Practical notes. Ideal for posting in the counselling centre.
Table of contents:
- Think about what ails you, what you think you suffer from
- Make a list of your own goals, which you want to achieve with psychotherapy
- Consult your psychiatrist or general practitioner if you are already receiving treatment
- Ask the therapist of your choice about his qualifications
- Determine the costs for therapy
- Clarify any doubts you have by asking the therapist directly
- Keep your commitments
- Set yourself up for changes in your own life
- Be patient
- Don't get discouraged - change therapist
Think about what ails you, what you think you are suffering from
It's not about the name of the illness but rather what the illness means in your life. What does it limit you in? What problems are you currently experiencing? What physical ailments accompany them? How has your behaviour changed?
The decision to enter psychotherapy is a decision to enter treatment. The removal of the causes and symptoms of psychologically conditioned disorders is its main and primary objective.
Organising your own experiences will make it easier for you to talk to your therapist, and will help him to get the information he needs to plan your treatment more quickly.
If you do not feel ill, but are interested in psychotherapy because you would like to:
- improve your relationships with people,
- be more effective at work,
- make better use of your intellectual potential,
- learn to cope with stress and tension,
Then think rather about some form of psychological training, e.g. interpersonal, assertiveness, fast learning, relaxation. Many psychological service centres offer such opportunities precisely for healthy people. Suggestions and addresses can be found in magazines such as "Charaktery". Similarly, if you are interested in self-discovery, the development of your own spirituality or transcendental meditation techniques - look for other ways than psychotherapy.
If your illness has a somatic basis and is organically determined (i.e. it depends on physiology and anatomy) then psychotherapy will only be able to play a complementary role in treatment, it can support you in coping with your illness and its effects. The primary treatment will still belong to the doctor of the specific speciality and not to the psychotherapist.
Make a list of your own goals, which you want to achieve through psychotherapy
You present this at your first meeting with the therapist. This will help you avoid misunderstandings and disappointments. A joint discussionwill facilitate realistic planning. A mutual agreement about the aims of the therapy, the course of the therapy, the rules of the therapy, the methods to be used and the obligations of both parties (i.e. the so-called contract) is a prelude to any professional psychotherapeutic help. The contract is not a one-off, irreversible decision. As you achieve results, you can terminate the therapy or extend the contract to include other goals that already arise in the course of treatment or are next on the list. At any point in therapy you have a say in what happens and can negotiate the terms of the contract.
Consult your psychiatrist or general practitioner if you are already in treatment
Psychotherapy is a treatment method recommended only for certain disorders and not a panacea for all ailments. Here, too, there are contraindications. The use of certain forms and techniques can significantly worsen the patient's condition in certain mental illnesses. In others, psychotherapy is only supportive and cannot replace the systematic use of medication. A frank discussion with your doctor will make it easier to make the best use of all available treatment options. The psychiatrist can also suggest you "tried and tested" addresses of psychotherapists near your home, with whom he has already worked and whom he can recommend.
Note: If you have been prescribed medication and are taking it, please inform your therapist of this as well. Under no circumstances, for the sake of planning psychotherapy, arbitrarily change the dosage or discontinue them.
Ask the therapist of your choice about his qualifications
A professional will not be offended by this. On the contrary. He or she will appreciate the seriousness with which you take the decision to cooperate. Successful treatment with psychotherapy can only be carried out by specially trained people. To be a psychotherapist, in addition to completing a degree (in medicine or psychology) and obtaining a first degree of specialisation, it is necessary to undergo specialised training, usually for several years. This includes theoretical knowledge of psychopathology, medicine and psychology, the practical ability to select and apply particular techniques, internships and conducting therapy under the supervision of experienced supervisors, emotional preparation and often also conducting one's own (so-called training) therapy. The training ends with the passing of a board examination, after which the candidate receives a certificate. This is a formal confirmation of one's qualifications. In Poland, such certificates are issued by the Polish Psychiatric Association Psychotherapy Section and the Polish Psychological Association. Not every psychiatrist and psychologist is therefore a psychotherapist.
Determine the cost of your therapy
If you have decided on psychotherapy in a private consulting room, then at the first meeting establish not only the price for each session, but also their planned frequency and the duration (at least approximately) of the entire therapy. Sometimes therapists charge for sessions that have been arranged and not cancelled in time. So make arrangements for what to do in the event of absence from an agreed session and also the rules for ending therapy. This will help you to get an idea of the actual costs.
If you have decided to use a therapist employed by a non-public healthcare institution , make sure that the institution has a contract with the health insurance and which services are paid for by the health insurance and which are paid for by the patient. As a highly specialised procedure, psychotherapy is often subject to limits and in many non-public facilities is only available at a surcharge paid by the patient.
