There are many people who, throughout their lives, may consider going to psychological therapy. Anxiety, stress, depression and multiple psychological problems make it necessary and very important to have the support and help of a professional in psychology.
However, surely you have wondered on more than one occasion what psychology sessions are like, or what you should know about the first session. If this is your case, don’t worry! In this article, with the collaboration of El Prado Psicólogos psychologist Patricia Rosillo, we see the phases of psychological therapy to resolve your doubts. Keep reading!
The beginning of psychological therapy: how is the first contact with the psychologist?
- The lack of knowledge about what psychological therapy is like can cause many people not to ask for help when they need it. For this reason, it is important to know what the beginning of a therapy is like, that is, a first contact with the professional who will be supporting you in the coming weeks.
- Patricia Rosillo tells us that the first session is “informative.” In this session, which lasts about 15 or 20 minutes, it does not go into depth, since it simply serves to give the professional an idea of what brings the person to the sessions and what they need at that moment. And above all, that the person can ask all the doubts, everything he needs to know, to the professional directly.
- After this first session, as a first contact, the work process begins. It depends on the professional, the person or their problem, it usually takes one, two or three days or sessions to do the first interviews to start with the evaluation part of the person. “A first evaluation is made to begin to understand the problem, to learn more about the person’s history,” says the psychologist, who also tells us what are the most common questions in this evaluation stage: family of origin, history evolutionary, what does the person believe that could have caused the symptoms, what may lead them to need therapy…
How is psychological therapy developed?
- Once we have gone through the evaluation phase, in which the psychologist can ask the pertinent questions, we will move on to the next phase. In this sense, Patricia Rosillo tells us that they usually look for the most impressive things, positively or negatively, that may have caused the symptoms of the person who comes to therapy.
- Afterwards, the therapeutic process is going to be organized, what the “work targets” will be, and the different tools and dynamics are put into operation. It is, in short, the most concrete work at the therapeutic level to be able to work on the symptoms, understand what the symptom is telling and what is needed to stop bothering the person, so that they can function in a more normalized way., more conscious in their day to day, without the need to suffer from any symptoms.
- Then comes the follow-up phase. This phase will begin when the professional perceives that the person has stabilized, that the symptoms are gone, that they are much better and that the different objectives are being achieved. “It is a phase where the sessions are distanced until discharge is given,” says the psychologist, “which is the objective of all therapeutic therapy, although depending on the problem, it will take more or less time,” she concludes.
- Did you know all the phases of psychological therapy? Now that you know everything you need in the first session, and in the development of therapy, it’s time to put yourself in the hands of a professional. Remember that if you have any questions, the ideal is to contact a psychologist, since they will be the best person to help you.