Most psychologists are open people with enough experience to know that people can behave in many ways in the same circumstances, first, they are professionals who are able to leave their lives, experiences and ideas out of the office and focus on what the patient says. .
If you don’t feel heard or don’t think your psychologist is neutral and just gives you an option for every problem and that doesn’t make you feel comfortable, it’s your right to look for another professional. Give therapy another chance, Don I don’t think the same for everyone because not everyone is the same, for better or worse.
Commit even to telling aspects that seem unlinked or irrelevant, as they can be useful for therapy. It is true that psychologists are not doctors, but people are a mind-body unit, and if they have a mental illness, it will affect the body. and vice versa, tell us if you have trouble sleeping, lack of appetite, headaches, etc. It also mentions whether something strange has happened to you. In fact, you can tell everything!
“Repressed emotions never die, are they buried alive and then come out in the worst way?-Sigmund Freud-
Don’t hide or keep information, because the psychologist is not able to read your thoughts. Use space and privacy to your advantage, as they exist for this. This can be difficult at first because of the lack of habit, but it is important to know that at no time will you stop controlling what matters and to what extent it matters. If you tell half-truths or don’t tell the whole story, the help the professional can offer you will never be of the same quality.
Symptoms or physical difficulties can be a trigger for therapy, but you can also go because you want to get to know yourself better, if so, do it in depth, even in the darkest aspects, as it will help you cope. what life offers you, you don’t have to have a very serious problem, you may have doubts about why you connect with a certain type of person, why certain things are difficult for you, etc. , it’s a myth you have to be crazy to go to the psychologist.
Talk about how you feel about the psychologist. If he said something you didn’t like, talk about it!It is important not to maintain and let this disturb the relationship. There may also be misunderstandings in therapy. Sometimes the psychologist says one thing and we understand another, the important thing is to talk and not hide anything.
If you don’t understand something, ask as many times as you need; don’t hesitate out of shame. Psychologists can also make mistakes; Therapy and above all the most significant moments of it are usually intense for the patient / client, but also for psychologists, intensity that can cause errors, which can be resolved if communication remains open and sincere.
It is not common for psychologists to use medical or psychological language or express themselves with a very complex grammar, it is normal to speak in a way that the person before him can understand, regardless of his knowledge of the human mind. , if you do not understand, the psychologist will thank you very much for expressing it openly, because you will have the opportunity to correct and better adjust the speech.
Be patient; you say the step, the changes will happen at your own pace, but remember that “Rome was not built in a day”. Today we live in a society where everything is going very fast, and when we have an discomfort, we want to stop it immediately, and in general we have no patience or tolerance. Therapy works, much more than medications, and without causing side effects, but you have to give it time.
The psychologist is there to listen to you, which is hard to find with friends and family. Take the test. Try talking for 5 minutes about a problem and you’ll see how most people (not wanting to hurt you) will start telling you how to fix the situation, telling the case of someone who’s been through something similar or sharing their own experience. Some don’t even take it and interrupt you to direct the conversation to your own problems. Don’t judge them, because you’d probably do the same in this situation. We’re not used to listening.
The psychologist will listen to you, but he won’t give you advice or solve your problems, only you have the answers and know the solutions to your problems, and the self-analysis you keep repeating is not objective and usually doesn’t work. In cases, the person cannot tell their problems to their friends and family, so they should consult a professional.
“The curious paradox is that when I accept myself, I can change. ” – Carl Rodgers-
If you’re curious, make an experimental consultation. You don’t commit to anything and maybe you’ll find exactly what you were looking for.