How to start a consultation with a psychologist?

If you don’t pay attention to it, you run the risk of going too far and giving too much advice. At the beginning of psychological counseling, you should pay attention to the main problem in contact with the psychologist and solve it. The question you come to for a consultation is superficial and often has a very important and global problem behind it. If you don’t pay attention to it, you run the risk of going too far and giving too much advice. The result of such research will be a clearly stated goal, direction of work and the result you want to achieve. 

Stages of solving the priority problem

1. When determining the purpose of the request, I try to know both the resources of the visitor and his limited confidence. together we determine what he wants and what the result should be. I ask the visitor how he knows that the result was achieved and under what circumstances, but also how he is. If, for example, the goal is to eliminate dependence on the opinions of others, he can say – I want to continue to defend my point of view in a dispute, and at the same time feel confident and calm or excited. It should also be noted that when formulating the visitor’s attention, he does not describe what he wants to get rid of, but focuses on the result needed to achieve the goal. This movement is known “not” from the problem, but “towards” the result.

2. Next, together with the visitor, we identify the resources – the qualities that he has and helps to achieve the goal. We analyze the features that may interfere with its work.

3. Pay attention to the questions

• how important it is for a person to achieve what he wants;

• what wins when the goal is achieved;

• what can be lost;

• How important is the cost to him and can it be avoided or not ?!

During this comprehensive analysis, a lot will be clear to both the visitor and the psychologist. A sequence of tasks is created, first of all, what to work with, what tools and methods. There is a lot of information here and you may need 2 or 3 tips to discuss and refine these points. But this is very important, and often the effectiveness of work with a psychologist depends on a careful study of these points.