Psychological help: how to know if I need it and how to find it

"I need help". A few words that we do not usually hear often today, despite the fact that there are many people who are constantly suffering and would require someone's assistance. Self-esteem problems, anxiety, constant sadness, the experience of traumatic events that we cannot overcome ...

We are talking about people who need psychological help, but who often do not come to her for different reasons or are not sure if their problem requires professional help or not.

In this article, we are going to talk about when we need this kind of help and how and where to get it.

• You may be interested: "Types of psychological therapies"

Psychological help: how do I know if I need it?

The question of when we need the help of a professional psychologist may seem easy to answer, but the truth is that many people find it very difficult to decide to consult and even consider that their discomfort is not enough to seek help professional.

The truth is In clinical practice, psychologists attend to all types of people, with different types of problems

. People of any age and condition can go to a psychologist, although within psychology there are different profiles of more specialized professionals in certain sectors, such as child and adolescent psychology or in psychogeriatrics.

There are many problems that are treated or in which a psychologist can intervene. It is common for people with mood problems, anxiety, emotional problems to go to a professional and / or self-esteem, people with cognitive disorders, obsessive problems (such as OCD) or psychotic problems (for example a schizophrenia), post-traumatic stress disorder or those with adaptive problems or difficulties to cope with certain situations.

Sexual dysfunctions and relationship problems, lack of communication or the presence of family problems are aspects that can also lead a person to consultation. Likewise, other possible effects may be learning problems, in achieving one's own identity, or a high level of work stress. Family counseling or psychoeducation or coping with an illness can also be carried out by a psychologist.

But the above are just examples. Actually, anyone who presents any problem that causes deep psychological suffering (whether or not we are talking about an identified disorder) or difficulties in adapting to the environment that surrounds them, they may seek professional help. It is possible that in some cases we are facing an adaptive process or derived from a situation that we do not know how to solve or for which we do not feel that we have resources to solve.

A psychologist is not going to fix, for example, a financial problem or a layoff, but can help regain the feeling of control and combat beliefs of uselessness or maladaptive elements that are established in the psyche of the person and that are derived of it.

Of course, it must be borne in mind that a psychologist is not a magician. Many people come to the office expecting a quick and miraculous remedy. And in most cases, this is not going to be the case. Moreover, any treatment or intervention carried out will require an effort on the part of the patient / client / user, serving the psychologist as a guide or promoter that leads them to achieve the overcoming of its problems.

• Related article: "Why we psychologists do not give advice"

Why so much doubt?

Much of the blame for this fact is due to the persistence of great prejudices regarding the work of psychologists or the fact of going to one. And it is that traditionally and even today the fact of going to the psychologist has been seen as indicative of a serious mental health problem (until not so long ago we were called "loqueros"), something that in turn is seen as stigmatizing.

Many people are embarrassed by this, while others may be scared to discover the presence of serious problems. Others feel a deep repair to open up and explain their problems to a person they do not know, no matter how much that person is a qualified professional. Also, many consider that their condition is not serious or profound enough to require professional help even if they have suffered for years.

And this can be almost dramatic, since in many cases the postponement of seeking professional help can contribute to lengthening and even chronicizing problems that could be solved or reduced the level of affectation that they generate much more quickly and efficiently if an earlier intervention had been initiated.

Fortunately, with the passage of time, the level of stigmatization of going to a psychologist has been greatly reduced, and even in terms of which refers to suffering from some type of psychological problem (for example, anxiety or depression problems being very frequent in most of the population). We are increasingly aware of the need for professional help from someone trained in the functioning of the human psyche. In fact, it is technically calculated that one in four people would need some kind of psychological help at some point in your life.

• You may be interested: "10 tips for choosing a good psychologist"

Psychological help: public or private?

Before going into talking about how to seek and find psychological help from a professional in this branch of science, it should be noted that we can find professionals who practice in public health and others who practice in private (there are also those who practice in both).

Both options have advantages and disadvantages. On the one hand, private practice involves an outlay that, depending on the professional, their experience, theoretical framework or specialization in a specific subject may be greater or lesser. Also, the large number of private professionals makes it difficult to choose one in particular. On the other hand, it is possible to carry out a deeper, more frequent and effective follow-up of each case, the sessions are longer and in general productive and there are no waiting lists.

