Having decided to ask for psychological assistance, treat as much as possible responsibly the choice of the expert which will render this help to you. Depend on a right choice a solution with which you go to the psychologist, your psychological comfort, the relations with yourself and with the world.
Instruction
1. For a start be defined whether you are ready to group work or you are attracted more by individual therapy. Advantage of group work – in support of people with similar problems, an opportunity to compare own experience to experience of other people and to make sure of its not uniqueness, training in various styles of the solution of problems and interaction with the world around. Besides, work in group is often economically more favorable.
2. Individual work with the psychologist or the psychotherapist more will suit the pronounced introverts, people with high degree of uneasiness closed, mistrustful (except for the special group trainings directed to development of self-confidence), besides, individual work assumes more detailed study of your personal situation. Choose a format of individual meetings. If you have no opportunity to visit the psychologist personally, you should know that very small number of experts is ready to work on correspondence because of obviously low efficiency of this way of communication with the client. Many apply a format Skype sessions or telephone consultations to remote work recently.
3. Choose the direction of psychotherapy which is the most suitable to you. The choice is rather rich today so it is better to rely on personal preferences - for example if you are not ready for long, not less than a year, work, then psychoanalysis will not suit you. Besides, many psychotherapists combine several methods in work now.
4. A lot of things depend on the identity of the psychologist, his qualification, practical experience. When choosing you will be helped by the recommendations of acquaintances. However consider that their personal experience does not coincide with yours, so, what suited them, not necessarily will suit you. Pay attention to education of the expert. If it is the psychologist-consultant, he has to have the higher education in "psychology". The psychotherapist receives, in addition to him, medical or psychological education in "clinical psychology" and also undergoes specialization in a concrete type of therapy. It is good if the diploma is issued to the expert by the known higher education institution, but not branch of unknown non-state institute.
5. Existence of an experience of practical work is obligatory, and the it is more, the better for you. Do not hesitate to ask about whether there underwent the psychologist skills development, whether it consists in any international associations, whether there underwent the expert personal therapy (this indispensable condition for the practicing psychologist). If your psychologist is interested in clients, has sufficient qualification and high degree of responsibility, you will hear affirmative answers on these questions earlier, than will manage to set them.
6. Your personal impression means much. The first meeting with the psychologist at the same time both is indicative, and is not present – many personal and professional qualities are detected only in the course of work, however if the person at first sight arouses at you mistrust and rejection, it is better to look for other psychologist in whom you will have more faith – so your work with it will be more productive.