How Do Psychologists View Patients?

The majority of the people who seek counseling feel that their inner needs cause them to do so when they feel in an unstable state of mind. Patients seeking therapy usually do so when they are close to losing control; when they hit the bottom. It is at this point that psychologists show them how amazing their strength and courage are. Instead of getting lost in all the excuses, they face their problems.

Despite the clichés and society’s ignorance of the role of the psychologist, patients start therapy to change their lives. They will have to learn to get rid of certain actions, habits and thoughts that have led them in the direction they are today.

I would like people to know that the people who seek therapy are brave people with a strong sense of responsibility to themselves. They are not “crazy,” as an ignorant and timid society insists on imposing on us.

“Psychology is – unlike chemistry, as opposed to mathematics, as opposed to literature – the owner’s manual for his own mind. It’s a guide to life. ”

-Daniel Goldstein-

Psychologists do not give advice, but therapy

If you need advice, talk to your best friend, boyfriend or family. They know you better than anyone else and can give you good advice. But  if you need someone who can explain why you behave the way you do and why you feel the things you do, someone who can help you choose the right methods and treatments that suit your personality traits , then you seek the help of a psychologist.

We are aware of how difficult it can be to make a decision to book an appointment with a psychologist. Because of this, psychologists always try to provide all the information that is at all possible in the beginning. Through therapy, psychologists try to make sure we know exactly what to work with and why.

For psychologists, it is satisfying to be able to see that the patient, after working with many destructive thoughts and emotions, is able to control them. When this happens, the patient feels much more comfortable and begins to engage in many more activities, confronting problematic situations from a different perspective and being able to filter their thoughts and see them in a more objective light.

We are convinced that more people should take the first step and seek the help of a psychologist, if only they could see what results it provides, both on a personal and social level.

“The primary reason you are unhappy is never the situation itself, but your thoughts about it. Pay attention to the thoughts you are thinking. ”

–Eckhart Tolle–

Psychologists learn together with the patient

Psychotherapy is an experimental process and dialogue in which the therapist’s and patient’s influence is mutual and a common learning process and transformation. It is not only the patient who changes, learns and is transformed, but so do therapists.

Just as a good teacher would do, so do psychologists learn anything from patients’ example. It is important to clarify what it means for patients to learn something from psychologists. In fact, when psychologists tell a patient how much they admire them for their courage or their decisions, they may look at the psychologists confused and surprised. For they cannot believe that they were able to teach them anything.

Everyone, regardless of whether it is a patient or a therapist, is susceptible to suffering and deception. On the other hand, we all share a great desire to improve our sense of well-being, feel happier and have more inner peace. Patients do not go to psychologists to explicitly teach them anything. But they do so implicitly with their clarity, dedicated efforts in their own process of change and ability to make the necessary decisions.

“Psychology cannot tell people how they should live their lives. But it can give them the resources to bring about personal and social change. ”

–Albert Bandura–