With regard to public health, although we are dealing with a mental health service that does not require a direct disbursement by the patient, the limitations of the health system and the limited presence of psychologists within said system means that there is usually a certain delay in obtaining a visit, being often monthly, and that the time each visit lasts is quite limited except for exceptions (with which there is less time to deal with the problem in question).

In both systems there are high quality professionals and that they have received intense and exhaustive training for years, not being their situation in the public or private sector something decisive in this regard. In both cases they have the same functions and responsibilities at the legal level, and in all cases they must be registered with the official college of psychologists (in case otherwise, he could not practice from the clinical field) and be either Specialist Psychologists in Clinical Psychology and / or have a Master's degree in General Psychology Sanitary

Another different type of help is that offered by other sectors, such as coaching. Although they can help to address and deal with some day-to-day problems and promote the realization of changes and the strengthening of potentialities, it must be borne in mind that Most of the coaches are not psychologists and their knowledge and skills may be very limited, not being qualified to treat mental problems and disorders or sanitary.

How do you get to a psychologist?

The process of seeking and finding psychological help from a professional is relatively straightforward, although it depends on to a great extent if the professional help is sought to be carried out by the public administration or by a professional private.

Private practice

In the case of seeking psychological help privately, the main difficulty will be choosing a professional from the large number of existing psychology consultations and institutes. In this sense, to guide us we can make use of different directories of professionals, being that of the Official College of Psychologists one of those that will allow us to find collegiate professionals.

To choose correctly, it would be useful to know the theoretical line or framework preferably used by the professional (although today a large majority are eclectic in what regarding the use of the different techniques) in order to choose the one that we consider most appropriate, as well as the type of problem or problems that it deals with in its practice clinic. It can also be useful to know the prestige of the professional itself (although this is not an indication that it will be useful to us).

Finally, we can also be guided by the opinions of users regarding the different professionals, although it must be taken into account that each patient may have specific preferences and that there are different branches and ways of acting within psychology. What works for one patient does not have to be what works for another, even if they have the same type of problem, and the feeling and therapeutic relationship established between patient and professional may vary enormously.

Another aspect to keep in mind is that if the therapeutic relationship does not flow or after a reasonable time the applied treatment does not bear any fruit (remember that a psychological therapy requires a certain time and part of the user of the tasks in order to be effective, and its benefits are not always captured at the beginning), we can change professional.

Once the professional has been chosen, it will be a matter of arranging a visit with the psychologist in question by phone or email. At that moment they will ask (if we do not provide them directly) a series of data in order to have a little information, such as a brief explanation of the general situation, contact details and it is possible that some demographic. In any case, the first visits They are focused on knowing the problem and the situation of the patient, client or user and evaluating this, to later analyze objectives and a possible treatment plan.

Practice in the public sphere

Getting to make an appointment with a psychologist on the street requires first of all that you go to the family doctor, who depending on the situation, it can refer the subject to psychiatry, and from this to a psychologist. However, unless a persistent and serious problem is detected in many cases, this referral is not carried out to unless the patient in question so requires (partly due to the oversaturation of the service), this being something to keep in mind account.

Thus, in the first place, the patient usually goes first through the CAP (Primary Care Center), from which they can be referred to different services depending on the problem detected. In the case of mental disorders, the subject is referred to a Mental Health Center (CSMA in the case of adults or CSMIJ in the child and adolescent population). A large number of cases only receive treatment in these devices, although in emergencies or acute phases of some disorders stay on other devices may be required.

In the event of an urgent case, such as a psychotic outbreak or a subject in a manic state in the acute phase, they can be referred to the Psychiatric Emergency Department (in which we can find detoxification units or UHD, dual pathology, eating problems, gambling addiction, intellectual disability and mental disorder or UHEDI). In the case of a case of addiction to any substance, the referral would be made to a Center for Attention and Monitoring of Drug Addiction or CAS.

The subject will be in an Acute Unit for the first three or four weeks in order to stabilize it. After stabilization of the patient or if temporary hospitalization is required until the patient is completely stable, the subject may be sent to a Subacute Unit for a period of about three months. If required, the subject can move to a Medium Stay Unit for about half a year, to a MILLE Unit in the case of long stay.

Besides that, different temporary residential facilities such as day hospitals can be used, therapeutic communities or community rehabilitation services. There are also permanent ones, such as sheltered apartments and residential areas. In conclusion, there are multiple services that a person can go to in case of need, and there are alternatives to treat various needs.