Does a teacher need psychotherapy?

“Every real business requires self-forgetfulness, but work with children is impossible without this state,” the writer Simon Soloveichik argued in The Last Book. The teacher must leave at the threshold of the class everything that disturbs him, and enter the children “with a lofty soul.”

The plan, the journal, parents, educational standards, the Unified State Exam, method councils, the director, the inspector, conversations in the teacher’s room … The teacher is always in public, and a lot of expectations are directed to him: first of all, from the side of the school (he must be creative and at the same time follow approved program), then the expectations of the parents (he must enjoy authority among the students and at the same time be tolerant) and, finally, the expectations of the students themselves (he must earn authority, but at the same time love and understand them). Not to mention the impossible but implied goal of getting all students to do well. Must, must, must… The burden of such responsibility cannot help but weigh down.

“I have no right to make a mistake” – these words are often heard from those who work at the school. “I think that the psychological difficulties begin with the teacher at the moment when he decides not to lose face for anything,” says psychologist Natalya Evsikova. “And most often he breaks down when his competence, and hence his self-image, is inevitably called into question.”

And this happens to the majority of educators, since it is very common for representatives of this profession to identify themselves with their work. At the cost of psychological and somatic health, the teacher is also responsible for non-working concepts, the imperfection of management in education, and for the shortcomings of university training.

“He is like a soldier without a rear,” adds psychotherapist Svetlana Krivtsova, “one on one with a new generation of students, with teenage drug addiction, the confusion of many parents, childhood aggression, fear of life. And with my own fear.”

Perhaps that is why, as our experts say, teachers are the most inquisitive, grateful listeners and active participants in psychological seminars and trainings.

Mirror Relationships

Teacher-student relationships have a special feature: they are “mirror-like”. When teaching children, the teacher inevitably remembers his own childhood, which means that there is a risk that his long-standing unconscious conflicts will manifest themselves in these relationships. At school, he involuntarily realizes his own desires, ideas, fantasies.

“We teach with what we are, and transmit very little with what we know,” says psychoanalyst Annie Cordier. For their part, children unconsciously perceive teachers as their parents.

“But they do not take this phenomenon of transference into account,” the psychoanalyst continues, “they simply do not know about it and take personally, for example, signs of aggression that are not intended for them.”

Of course, pedagogical recipes and “magic” methods are not enough here. Teachers have the opportunity to receive additional psychological education at universities and institutes for advanced training of educators. This, of course, is important, but this is not enough: in his daily work, the teacher is left alone with everything that worries him.

“For many years, it was natural for me that most of my spiritual strength went to my students: I spent a lot of time with them, delved into all the problems, tried to solve them and enjoyed it a lot,” shares Tamara Eidelman, history teacher. – After the last call, I began to prepare for the autumn lessons, and so the summer passed. Now it’s gone, something’s broken. At the same time, I know that as a teacher I can do much more today than in the mid-90s. In general, skill comes, and the drive is lost. The fatigue remains.

“For the first ten years, any normal teacher is in a state of euphoria and enthusiasm,” says Anatoly Bershtein, a history teacher, in the book Stay After School. — He boldly undertakes, tries without fear, actively experiments, aggressively comprehends… Doubts and fatigue accumulate imperceptibly, reinforcing each other.

There is a painful exactingness to children, then to oneself. Reactions to failure become sharper and longer. And the “victories” no longer seem so convincing… You return to questions that seemed to have been resolved long ago and forever: why did you come to the children, what did you want from them, what do you want from yourself? Further – more: are you doing what is required, can you do what is needed at all, and by the way, what, in fact, is needed?

Need support!

The solidarity of colleagues is often the only lifeline for a teacher. “The teacher’s room is a kind of confessional,” says biologist Oleg Arutyunov. “We come here to take a breath, to speak out, to share joy. Here you understand that you are not the only one who has problems, that in many respects they are caused by the education system itself … This already calms a little.

But not everyone is ready to communicate openly. It’s one thing to complain about children and even about life’s unsettledness, and quite another to admit that you need support. Young teachers are especially secretive, which is confirmed by Tatyana Belova: “I have been teaching biology for the second year, and for the second year I often want to cry, I break down, and I get scared. But I do my best to restrain my emotions, because they are a sign of incompetence!

“The fear of admitting one’s weakness or failure is largely provoked by open lessons that beginner teachers are required to conduct,” comments Natalya Evsikova. “Teachers are constantly supervised and very rarely supported: in many collectives, not cooperation, but rivalry dominates.”

