The 10 phrases psychologists hate the most to hear

The psychologists and psychology students they face, day after day, a good number of clichés, stereotypes and myths surrounding their profession. One facet of these clichés is the phrases that, for whatever reason, every psychologist has had to hear on multiple occasions.

Phrases most hated by psychologists (or myths about psychologists)

They are cliché and hackneyed phrases, fruit of ignorance about the profession of psychologist. With this article we hope to raise awareness in the general population: Refrain from using these topical phrases! Your family member, friend or acquaintance who is dedicated to psychology he will thank you forever.

Let us begin.

1. "Are you a psychologist? Don't read my mind! "

It is a phrase that can irritate the psychologist quite a bit. No one has the ability to read minds of other people, nobody. If this were the case, mental health professionals would not use tests and a multitude of techniques to explore the patient's psyche; A "mental reading" would be enough to know the problems of the person.

On the other hand, what is this aggressive attitude about? You may not be the most interesting person in the world, I don't have to yearn to discover the wonderful things you think about. You don't need to warn me of something that I hadn't even thought of.

Psychologists are dedicated to analyzing behavioral patterns, Personality traits, psychosocial contexts and that kind of thing. From that factual information, we can draw some hypothesis on patients, or foresee behaviors that may develop in the future based on the parameters studied. This means that we are not like Sandro ReyWe do not have crystal balls or “scientifically proven” glasses that allow us to see beyond common perception.

There is also the personable person who insists that you "read his mind." This is a nice variant of the cliché, since at least it is not born of a passive-aggressive attitude. A few words for the person who asks me to read his mind: I admire your open and jovial predisposition to life and that you want to show me your inner world. I hope I don't disappoint you if I tell you that the job of a psychologist is much less mystical. Anyway, I invite you to a coffee, to make it up to you.

2. "Psychologists are crazy"

It is not foolish to think that in every psychologist there is a point of madness. It occurs with all those people who love the discipline of knowing him; what you have studied and that is probably your vocation. It is perhaps for this reason that people can conclude that "he who spends so much time thinking about the psyche, may end up a bit touched ...".

The truth is that many television series They have paved the way for this myth of the madness of psychologists to gain adherents. The cultural products they offer us are fiction and their plots are based on the anomalous, the unexpected, the shocking... hence the psychotherapists who come to life in series or movies are most eccentric. As, for example, the Doctor House he plays a misanthropic doctor addicted to narcotics, but extrapolating that all doctors are like him would be a huge mistake.

However, the reality is quite different. Most psychologists and psychologists we are very normal, and even boring, if you hurry me.

3. "Where is the couch? You can't be a psychologist if you don't have a couch "

To start: to psychologists They don't give us the couch at the graduation ceremony. Buying a couch if you are going to consult (this is another, not all psychologists are engaged in psychotherapy) is not mandatory or violates any law if you do not have it.

The couch was widely used by psychoanalysts for a matter of tradition. Some current psychotherapists, whether they are from the current psychoanalysis or any other, may decide to have it, or not. The couch has no magic powers nor does it suppose any added value. His function is to help the patient relax and better express her concerns and problems, and to prevent her from looking into the psychotherapist's eyes and may feel self-conscious.

If you go to therapy and your psychologist does not have a couch but an ordinary sofa or an armchair or triplet, please, don't think he's a bad psychologist for it, and saves you from having to hear the cliche phrase: "where's the couch?"

4. "With what the psychologists charge, they must be rich"

This point depends a lot on the country you are in: in each region there are parameters of fees for the psychotherapist, or the profession is valued better or worse. This influences what you pay for a psychotherapy session. Is it expensive to go to the psychologist? Well... as Pau Donés would say, it all depends.

Generally speaking, psychologists we are not rich. Not much less, go. Many people believe that studying the career of Psychology they are going to become millionaires by consulting, and then they find the harsh reality.

