HOW TO WORK WITH A PSYCHOLOGIST?

● What does the meeting with a psychologist look like? It often consists of a discussion of what has happened since the last session, identifying key experiences and what needs to be worked through, as well as a practical part (when you use practices to work through what has been discussed). Between sessions, it is useful to do homework and keep a diary of self-reflection, which helps you transfer the results of sessions to real life.

● How long does it take to see a psychologist? The average regularity of meetings with a psychologist is once a week, in an acute period you may need 2 times. To make the psyche get used to the systematic work on psychological problems, as well as accustom it to a certain degree of acceptance and support, it is vital to agree on the regularity of meetings. It is almost impossible to estimate how much time is needed to achieve significant improvements and promote life changes. On average, you may need from 6 months to 1 year to achieve some significant changes. Clients with a wide range of psychological problems may need several years. The main thing is to focus on how you feel. If you notice that when you come to a psychologist, you don’t have any worries or problems that you rather want to work through, you may have already reached a plateau. In this case, you can stop working with your psychologist and return after some time when there is a need.

● What is the difference between online therapy and offline therapy?

In fact, there is no difference. Currently, more and more clients are beginning to give preference to online therapy. Benefits of online therapy: no need to waste time on the road, you can work with your psychologist from anywhere in the world and stay in a comfortable home environment, which helps create conditions for more open interaction.

● How much does a good psychologist’s session cost?

Numerous online psychologists offer a price of 10-20 euro per hour of work. Besides, many people are sure that’s a normal price for a good specialist. Let’s analyze if that’s true. To become a good specialist, you need to graduate from a university and take advanced training courses. Each good course costs at least 500 euro or even 1000 euro if it is international. To improve the level of services provided and confirm qualifications, a good psychologist must take a refresher course at least 1-2 times a year. He also needs to attend supervisory groups or individual meetings, which cost at least 100-200 euro per group or 50 euro per session. He also has to pay for personal therapy, which costs 100 euro per session. At the same time, he must live and pay for his human needs. How is it possible to do this at a session cost of 20 euro? Well, only if you take 10 clients a day. But in this case, a psychologist quickly burns out and cannot actually help the client.

There are also offers of 5,000-10,000 euro for 1 session. That’s an inflated price, which is not based on the professionalism of a psychologist but on good marketing or manipulative selling techniques.

On average, a professional psychologist who regularly improves his professional level costs 80-200 euro per session.

● What to do if you cannot afford a good specialist? You can turn to a psychologist with little experience but with a good education and international certificates – this may be the best solution. Besides, it is better to attend training courses from good specialists to learn how to manage your costs.

● Is free psychotherapy effective? If a person can pay for psychotherapy but is looking for free options, he’s most likely manifesting his internal attitude: “That’s not something valuable that I am ready to pay for”, which means he doesn’t believe the therapy will work. Like any work, the work of a psychologist must be paid for by the client. By paying for psychotherapy, you declare your intention to change something in your life. It is also very important that you pay for it with your own money.

There is also volunteer work when a psychologist works for free in situations of major disasters or significant crises. What’s more, there is free psychological assistance for people in difficult economic situations. As a rule, it is limited to a few sessions.