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A good question was asked by visitors to our forum: how to distinguish a psychologist from a scammer? We asked family systemic psychotherapist Tatyana Potemkina to answer it. Ten tips that will be useful to each of us.
“How to distinguish a real professional psychologist on the Internet from a scammer, manipulator or earning on people? – asks the user Svetlana-Gennadievna. “How can you tell an honest, qualified psychologist from someone who makes a career out of people’s revelations, typos, and emotions?”
1. Pay attention to the site where the resume of the consultant is posted. It is best to look for a specialist on professional psychological websites or on the websites of psychological communities, centers, including educational ones, in sections devoted to advisory work. Most often, ads on such sites are selected, and random people are unlikely to come across there.
2. Specify the education of a consultant or psychotherapist. A good specialized university, such as, for example, the Faculty of Psychology of Moscow State University or a solid additional education, if they do not give you an absolute guarantee, then, in any case, they will reduce the risk of error.
Read more:
- How to recognize a bad therapist
3. Specialization of a consultant is undoubtedly important or his belonging to a certain psychological community. For example, to the society of family therapists, or to the psychoanalytic community, or to the society of gestalt therapists.
4. Be careful: if you see in the ad that the scope of the consultant is too wide (from the treatment of chemical addictions to prenatal psychology and holotropic breathing), it is worth considering whether a person can “embrace the immensity.”
5. Try to find reviews online and / or from friends about the work of the specialist you have chosen. Reputation is the most important thing! Sometimes the main one.
6. Ask about more than problemswith which the consultant works, but also the features of the method in which he works. Awareness is very important.
7. On the Internet you can find links to articles, appearances in the media, conducting training programs and other professional activities of the consultant. This will give you an idea of what themes it works with most successfully.
Pass the tests
- What kind of psychologist are you for your loved ones?
8. Separate psychology and esotericism. If a psychologist only talks about the signs of the zodiac, dark and light energies absorbed by the cosmos, and other esoteric things, or uses “karma cleansing” as the main method of psychocorrection, most likely this has nothing to do with psychological help proper.
9. Try to avoid visiting overly crowded (when many tens or even hundreds of people gather for training) and very expensive training programs. This format most often indicates the commercial orientation of the event, rather than the focus on assistance.
10. Trust yourself. If you have chosen a psychologist and started therapy or counseling, pay attention to the quality of contact with a specialist: how freely you can discuss your problems with him, share experiences and feelings (including negative ones, including those addressed to him). Conclude a contract with a specialist about the goals and duration of therapy – this will help you see the desired changes more clearly.