So why do psychologists charge so much? Well, let's start doing the math. You must be aware when evaluating whether a therapy session is very expensive. We therapists have studied for four years of careers and, having graduated, we have had to take postgraduate degrees, masters... It is a not inconsiderable investment in time and money. Master's degrees in Spain do not fall below € 3,000. And, with the latest rate hike, each year of the degree can cost more than € 1,500.

On the other hand, the tests needed to diagnose patients they are astonishingly expensive. Add the rent for the office, the taxes (personal income tax, self-employed ...), the civil liability insurance, the material (the couch also, but it is optional). And notice, also, that psychologists not only work with our patients during the sessions, but we can spend many hours at home reviewing the history, looking for information, correcting tests and activities, learning better techniques, updating, training... There are many hours invested behind each patient, and they are not seen with the naked eye.

In any case, and especially after the crisis, the truth is that there are psychologists who they can treat you at a very affordable price. There are also those who, due to a question of prestige, charge much more for the sessions. There is everything in the Lord's vineyard, but if you really need therapy, money should not be an impediment.

5. "No, I don't believe in that" (in psychology)

I'm glad for you, that you know. From the heart

But let's proceed to analyze this cliche phrase. The truth is that psychology is neither a religion nor anything like that. It is not about "believing or not believing", as if psychology were something like an act of faith. You may not believe in the law of gravity, but it is proven that there is something that draws bodies to the ground. Consequently, your opinion on the matter is totally irrelevant since the physical laws are there and they will not stop acting no matter how much you do not believe in them. We could say that psychology or physics have enough self esteem so that it does not affect them that you pass from them.

Psychology is governed by the scientific method; try analyze reality based on methodological basescontrasted in order to reach truthful conclusions. This does not mean that everything that bears the surname "psychology" is absolutely indisputable, nor does it mean that it cannot There are methodological flaws that can lead to the wrong conclusions (as is the case in almost any social or science science). Health).

Psychology is a science that is currently framed within the Health Sciences. You can not "not believe" in psychology, in any case you will have a critical view on the methodology and empirical used by this discipline. The empirical evidence provided by psychology regarding knowledge about the psyche are dynamic and mutable, of that there is no doubt (the human being is changeable!), but it is undeniable that these data result in an improvement of the quality of life of people who attend therapy, this is scientifically proven (sorry for the tautology).

Of course, the study of psychology is standardized within a fairly demanding legal framework.

If with that phrase of "I do not believe in psychology" you want to imply that you don't like psychologists, You are within your right to have that opinion, but if that is the case it is better that you explain yourself properly and that you do not use the typical phrase, because as you have been able to read, it is a falsehood.

6. “You cannot be angry; You are a psychologist! "

Following this same logic, a doctor cannot catch a cold, a mechanic cannot have a breakdown in his car, or a dentist cannot have a toothache. You must bear in mind that psychologists are exposed to high levels of stress: we face the emotional charge which means listening to all the problems of patients, and we are supposed to be trained so that it does not affect us, but ...

Outside the consultation, psychologists are flesh and blood people, we get excited, we laugh, we cry, and... we have flaws. Although it is incredible.

Although our training and profession provide us with skills in the control of emotions and stress and conflict management, we are not immune from having bad times, making mistakes, getting angry, and so on. This does not mean that we are bad psychologists: we must learn to separate personal and professional life, and also know how to consider that psychotherapists are people, and therefore, perfection is not our common denominator. Not ours, not anyone's.

7. "Psychology is not a science!"

We return again to those types of people who, for one reason or another, "do not believe in psychology." This time it is the turn of the person who asserts that psychology is not a science. First of all, one might wonder what that person means by "science". Because maybe his vision of the scientific reduce to mathematical and physical laws, perfect and immutable. This purist view of the concept 'science' is not accepted by almost anyone.

