Psychology, as a science, has a number of directions, each of which has its own models of studying the human psyche and its own approaches to working with clients. This article will be useful to those who are thinking about which specialist in the field of psychology will be relevant for them today, effective and more suitable. The article does not pretend to be of any scientific nature; in it, in simple language, I will try to outline the difference between the services of different specialists in the field of psychology that currently exist on the market.
When opening a search engine, a person who decides to seek the help of a psychologist encounters a fairly large list of content in which, not being an expert in this matter, he can drown.
How do specialists who adhere to various traditional approaches differ from each other, what are their features? In this note I will not touch on psychology as such, but on its refraction in the aspect of psychological counseling, considering the leading directions.
Gestalt therapy: the “here and now” model
Gestalt therapy is based on the scientific research of Fritz Perls and other scientists who studied field theory, the cycle of contact with a need, and the mechanisms for interrupting contact with a need. The psyche strives for integrity, for the completion of processes. The research also dealt with the consideration of the relationship between figure and background, that is, according to what patterns the actualization and bringing to the fore, in the zone of needs, of certain human states is carried out.
One of the leading principles of Gestalt psychotherapy is the “here and now” model. The point is that during the session the psychologist brings the client to an awareness of himself and what is happening to the person in current time. Work with previously occurring events is also built from the position of the present time.
Gestalt psychotherapy can be useful for those clients who are interested in in-depth exploration of themselves, the opportunity to meet themselves. A gestaltist works with a person’s current request, and it happens that he voices one problem area, but in reality it turns out that another is more emotionally charged.
The therapist follows the client. One of the main tasks is to make a person aware of who he is, what is happening to him, what his personal responsibility is for his life and his decisions. The list of issues that a Gestalt psychotherapist works with is similar to that in other areas of counseling, but different tools are used.
Basics of psychological counseling
Psychological counseling is based on a set of measures aimed at improving a person’s mental well-being and harmonizing relationships - within the family, team and other groups. In the process of psychological influence, the client changes the form of his behavior, attitude towards himself and the world, receives recommendations and support from the psychologist.
The main areas of consulting are:
- stimulating the individual to make informed decisions;
- learning new forms of behavior;
- development of the client’s personality and expansion of his horizons.
The central education of counseling is conscious interaction, where special emphasis is placed on the responsibility of the client, in other words, counseling emphasizes the independence of the client as an individual, his ability to make independent decisions and work to change his own personality.
The goals of psychological counseling are determined in each case individually, depending on which psychological school the professional adheres to and what request the client came to him with. However, we can highlight the main areas in which psychologists-consultants work:
- transformation and improvement of behavioral reactions. Changing the client’s habitual forms of behavior helps to increase productivity in the client’s life, harmonization of relationships, and a satisfied attitude towards the quality of one’s own life, even in the absence of changes in the financial situation;
- developing coping skills when faced with everyday challenges and changing world conditions;
- training in balanced and effective decision-making that is important for the client;
- facilitating personal growth and self-realization;
- improvement of interpersonal relationships.
Despite the differences in approaches to the counseling process itself, all psychological schools agree on a single scheme of the counseling process. It consists of several successive stages, replacing each other, the meaning of each of which follows from the content of the previous one. The following stages are distinguished in counseling:
- Establishing mutual trusting contact. Research of the client's problem area.
- Definition of a specific problem situation. At the same time, the problem is studied in two planes - in the cognitive and emotional spheres.
- Search for alternatives. Establishing possible ways to solve the problem.
- Planning. Development of a step-by-step plan for each of the options for solving a problem situation.
- Consistent implementation of the developed plan.
- Evaluation of the work done. Feedback from client to consultant. Checking satisfaction with the achieved result.
In practice, not everything happens as sequentially as described in this diagram. For example, difficulties may arise in identifying the problem, or the client may refuse to contact the psychologist. As the plan progresses, there may be difficulties with its implementation and it may be necessary to return to previous stages of the consultation process. At the last stage, the client may remain dissatisfied with the changes that have occurred, and then the process will have to start from the first stages. Thus, the counseling process is much more complicated than described in the diagram - it all depends on the client’s problem situation and his readiness to work on himself.
Psychoanalysis: help bring the unconscious into awareness
Psychoanalysis was developed by Sigmund Freud. The leading task is to recognize and study, together with the client, unconscious, unconscious, in particular, traumatic experiences that were the result of a person’s perception of what happened to him earlier. Psychoanalysts have studied human psychosexual development.
Psychoanalysts, working with a client, transfer the unconscious into the realm of awareness. As in the case of Gestalt therapy, psychoanalysis is aimed at in-depth study of the personality, making it possible to study and analyze its motivation, reasons for behavior, characteristics of reactions and other aspects.
Those clients who are prone to analysis, immersion in the construction of theories, and putting forward hypotheses will find in the psychoanalyst’s office the opportunity to immerse themselves in themselves, including through these tools.
Is it possible to counsel friends and family?
