How to choose a good psychologist who offers psychotherapy?

If you are interested in going to psychotherapy services and you do not have much experience in this, it is good that you know a series of criteria that you can use to select the psychotherapist suitable.

After all, there are many myths about what psychotherapy consists of, and this puts a certain risk of going to people who are not really trained to care for patients, in which case they may even make the problem to be treated get worse. Luckily, there are some basics that help avoid problems of this type.

So that... How to choose a good psychologist when going to therapy?

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6 keys to choosing a good psychotherapist

When you are interested in seeing a psychotherapy professional, look at these guidelines to make the best possible choice.

1. Check their specialization

Not all psychologists are professionally engaged in therapy. There are other branches of psychology that do not have much to do with patient care: marketing, education, Human Resources, research, etc. In all of them it is possible to dedicate full time and exclusively as a psychologist.

Therefore, it is important to pay attention not only to the fact that the professional we value going to is dedicated to psychology, but also to make sure of their specialization.

2. Check that you have registered with the Official College of Psychologists

Psychotherapy is a form of intervention in patients that must follow a series of principles and rules, being within the field of health. Thus, It is important to check that the person we are evaluating is registered: schools regulate the activity of professionals.

3. Check that your work is based on science

Psychotherapy is applied science, that is, its methods and tools are based on scientific knowledge. Therefore, all psychologists are obliged to use scientifically validated therapies, which implies that its positive effects on patients have been proven through a series of investigations over the years.

Therefore, the fact that a psychologist expresses himself in esoteric terms or appeals to supernatural entities To explain the human mind and our behavior, it is a red flag that should lead to your discard; It is one thing that consciousness and subjectivity are part of the field of study of psychology, and another that these should be understood practically as if they were magical elements, disconnected from the human body and the matter in general.

Similarly, combining psychotherapy with pseudoscientific or esoteric practices such as tarot or homeopathy is also a powerful reason to choose another professional.

4. If the professional is very specialized, don't worry

The fact that a psychologist specializes in a very specific area of ​​psychological well-being is not in itself a reason to rule it out, nor does it imply that they are a worse professional. Simply, consider if the problem you want to treat in therapy fits the training of that professional.

For example, if what you are looking for is help to overcome agoraphobia, nothing happens if the psychologist you are going to does not have experience in child therapy or couples therapy, as long as they do have it in intervention in disorders of anxiety.

5. The psychologist should not offer friendship

A person who claims to offer psychotherapy and at the same time offers to establish a friendship relationship with the patient is in all probability not qualified to practice that profession.

The therapeutic relationship is clearly professional, and although patients talk about their problems openly and honestly and psychologists can offer empathy and even brief moments of relaxed conversation, the objective is clear: to offer a service oriented to achieve objectives specific.

• You may be interested: "How should the relationship between psychologist and patient be?"

6. Offer concrete goals

In every psychotherapeutic process there is a first phase of evaluation of the patient which takes place just before the actual intervention begins. In this, psychologists seek to understand the characteristics of the problem that the person who comes to them has, as well as their context and life and their characteristics as an individual.

At the end of this phase, before starting the treatment phase, it is important for the professional to propose specific and easy-to-target objectives. In this way, there will be a clear reference at all times that will show whether there is progress or not, and that will mark when it is time to end the therapy.

Note that the psychotherapy process cannot be indefinite, it should last for a few months or weeks. Only in some cases of chronic and severe disease will it be necessary to make visits over the years, but in these cases cases are much more widely spaced than those of a typical psychotherapeutic intervention, since they serve to make tracing.

If after the first contact sessions the psychologist suggests that the therapy will last for years or will be something for life on a weekly basis, it is advisable to change the psychotherapist.

Are you looking for psychological assistance from the hand of experts?

If you are interested in having the professional support offered by expert psychologists in psychotherapy, get in touch with our team. On Cribecca Psychology We serve people of all ages, couples and families, either in our center located in Seville or through the online therapy service. The psychologists who work here specialize in all areas of mental health and well-being emotional, and we base our work on the cognitive-behavioral intervention model, one of the most effective and versatile.

For more information about Cribecca Psychology and to see our contact information, go to this page.