Psychotherapist. What diseases does a psychotherapist treat and what symptoms should you contact?

How do you know when it's time to see a psychotherapist? Some people would never agree to pay someone to listen to any of their problems; others are willing to pay through the nose for a mini-adviser who will sit on their shoulder and whisper clues whenever they need to make a decision. In this article we will tell you in what cases others turn to a specialist (psychologist, psychotherapist, psychoanalyst) for help, and you think about whether you should resort to this help too.

Reasons why people turn to psychologists and psychotherapists:

Sometimes it is quite obvious that something global is happening in your life, something that is preventing you from living, sleeping and thinking normally. For example, you are going through a breakup, the death of someone close to you, job loss, rape, or you were in a car accident. While you may still be affected by childhood trauma (rape, abuse, abuse, etc.), it is never too late to deal with difficult childhood issues—especially if you feel they are holding you back in adulthood.

You can also visit a therapist when nothing obvious is happening, when you feel depressed, nervous, confused, or constantly irritated for no apparent reason.

Some signs to look out for are:

constant tears;
pervasive sadness;
irritation or anger that comes out of nowhere;
general feeling of hopelessness.

There is no doubt that everyone has stress, but sometimes we accept constant irritability, fear or depression as simply a part of life that we must digest and survive. But if you find that you're constantly upset and the smallest things throw you off balance, then it's probably time to talk to someone. You can ask yourself the question: “why should I suffer if there is somewhere to ask for help?” (The answer, if it is not obvious, is that there is no reason to suffer unnecessarily. Most suffering is useless.)

A therapist can be especially helpful when you feel like you're stuck, you're trying to come up with some kind of tactic to deal with the problem, but the damn problem just won't solve it. You know what I'm talking about - you're constantly fighting with your mother, running around on dates with people who are completely wrong for you, and everyone and everything seems like a huge disappointment. You don't have to be going through a global crisis or feel like you're going crazy to decide to have a few sessions with a specialist. A good reason could be as simple as, “I want to change something in my life, but I have no idea what.”

Other signs that you should visit a psychotherapist: if you feel that:

abuse alcohol
you buy too much
eat too much or too little - usually "too much" of anything means something is wrong.

If you've ever had the following feelings, then you need to seek help (and don't procrastinate): you don't want to be anymore, you're contemplating hurting yourself or someone else, you feel like the pain is too much to handle and it will never end.

An intimate question about prices

If somewhere in Russia there is an ordinary clinic, and it employs not only a neurologist, but also a psychotherapist, then the residents of the region are incredibly lucky. Especially if the specialist is good. Everything in clinics is free, but paid services are indicated in a separate price list. This is mainly the cost of medicines and individual services. Their prices are also not very high. Well, a private psychotherapist sets his own prices. Usually from 800 to 4 thousand rubles per hour. On average, a session lasts two hours. Is this a lot or a little in terms of money? We will not talk platitudes about the fact that a specialist also wants to eat, but it is very difficult to poke around in someone else’s and upset mind. We will give an example that will explain everything.

Worth seeing: Psychotherapy of alcoholism

A 40-year-old man suddenly developed agoraphobia. He can't leave the house. Something resembling panic seizes him and he runs back. Friends and family helped only for a while. Now he can’t even get to work by taxi. There was a trip to the neurologist, but nothing came of it. Tranquilizers were prescribed, but they only allowed us to make two forays, and then they stopped having an effect.

In the end, he understands that the advice of a psychotherapist is needed. The joint work lasts only 5 sessions, and the total cost is 15 thousand. But that’s not all... Then there were consultations on Skype, even several phone calls. Is it possible to cure such a complex phobia in a serious form in just 5 sessions? No you can not. But you can teach how to get to a bank, a store, or just take a walk in the evening. Time will tell how things will develop further, but for now we need the first step, the initial stage. People are complex creatures. Even if after the third session the patient says “Enough! I can do it myself! And a private doctor is dear to me…” this is already a positive effect. This is why everything is done so that people learn to cope with their problems on their own.

No, you're not crazy

Going to a therapist doesn't mean you're going to end up in a scene from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. People go to therapy for a thousand different reasons, not because they are “crazy.” Most women who go to short-term therapy do so to find themselves, to learn as much as possible about how to be a better sister, daughter or friend, how to cope with stress and conflict at work, how to get rid of jealousy towards your husband, etc. d., i.e. How to improve an already good life.