Personal counseling by a specialist in the field of psychology of your friends, family and friends is not considered correct for a number of reasons:
- Worrying about the state of people you know prevents the psychologist from perceiving the situation objectively; emotions are a bad adviser.
- If the problem worsens, it is possible that the person who recklessly gave recommendations will be considered to blame for the outcome of the case. Moreover, this can happen regardless of whether the person being counseled followed the advice or not.
- It is possible that the specialist will make a mistake. It will be difficult for him to accept the consequences professionally - to draw conclusions and continue to work.
The material issue cannot be ignored. A large amount of time will be spent on providing assistance, a considerable amount of information will be processed, but not everyone is able to demand payment from a loved one. In addition, people are not inclined to treat properly what they got for free.
Jungian analysis focuses on the emotional component
Jungian analysis has its origins in psychoanalysis. The founder of this direction of psychology was Carl Gustav Jung, a student of Freud. The main task of a psychologist who works in this direction is to help the client understand what is happening to him based on an analysis of his unconscious. Particular attention is paid to the emotional component in human reactions and behavior and their study. There is a typology of personality - archetypes, upon analysis of which the psychologist comes to a solution to the problems facing the client.
Consulting children with a psychologist
Age-related psychological counseling, or psychological counseling for children, is one of the types of individual consultation. It is aimed at education on issues of mental development in different age periods. At such consultations, parents are given recommendations regarding the characteristics of their child’s mental development, optimal upbringing and principles of education. These consultations are dedicated not only to parents, but also to employees of various institutions who have direct contact with children.
In addition, such consultations can be aimed at the children themselves - they are designed to resolve issues of difficulties in academic performance, in interaction with the team, teachers, parents, and peers. For teenagers of high school age, consultations are held on career guidance - choosing a future profession based on identified aptitudes.
This type of psychological counseling is aimed at monitoring the normal development of the child’s mental functions, identifying developmental delays, and correcting abnormal personality development. Simply put, the need for age-related psychological counseling lies in the desire of parents to raise a harmonious, successful personality, ready to make independent decisions and choose their own path in life.
The personality and situation of psychological counseling for children is fundamentally different from a similar process carried out with an adult. While it is still possible to convince a teenager of responsibility for his decisions and get him to act independently, this is fundamentally impossible with young children. Therefore, in such consultations, the active subjects are adult members of the family in which the child is being raised.
Upbringing and the influence that parents have on a child are the main shaping factors for his worldview and behavior. Therefore, while the child is within the family, the main work of the psychologist is focused on his parents.
We list the basic rules that a specialist must adhere to during consultations with children:
- Confidentiality. The psychologist acts as a safe figure for the child, who can (and must) be entrusted with information that cannot be told to parents, teachers and friends. All information received from the child must be kept confidential and used solely in the interests of the client.
- Honesty on both sides. The psychologist must be honest with the client if he wants to obtain truthful information from him.
- Non-judgmental acceptance. Psychological counseling assumes that the consultant unconditionally accepts the client’s position, regardless of his internal consent. The client must feel that he is understood and accepted for who he is - otherwise it will not be possible to establish trusting contact.
The main task of the consultant is to overcome the barrier between him and his little patient. When children go to a psychologist, they turn out to be unmotivated; they do not understand why they need sessions and what is required of them - after all, going to a specialist is encouraged by their parents.
In addition, young children with psychological problems often have low self-esteem and negative experiences with adults - with parents or teachers. The psychologist, as an adult figure, also automatically causes a negative reaction, which he needs to overcome in the course of establishing contact with the client.
Teenagers, unlike younger children, turn out to be more straightforward and capable of displaying aggression. They deny that they have any problems, react emotionally to indications that they are wrong, and resist the psychologist’s recommendations.
Psychodrama will help you understand your own inner world
Psychodrama as a method was founded by Jacob Levy Moreno. The basis of the work of a psychologist is playing roles in a group that allow you to recreate a social situation, gain awareness of aspects of interaction between people, and understand your own inner world. This method will be especially useful for theatrical, creative, and active people.
As an element, psychodramas can be used in the work of other specialists. The range of research can be quite wide, ranging from relationships in the family to social roles. However, if a person is quite closed, shy, and does not like crowds of large numbers of people, then studying this feature can also be useful.
Existential psychotherapy: the path to perfection through understanding basic concepts
Existential psychotherapy is based on the client, first of all, coming to understand his personality, actions, and the situation in which he finds himself. Here a person will need quite a lot of courage and desire not only to understand, but also to accept responsibility for his life without shifting it to someone else or sharing it with other people. If we talk about the assembled existential psychotherapist, Irvin Yalom identified several main areas of research (problems): freedom, inner emptiness, isolation, death. Working through and understanding these issues in your life will give the key to understanding yourself as an individual.
The existential direction considers a series of consistent internal conflicts that a person encounters on his path, realizing which, a person improves as a person.
This direction will be useful when working with anxiety, depression, and crises.
