10 signs that the psychology professional is not good

Hello friends!

The text below is not mine. I found it in Spanish, on a Dominican page, and I translated it with the intention of starting a discussion on how to evaluate the work of a psychology professional. Both on the website and on Facebook, Spanish-speaking psychologists criticized the text – for several reasons. Well, we can talk about them better in the comments, how about that?

Important:

Although many people cannot distinguish the bearer of the message from the message, I would like to emphasize that the text is not my authorship. As I said, I, Felipe de Souza, just translated it. Second, the purpose of publishing the text was to bring to psychology students and professionals and to the general public the question: “How to evaluate a good clinical psychology professional?”

That said, I suggest you read the text carefully, but also read the comments. Several colleagues willing to complement or criticize the text in a logical way have already left their comments below.

Note: If you are a psychology student or practitioner, please be polite. Saying that the text is ridiculous or anything like that won’t help the discussion at all – and your comment will not be approved. I will only approve comments that contribute to the discussion. If you found the text weak, instead of making a list of adjectives, comment why you found it! How would you write a better text on the topic? What was missing? What’s incomplete?

Finally, it is important to make it clear that every psychology professional, registered in their respective Regional Council, follows the Psychology Code of Ethics.

1) No ethics

Acts with little ethics. It is normal for psychologists to seek to establish an empathetic relationship because this is one of the pillars of therapy, but going further is an unforgivable violation of the code of ethics. Any gesture or word that moves into the romantic or sexual realm should be an alarm signal. The same goes for any kind of breach of confidentiality (or secrecy) or offensive comments, whether inside or outside the consultation.

2) Not an expert on your problem

In psychology there are dozens of disorders. It’s hard to be an expert on everyone or keep in touch with advances in all therapies. A psychologist who has no training or experience in treating certain problems can make misdiagnoses and follow a therapeutic path that can do more harm than good. Therefore, before starting a psychotherapy process, ask for credentials and ask about their experience treating similar cases.

3) The recommendations go against your beliefs and values

A good therapist should be able to tune in to your beliefs and values, even though you may not agree with them in your personal life. In some cases, the professional will be able to help you get out of your comfort zone and question certain ideas, but cannot attack your deepest beliefs in order to make you enter an existential crisis. The goals of therapy and the way forward are negotiated with the patient, not imposed by the therapist.

4) Doesn’t answer your questions

As a rule, psychologists do not give advice because the patient could take the advice as rigid norms to be followed. Its mission is to help each person find their own path and the solution that best suits their case. However, this does not mean that they cannot answer some questions and clarify certain doubts. In fact, guidance is also part of therapy. Therefore, in a psychology consultation, the patient is not the only one who must speak.

5) It’s very personal

In some cases, with the aim of generating a certain complicity, the psychologist may share personal information about your personal life, but this should not become the norm. When a therapist talks too much about himself, he runs the risk of having the patient imitate his solutions, thinking they are the most appropriate.

6) Judge you

One of the fundamental pillars of all psychotherapy is neither to judge nor to criticize, but to accept the patient. However, not all therapists know how to master their feelings and express them through words or small gestures that denote that they do not share a certain point of view. If every time you go to a consultation you feel judged and criticized, maybe it’s time to change psychologists.

7) Minimizes the problem

When a person attends a psychological consultation, he is asking for help because he considers that his problem is important and he does not know how to deal with it. If the therapist is not able to identify the magnitude of the conflict, he will approach it in a very simplistic way, proposing actions that perhaps hinder more than help.

8) Makes you feel bad after sessions

In one session or another, you may feel bitter, perhaps because you have touched on a sensitive topic. However, if this feeling recurs and persists after several sessions, it is likely that the therapy is not working. It is usual for professionals to structure the session in such a way that you feel that you are moving forward or have a feeling of greater confidence and hope in the resolution of difficulties.

9) Is a bad listener

A session is a meeting that should not be interrupted because there is a risk of losing the feeling of trust that has been created. If the therapist interrupts the sessions frequently, it is a sign that he is not very good. Another alarm signal is when there is no recollection of important points in your case. As a rule, after the consultation, the therapist should report and work on the case. Therefore, if relevant details are not remembered, he is not doing things as he should.

10) Psychotherapy never ends

Sometimes psychotherapy lasts longer than planned, but when a psychologist is experienced he can estimate with some accuracy how many sessions will be needed. If therapy lasts several years and you feel that you cannot live without your psychologist, it is likely that a dependency relationship has been created. But the role of the psychologist is to give the tools to face different situations, not to create an addiction, an “addiction” in consultations.

Conclusion

As I said, the text above is not mine (Felipe de Souza). I just translated it so that we could start a discussion here on Psychology MSN about how to evaluate the work of psychology professionals.

The first point we can criticize is the fact that he reduces psychology to clinical psychology. Anyone who has studied psychology a little bit can know that psychology has several areas of activity. The clinic is just one of them.

Second, the text also forgets that even within clinical psychology we have different approaches. Thus, perhaps a psychoanalytically oriented psychologist may not answer a question with a clinical purpose in mind; whereas a cognitive psychologist might aim to find ways to get the patient to minimize his or her problem.

Third, the text does not distinguish between psychotherapy and therapy (sometimes it may not be clear, but it is an important distinction and one that also indicates the type of professional who is conducting the treatment).

On the other hand, some of the points mentioned are interesting, both for professionals and for people who are undergoing or seeking psychotherapy. Although it is evident for students and professionals the need to follow the code of ethics, unfortunately I have seen colleagues totally unprepared in this regard, even counting clinical cases from the four winds…

Well, how do you rate the text that I found, written by Jennifer Delgado?

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