If you use an outpatient clinic operating within the public health service then psychotherapy is free of charge (paid for by the health insurance fund). However, you will have to obtain a formal referral from the psychiatrist in this counselling centre to see a psychotherapist. A prior appointment and psychiatric examination will therefore be necessary.
Clarify all doubts by asking the therapist directly
All psychotherapeutic interventions may only be undertaken with your consent, and only with the aim of achieving specific, previously agreed changes with you (see point 2 - list of goals). The principle of least interference applies, which means that the therapist's interventions (actions) are limited only to those areas in which the patient himself wishes to make a change and that they are taken when the patient asks for help. This prevents manipulation of the patient's person or uncontrolled and unjustified exploration of his or her problems. On the other hand, the effectiveness of the intervention often requires incomplete disclosure about the techniques used. Hence, it may happen that you receive explanatory information in the form of a general description and devoid of technical details. Regardless of the circumstances, the final decision always belongs to the patient.
Keep your commitments
By choosing therapy, you agree to take on certain responsibilities. It is your participation in the treatment, your part of the responsibility. The therapist will agree with you a certain way of proceeding. Depending on the techniques used, this will require more or less patient activity. This could be doing some "homework" in between sessions, keeping a diary systematically, practising certain behaviours or refraining from specific decisions until the therapy is over, conducting self-observation, etc. Also, therapy always requires punctuality, honesty in presenting problems and. activity. If the therapy is carried out in a group or by two therapists, this cooperation also applies to the other participants in the treatment.
Adherence to these rules is, on the one hand, a measure of the patient's motivation to work on his own problems and, on the other hand, by taking responsibility for the course and results of the therapy, an important factor in strengthening the mature and adequate social functioning of the person being treated and thus the effectiveness of the therapy.
Set yourself up for change in your own life
Psychotherapy can only be considered effective if it leads to lasting changes in behaviour, in relationships, in ways of experiencing and sometimes also in lifestyles. The therapist will encourage, stimulate and provoke you to make these changes. He or she will support you, help you to understand your limitations, teach you other, more effective ways of dealing with difficult situations. Sometimes he may offer you suggestions or hints, but more often he will limit himself to supporting you, inspiring you or simply accompanying you in your struggles with yourself. You can count on his acceptance, kind impartiality and empathy. But decisions and actions will be up to you. Only you can make them, put them into practice and implement them consistently even after treatment is over. The therapist will not change your life - you alone can, however.
With psychotherapy , you simply gain more opportunities to succeed!
Be patient
Psychotherapy is about interacting at the most elusive and fragile level of our functioning. On the psychological life. The more disturbed its development and current functioning, the more numerous and far-reaching the goals we adopt in treatment, the deeper the therapy has to go: into your life history, emotions, habits, memory. You have to get used to the person of the therapist, experience his competence, feel safe with him. Sometimes you have to overcome the fear of returning to what hurt or the shame of bringing up certain topics. And this takes time. Also, preparing and making changes in your world of inner experiences and in your relationships with people does not happen immediately. Counting realistic possibilities for action is one of the basic criteria for mental maturity and healthy living.
You will need time to experience all the positive results of psychotherapy - it is often the case that its effects continue to reveal themselves long after its formal conclusion. Every change entails another change. In a well-planned and executed treatment, the therapist helps to knock over only the first blocks of the dominoes, but you need to hit the ones that set all the others in motion. So give yourself and the therapist time - as much time as you agreed together at the beginning.
Don't be discouraged - change therapist
If you don't see any results in the agreed time, you feel that the therapy isn't doing anything for you, the underlying symptoms still persist, and the therapist no longer has any suggestions for you, don't give up on psychotherapy just yet. Just try to change therapist. Look for someone who uses methods other than in your current treatment. Maybe your previous therapist made a mistake in his diagnosis or treatment. He is also human and, despite his preparation, he can make a mistake.
If you are disturbed in your treatment by certain feelings arising towards your therapist, and in your opinion absolutely inappropriate or too strong then it is better to talk to him or her about it. Likewise if you feel that it is the therapist who has them towards you. This does not yet mean that the therapy is a failure. It could be the result of so-called transference - a phenomenon that is quite common in therapy, and in some forms of therapy is even desirable. An honest conversation will not only help to resolve the relationship problem with the therapist but, above all, will bring an understanding of the emotions that govern relationships with people in general.
If the therapy has been completed as planned and has brought you satisfactory results, do not try at all costs to continue it with the same or another person in the hope that this will guarantee your happiness or protect you from mistakes. The most important feature of effective treatment is that it is unnecessary for you from a certain point onwards. You now need and can live without therapy. If you want to increase your capacities or deepen your spirituality, see the corresponding paragraph in section 1.