All Psychologies experts say the same thing: the state must find ways to support teachers. “A psychologist must work at a school,” explains Svetlana Krivtsova. – But according to his status, he should be the deputy director for personnel. Then he will be able, working with teachers, to promote psychological well-being and students more effectively, in particular by attracting psychologists of various specializations.

fruits of illusion

Anxiety, irritability, over-the-top agitation, a sense of the meaninglessness of one’s work, an experience of guilt – all this, it seems, inevitably accompanies the work of a teacher. “A teacher does not make a career,” wrote Simon Soloveichik in his book Eternal Joy. – He comes to school as a teacher, and they bury him in the same rank, except perhaps by adding the word “pensioner.” He is an artist, but his listeners and spectators do not applaud him. He is a sculptor, but no one sees his work. He is a doctor, but his patients rarely thank him for the treatment and do not always want to be treated … Where can he get the strength for everyday inspiration?

It is no coincidence that after 5-10 years of work, many teachers begin to “burn out emotionally.” Their unjustified expectations are manifested in ironic and even snarky statements about their work, in chronic fatigue, loss of interest in business, children, and colleagues.

“Those for whom the work is connected with a purpose, mission, and those who try to comply with the principles burn out more strongly:“ I can’t be wrong ”; “I must be discreet”; “I have no right to be biased”; “I have to be an example in everything,” says Svetlana Krivtsova. — Such a teacher seems to stand on a pedestal of his exclusivity and infallibility. He ignores his emotions and cannot understand the feelings of the students, which naturally provokes the hostility of the children.”

In recent years, the social status of the teaching profession has changed. “We are no longer talking about a vocation – only about a craft, but a heavy craft that is not adequately paid,” Natalya Evsikova analyzes. “Instead of trying to restore the prestige of teaching, society only regrets.”

But teachers also need to find the courage to leave this space of complaints, to start rethinking their role and, above all, to abandon a kind of pedagogical illusion – the notorious neutrality of teaching, the ability to control the teacher-student relationship.

It is time for us to admit that this craft is the most subjective in comparison with others and more than others deals with the personal sphere of a person. Therefore, it is useful for future teachers or those who doubt their chosen profession to talk to a psychologist to find out if pedagogy is really their business.

“A motivational interview would allow you to ask yourself questions about your choice and help you avoid a “neurotic choice of profession,” says Annie Cordier. If there are no such doubts, “the teacher will still need the support of people with whom he could analyze his experience, his anxieties,” sums up Natalia Evsikova. The psychologist in this case will help him understand that the fatigue, emptiness, bitterness that he feels is not a dead end and not a failure, this is the natural path of a person who does his job.

“With respect and without aggression”

Firmness, sincerity and, most importantly, the personality of the teacher – this is the personal answer that children are waiting for, the existential psychotherapist Svetlana Krivtsova is convinced.

Psychologies: Are teachers special people?

Oh sure. From an early age they spend most of their time at school. Having ceased to be children, they are not fully included in the system of relations that is characteristic of adults. The school turns out to be something like a temple, living by its own laws. The leaders of which are the teachers.

The child spends almost the whole day with this adult, who in his eyes takes the place of the parents: he must be obeyed, punishment or reward may follow from him. There is a risk of becoming emotionally dependent.

To defend himself, the child establishes a distance, looking for faults in the teacher or something that can be ridiculed. Another explanation for the desire to “finish” is the lack of human in relationships: the child is not understood, he is confused. Attacking the teacher, he provokes his personal reaction, wants to feel a personality in him.

Growing up children need as a support the personality (in the existential psychology of Person) of a more mature person. The firmness of the teacher (this is a form of personal response: without aggression, but with respect), his sincerity and his personality are manifested precisely in these moments and serve as nourishment and a model for the child.

Nicknames are within the normal range, and aggression is already a sign of global dissatisfaction with the school. The child is skeptical not so much about the teacher, but about obtaining knowledge in general. For such students, no teacher is suitable – the study itself ceases to have meaning for them.

There are psychologists in schools today. But this is not enough. On the one hand, they cannot simultaneously deal with the problems of students, teachers, and families. On the other hand, their training is not always adequate, it often does not include the study of, for example, mental pathology, they are not able to solve the problems of aggression and violence.

From young teachers, I hear more and more about depression in children. Previously, this was rarely discussed – perhaps less attention was paid to psychological disorders. If such a problem arises, it is better for the teacher to turn to a psychologist from outside, independent of the school hierarchy.