Actually, science is... (let's pull the encyclopedia):

«The ordered set of systematically structured knowledge. Science is the knowledge that is obtained through the observation of regular patterns, reasoning and experimentation in specific areas, from the which questions are generated, hypotheses are constructed, principles are deduced and general laws and organized systems are elaborated by means of a scientific method. » [Fountain: Wikipedia]

And, without a doubt, psychology is science insofar as it is the discipline of knowledge that studies, in an orderly way and following the scientific method, human behavior and mental processes. What this means is that psychology establishes hypotheses about phenomena and then tests them empirically (through systematic observation), like any other science. In fact, psychology is still a discipline that draws on biology, medicine, chemistry, neurosciences, the social sciences and even quantum mechanics. Not science, either?

Psychology, therefore, is a science. It is a fait accompli, not an opinion. If you think you are the master of the universe boasting of your skepticism, I recommend you carefully read the following article:

• "Dunning-Kruger effect: the less we know, the smarter we think we are"

No hard feelings.

8. You meet a person by chance, you start a conversation, by chance he finds out that you are a psychologist and... It explains its problems to you and demands diagnosis and treatment in 5 minutes.

What psychologist has not happened to: you take a taxi to go to another part of the city, and as soon as the taxi driver finds out about your profession, he begins to bombard you with their personal stories and he waits for you to "diagnose" and "cure" him before reaching the destination.

Let's see: going back to the same thing a bit, psychologists are not magicians or do miracles. I'm really sorry. Nor is it very pleasant that someone explain his problems to you in five minutes, in a hurry, and hold you accountable for their future based on a diagnosis and cure that you have to carry out at the speed of sound.

Normally, psychologists are open people and we have no problem in lend a hand to those who need it. But you have to understand that, in the same way that the doctor is not 24 hours a day exploring people who are find you on the street in search of diseases or the waiter is not dedicated to offering you the menu when he is holidays, the psychologist cannot be permanently attending psychological problems or existential concerns of strangers.

Know when it is time to raise these issues, and how to do it. To establish a serious diagnosis, it is necessary to work hours, even days, of methodical exploration; requires concentration on the part of the psychologist.

And, whatever it is and for a long time humanism attributed to us, you should also bear in mind that we try to earn a living from our work.

9. "Going to the psychologist is for mental morons!"

This is one of the most irritating phrases, as it shows utter ignorance on many levels. Let's get started: what is a mental moron for you? A crazy? If you mean people who have some kind of emotional problem, some temporary mood disorder, or some family conflict... How many people would escape your conception of mad?

Also, in case you didn't know, psychologists also treat issues as aseptic as sick leave, learning difficulties or relationship problems... Not to mention the branch of the positive psychology, which is responsible for enhancing the qualities of the person (and therefore its objective is not to "treat" anything, but to enhance some skills in which the person wants to improve).

Of course, to say that those who go to the psychologist is because they are crazy is a real outrage. What is crazy is not to seek help when you are not well. And keep in mind that all people, at some point in their life, will go through some type of conflict in which the intervention of a therapist would be necessary.

None of the aforementioned cases falls under the bag of "madness." Ask a professional for help if you have a problem it will not make that problem major or minor. The point is to try to help people, and each case is unique. Let us not fall into the stigmas of ignorance with those who have the courage to face their fears.

10. “The other day I had a dream... (explains it to you) what does it mean? "

Being a psychologist is not the same as being psychoanalyst. And I bet that most psychoanalysts would not know how to offer you a rigorous explanation about the meaning of the dream that you just explained in three minutes, without knowing more data of crucial relevance when it comes to inquiring about something as complex and intangible as your unconscious.

The truth is that most psychologists have no training in this type of theory who inquire about the dream interpretation based on the analysis of the unconscious, symbols, etc. This is so.

For fun, most therapists can try to make some hypotheses about what we think they might mean. these dreams that you have explained, but do not expect an incontestable conclusion, because it will not stop being a summary interpretation Y a lot of data will be missing to be able to analyze well how your unconscious works.

Have you heard other cliche phrases about psychologists or psychology?