What Do Psychologists Do?
A psychotherapist is a trained professional who assists those who are suffering from stress, anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, negative behavior patterns, debilitating feelings, and various other mental conditions. There are many different licenses held by those professionals who practice psychotherapy, including Licensed Professional Counselors, Social Workers, Psychiatrists, Psychologists, and Mental Health Nurse Practitioners. Although, each discipline may have subtle differences in approach or style they all utilize “the talking cure” as their primary means of treating psychological difficulties.
In general, therapists act as a guide towards helping their clients find out how they genuinely feel. Some clients feel better and find their solutions in a couple of sessions, while for others therapy may entail being a long journey. However, for those clients who are courageous enough, to be honest, curious, and vulnerable in treatment, the results can be rewarding and ultimately life-enhancing.
Psychotherapists or “therapists” are there to listen to you in a nonjudgmental and compassionate way. They are specifically trained to not only listen to the content of what is being said, but to also hear subtle nuances, defense mechanisms, emotional responses, and psychological needs of their clients. Because of their ability to listen in this way, the client can discuss matters of the heart in a way that allows them to find their own solutions, receive valuable emotional insights, and experience emotional repair.
Individual Therapy
This type of therapy is what most people think of when they think about therapy. The idea of “talk therapy” came to be in the mid to late 1800s and was established by Sigmund Freud. Therapy has had many incarnations, styles, and theoretical leanings since this time. However, at its core, therapy still includes a therapist sitting down with a person and discussing that person’s thoughts, feelings, and beliefs with the intention of bringing them healing and growth. Counselings purpose is to provide help to those who need it. It embraces the adage that ‘an ounce of prevention is equal to a pound of cure’. Individual Counseling creates an environment where emotional pain, deficits, or vulnerabilities can be addressed before they negatively impact one’s life, or disrupt one’s life further. Individual counseling is counseling focused on the individual’s immediate or near future concerns; oftentimes individual counseling includes emotional work that is “intrapsychic” in nature and can include the exploration of beliefs, thoughts, identity, nurturing barriers, and meaning.
An individual session may consist of different theoretical approaches, including cognitive-behavioral therapy, or CBT, Psychodynamic therapy, logo therapy, or narrative therapy to name a few. In CBT work, the therapist asks the client to focus on the thoughts and patterns that may be a concern in their daily lives. The therapist may then explore with the client how their thoughts relate to their current attitudes or how they are behaving. The client may then be asked to start creating correlations and actions based on what they want to change about their actions in life. The ultimate goal is to help people change patterns that the clients declare harmful.