Types of psychological counseling
There are several types of psychological counseling, depending on the problem situations and the characteristics of the people who turned to a professional. A psychologist's clients may differ in age, marital status, personality traits, religion and culture - all this requires different approaches from the psychologist. The following types of psychological counseling are distinguished:
- according to the form of implementation - individual, group, family;
- by focus - psychological and pedagogical, business, multicultural;
- by age - consultation for children and adults.
These are not all possible types of psychological counseling - they are created by various scientific schools, and practical applications require more and more new options for psychological services.
Individual counseling is practically the most common type of psychological counseling. During this process, the client is left alone with the consultant. This form of consultation is suitable for those people who want to solve a problem in their own minds - get rid of fears, grow personally, become more successful, etc. Psychological counseling is widespread as a method of reducing anxiety and aggressiveness among school-age children.
Group counseling involves several clients and one consultant. Consultation is carried out on common problems that unite clients, for example, counseling teams at work about unity, or counseling different married couples.
Family counseling involves members of the same family as clients in order to resolve their interpersonal conflicts or prepare for an important event, such as the birth of a child. This form of consultation is the most difficult from the organizational position, since it is especially difficult to gather people separated by conflicts for a common cause.
Psychological and pedagogical counseling is aimed at teaching people how to interact with children and older students. Issues of optimizing training programs, applying methods, educational innovations, etc. are covered.
Business psychological consulting can be characterized in various ways, depending on the organization or field of activity in which it is applied. In addition to focusing on professional activities, the goals of business psychological consulting are to unite employees, increase work efficiency, advise managers on more effective management, etc.
Cognitive psychotherapy: how your thinking affects your life
Cognitive psychotherapy is based on the idea that all psychological problems arise in a person as a result of incorrect thinking. One of the founders of this direction is George Armitage Miller.
This direction will be useful if you want to explore your beliefs, their origins, manifestations, their influence on your life and relationships with other people. In this case, there is no talk about what is “right” and “wrong” thinking, but the emphasis is on how a given person’s thinking determines his perception and influences his behavior and life.
Body-oriented psychotherapy
Body-oriented psychotherapy, founded by Wilhelm Reich, is based on the connection of bodily muscle tension with the characteristics of a person’s personality and his emotional experience. The psychotherapist works through muscle tension that arises as a result of a person’s experiences and experiences. This type of psychotherapy is used as an element in other directions, however, as an independent direction, it is also quite effective. It will be especially useful for clients who have difficulty expressing themselves and are introverted. The psychologist follows from the body to awareness. We often explain a lot to ourselves, build hypotheses and logical chains, calculate behavior algorithms, predict our reactions and the behavior of other people. However, our body reflects everything that happens to us and provides the key to understanding these processes.
Conditions for the effectiveness of consultations with a psychologist
Psychological counseling is successful only when several factors are combined:
- The client is motivated to make positive changes in life and work on consciousness and behavior. The consultation is conducted by a psychologist, but the results depend on whether the person himself wants to influence his life, since during consultations the specialist only helps to come to conclusions, but does not do the work for the client.
- The process and stages of psychological counseling are selected individually, taking into account the personality characteristics of the person applying and his problem situation. It is impossible to advise everyone using the same scheme. A professional always shows flexibility in the selection of certain techniques and their options in order to convey to a person the essence of his internal problems.
- The client attends all necessary sessions scheduled by the consultant. In addition to the fact that during psychological counseling a person comes to the conclusion that changes are necessary, he needs to learn to behave in a certain way and consolidate the achieved result. Many clients give up visiting a psychologist and, as a result, cannot resolve the situation, because after some changes others occur, for which the person is also not ready. As a result, the problem returns again without finding an adequate solution.
- During consultations, a mutual trusting relationship is established between the client and the professional. This is important, because otherwise the consultant will not be able to obtain reliable information or influence the person needed for productive work.
- The consultant is not focused on temporary effects. Even if a strategy for solving a certain situation has been developed jointly with the client, the person, having overcome the problem, may at any moment encounter a new problem. Therefore, it is important that the professional does not direct all his attention to temporary relief of the situation, but works on the underlying cause of the current situation - the lack of necessary forms of behavior or the presence of an internal unresolved conflict.
Thus, the effectiveness of psychological counseling depends not only on the personality and professionalism of the consultant, but also (to a greater extent) on the work that a person does on himself. If you are looking for a professional, we recommend contacting psychologist Nikita Valerievich Baturin, who has been helping to get rid of various anxiety disorders for many years.
Transpersonal psychotherapy
Transpersonal psychotherapy studies the phenomena of altered human states, including the so-called “mystical experience”. It is based on the early studies of Carl Jung, William James, and Abraham Maslow. They talked about the connection between the body and consciousness, and considered spirituality. The term “transpersonal” itself means, literally translated, as “existing beyond the personality.” This direction is suitable for those people who view themselves and others from a spiritual perspective. However, it is important to emphasize that in order to work within the framework of this method, the client himself must be ready for this and sufficiently conscious.
