Часто задаваемые вопросы
In the post-Soviet space, a psychologist and a psychotherapist are different professions. A psychotherapist and a psychiatrist are medical specialties. Thus, a psychotherapist is a doctor who practices medicine and can prescribe medications. A psychologist is a specialist who has studied psychological sciences as part of a humanitarian education and conducts consultative, but not medical, practice.
However, in America and Europe, where psychotherapy was originally born, a psychotherapist and a psychologist perform identical functions. A psychotherapist is considered to be a person who has completed a humanitarian or medical education. And also, has received additional specialization in some of the methods of psychotherapy and conducts consultative and psychotherapeutic practice.
Psychology has many directions, for example: consulting psychologist, zoopsychologist, clinical psychologist, organizational psychologist, child psychologist. Questions addressed to specialists can vary from "How to cope with depression?" to "Why does my cat constantly mark the bed?" You can come to a consulting psychologist, which I am, with any questions of a psychological nature. I would highlight three main categories of such questions: a) questions about yourself; b) questions about relationships with others; c) questions about yourself and the world around you.
If you have decided to see a psychologist, you have most likely already tried to deal with the problem on your own or hoped that it would go away on its own. But this did not happen. This is already a good starting point for a conversation. You can start by telling us why you decided to come now. A few questions will help you formulate your story better: what brought you now? When did it start? What have you already done to solve this problem?
In different areas of psychotherapy, the psychologist's strategy of behavior with the client may be different. One specialist will ask you in great detail about all the details, and it will be like an interview. Another will give you more space to speak in a free form, and will ask only about the most key points. I prefer the second option: in my experience, it is important not to interfere with the client and not to direct him in the direction that is interesting to me. This helps to hear the most important things.
The classic frequency of meetings for psychotherapy is considered to be once a week. This is the optimal rhythm for establishing a therapeutic relationship that promotes positive changes. In some cases, meetings can be more frequent. For example, if the client is in a crisis and needs more support and more space to place their emotions. However, less frequent meetings are also possible, as well as one-time consultations that have other goals, such as discussing a specific problem or getting a second opinion.
The number of sessions needed to improve depression depends on several factors:
type of depression (exogenous or endogenous);
severity of depression (mild, moderate or severe);
characteristics of the person himself (background, level of contact with his feelings, type of nervous system).
Therefore, the number of sessions needed to relieve symptoms of depression can vary considerably.
If you are facing recurring problems or conditions that cause discomfort and have already tried different ways to solve them, but without result, it may be time to turn to a specialist. It is also useful if you want to understand yourself more deeply, to understand why things in life are going this way and not otherwise. Consulting a psychologist can help you get a new perspective and start changing.
I live in the Netherlands and work online. This gives me a great opportunity to work with people from different countries.