How to be a good patient in psychotherapy?

Many of us ask ourselves questions like: How can we identify a good or bad psychologist? About this you can find several articles on the Internet, in magazines and many other places where they give recommendations and even instructions.

But... How can we identify if we are a good patient? What do patients in therapy have to do?

To find out what people think about this, I took a survey and was able to find interesting things.

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The keys to being a good patient in psychotherapy

Most of us believe that the treating psychologist should know when we are lying. This idea arises from the belief that psychologists have practically psychic powers and are able to read minds. Otherwise, they may come to think that we are bad therapists.

To counteract this we must recognize the following points and understand and respect the agreement between therapists and patients, which happens by assuming that psychologists:

• They are human beings
• They don't read minds
• They don't have all the knowledge

And about the therapeutic process, to adopt the role of patient well keep in mind the following key ideas:

• If you do not say what worries you, lie and omit parts, the psychologist will give a false diagnosis or it will take longer to treat the conflict
• Therapy is a process and must have continuity
• Puntuality
• Commitment and responsibility with payments
• Keep the focus of the conflict and do not ramble
• Ask when you don't understand an intervention
• Comply with the assigned tasks
• Have a genuine interest in resolving your conflicts
• Be open minded
• Arrive on your own and not obligated
• Avoid schedule changes
• Talking about your conflicts and not thinking about how to look good with the therapist
• Do not cancel the appointment if you do not "feel like" or are "afraid"
• Remember that the resistance of today has the knowledge of tomorrow
• It is important to talk about feelings

Also exists a conscious and unconscious need to manipulate and control the therapist's interventions. This desire is completely normal, but as patients, making it conscious will help to move forward and overcome conflicts in this regard.

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How to do it?

Many of these skills are learned throughout therapy, but what better information to be able to have an open mind and overcome the psychic conflicts that we face.

The prejudices on the part of the patient are common when a treatment is started; That is why when going to psychotherapy we must stand firm to achieve the goals we want.

Venturing into therapy can cause discomfort, fear and anguish; but that is also completely normal, it is part of the process. It is necessary to address these issues with the therapist to break with the established and leave the comfort zone.

Common fears

The confidentiality it is something that many patients believe is violated. But if it is an issue that can stress us out, the best we can do as patients is to open communication channels and know that the therapist will always be a person we can trust.

In other cases we believe that in therapy we will be judged, that we are completely wrong in our perceptions and that can cause us many headaches. In certain contexts, therapy has gotten a bad rap by thinking that if "you're crazy" you need to go to the psychologistBut this idea is nowhere near reality. Here I will tell you a secret as a therapist: normally, someone who wants to go to therapy is not crazy. To go to therapy you do not necessarily have to have a recent or traumatic conflict with which you feel that you can no longer.

• You may be interested in: "The 10 benefits of going to psychological therapy"

What to expect from the psychotherapeutic process?

You can go to therapy to ...

• Meet
• Improve attitudes
• Improve relationships even if they look good
• Improve in study or work areas
• Be able to acquire emotional intelligence
• Cope with everyday problems in a healthy way
• Get over you every day
• Overcome body image problems
• Improve a relationship

If you go to therapy being fine, you can avoid major conflicts, trauma losses or losses, such as breakups or family conflicts.

In addition, taking children to therapy is also very useful; we can treat conflicts and traumas before they consolidate and are more difficult to treat. It also encourages your ability to learn to regulate your emotions. So in the future they will know how to manage their emotions in a rational way, and maintain lasting, deep and healthy relationships.

Children's therapy is a joint work with their caregivers, a process in which they can get to know each other, reinforce the family love and heal wounds, clear up confusion and help guardians to maintain a healthy and respectful.

The therapy in adolescents who as children went to the therapy psychologist is very useful, as it can clarify and reinforce good attitudes; Adolescence is a completely different stage from childhood, in which we face different problems.

As for relationships, it is an option ideal to have common goals knowing how to communicate, know each other and have a communicative intimacy that leads people to a successful and lasting relationship.

In conclusion

No, psychology is not only for the "crazy" or for those of us who are already ill. It is a powerful weapon that we can use to get to know each other and to be better and better.

I invite you to be a good patient, remove your prejudices, heal and learn more about yourself and for yourself.