Questions

Starting to work with a specialist may be the right thing to do if the life situations and feelings you are experiencing make you unable to cope with them on your own. Sometimes those closest to you can’t be enough support, and existing methods of coping with difficulties don’t bring relief, or are an additional source of further problems.

• When we need help in passing a crisis situation and support in coping with the difficulties of daily functioning (psychologist)
• For problems with deeper roots, which we feel originate from the past and are not a reaction to the current situation we find ourselves in
• When difficulties have been going on for a long time, thoughts or behaviors repeat and return, and we don’t understand why
• When we experience pains whose origin cannot be explained medically
• When we suspect that we need internal changes because we can’t quite define ourselves and who we really are

The purpose of the first visit is primarily for the specialist to gather information. The psychologist/psychotherapist will ask you to describe the difficulties or symptoms you are facing, which were the reason for your decision to seek psychological help. The specialist will ask about the context of the problems experienced, family and work life, as well as the history of interpersonal relationships, etc.

Chances are that at the very first consultation, the psychologist/therapist will share with you his general observations about the nature of your difficulties, as well as determine what type of therapy is most recommended. However, usually the specialist will need more information to understand the specifics of your difficulties and will invite you to several more consultation and diagnostic meetings.

Sometimes a psychologist/psychotherapist may recommend consultation with another specialist, such as a psychologist. Psychiatrist, or sexologist or therapist working in a separate stream.

The first consultation is also an opportunity to get to know the psychologist/therapist and ask him/her questions to dispel your doubts as much as possible.

• While both a psychologist and a psychotherapist specialize in the area of mental health, each has a different expertise and scope of practice.

  A psychologist can support in a crisis and provide emergency assistance in difficult moments. We can go to a psychologist for psychological guidance and counseling whenever we feel the need. We do not have to suffer from disorders or struggle with difficulties that seriously affect the our functioning to apply for specialized assistance.

  The psychologist will help you get through a crisis situation or provide ad hoc, short-term support in dealing with difficulties concerning daily functioning. These can range from problems at work and stressful life changes to general mood deterioration. In some cases, the psychologist may recommend a visit to a psychotherapist if he has reasons for doing so, which he will certainly inform you about during your visits.

  A psychotherapist works on a more long-term basis, and in the process can help you better understand yourself, and in turn, contribute to identifying and changing the mechanisms negatively affecting your life.

  The psychotherapist helps resolve difficulties that originate in the patient and the way he or she thinks or behaves. The therapeutic process, compared to the psychological support process, is usually longer, but can lead to more lasting changes in ourselves.

• There are many strands of psychotherapy that are proven to work when it comes to real and lasting improvements in mental health. The choice of therapeutic approach depends mainly on the specific problems reported by the patient.

  Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) focuses primarily on ways of thinking and how they affect a person’s daily functioning and emotions. For well-defined problems like. Phobias, panic attacks that occur in certain situations, cognitive-behavioral therapy may be most effective.

  Psychodynamic therapy is based primarily on finding the unconscious mechanisms that influence a person’s actions and emotions. It focuses on improving one’s self-awareness and understanding the impact of the past on present human functioning and wholeness. Low self-esteem, relationship problems, or lack of satisfaction with life are difficulties for which psychodynamic psychotherapy is recommended.

  For long-term relationship or family problems, systemic therapy is recommended to help patients at the level of the person in the relationship, focusing on the interactions between people, their patterns and their dynamics. In this case, both partners or the whole family participate in the therapy.