Paying a therapist to listen to you is a very effective way because the therapist is an objective source of honest and truthful answers without being personally involved in your problems. Consider this: Have you ever spent an entire hour with someone and had all their attention focused solely on you?

After all, you can’t burden your best friend with all your problems, can you? No, you really can’t - no matter how good a listener she is, she has her own life and her own problems.

Keep in mind that a good therapist will listen to you and your concerns, making you feel safe and confident. Not every guy can get along with you - and not every therapist will be right for you. First you need to find out everything and understand it, ask questions and find a doctor with whom you will feel comfortable and whom you will trust.

Main types and schools of mental therapy

As mentioned above, the practice of classes and the essence of sessions very often includes a variety of methods, which sometimes cannot be clearly classified into any type. In addition, there is an arsenal of techniques that are borrowed from yogis or taken from religion. However, the answer to the question of how to choose a psychotherapist also depends on understanding the essence of individual areas. Let's look at some of them. However, we will not do this in order to understand what a representative of some school treats in adults. They all treat the same thing: discomfort that prevents people from living.

Worth seeing: Existential psychotherapy

Cognitive psychotherapy

It is considered one of the most effective. The practice is based on the patient’s knowledge of his condition, his world and mastering the correct ways of behavior. It's easiest to understand with an example. Let's assume that a psychotherapist is treating some kind of phobia. Let's say this is a fear of dogs, which is called cynophobia. A specialist trained at this school will most likely recommend that the patient gradually become closer to the source of his fear. First, the dog is walked in front of him on a leash and muzzle, then only on a leash, then without a leash, and then he approaches the animal at a minimum distance and tries to communicate with it. All this rapprochement can also be accompanied by learning ways to relax.

The basis of effectiveness is the active involvement of the patient in the process of changing their reactions and conditions. First, he performs some tasks under the guidance of a specialist, and then on his own.

Seeing a psychotherapist may also be associated with alcoholism and drug addiction. And even in cases where there is no drug treatment specialization. Now we will tell you about the method of work of a cognitive psychologist with a beer alcoholic. He usually buys four cans of beer every day. Practice has begun. They go to a liquor store with the therapist, and the patient buys these four cans of beer to drink later. But not one more... On the second day only three, then two, then one. On the fifth day, the patient buys a can of beer, but pours it out with his own hands. Of course, the therapist is nearby. But that's not all. The sixth day is associated with the fact that they go into the store and do not buy anything, and on the seventh they do not enter at all, although they are walking nearby.

Then the patient himself must enter and not buy, as well as walk past, without the help of a psychologist.

It doesn't look like treatment for alcoholism. It is unlikely that any narcologist will do this. They stand their ground - not one bit, and that’s it. So the therapy in this example was aimed at something else: the patient complained that he could not pass by the store. He walks nearby and seems to fall under “hypnosis”. The problem was posed like this. You have to learn how to pass by the wine department - they taught you. And then you can sign up with a narcologist or an Alcoholics Anonymous group.

Cognitive psychotherapy involves independently combating your fears

Gestalt therapy

Perhaps this is the most difficult thing to say about what a therapist does during an appointment. The fact is that the therapeutic direction is not similar to the scientific one. The methods have historically been a complex, or, in Russian terms, a hodgepodge. But this is precisely the basis of success. Some take ready-made transactional analysis algorithms, combine them with meditation, and add art therapy to all this. The result may be unexpectedly effective.

Psychoanalysis

Nowadays, almost no one uses the classical schemes of Freudianism. The work is mainly carried out in the field of transactional or customer-oriented analysis. Moreover, ordinary psychoanalysis can be used by any representative of any school. Some of the therapists were able to make their own adjustments and this created some kind of proprietary version, which is a synthesis of elements from several directions.

In this regard, a child psychotherapist is generally a completely unique specialist who uses play, fairy tales, music and any other methodology suitable for his clients. And psychoanalysis can also be used in it, but so imperceptibly that everyone will think that at the session today they watched cartoons and played Dunno.

Why are we talking about directions?

To describe everything would require writing several volumes. We come to a different conclusion. The question of what a doctor or psychotherapist treats does not make sense without understanding another important topic. The view on a particular condition may be different. Say the notorious word “depression” to a psychiatrist. And he will think first of all about biological reasons and try to develop a medication regimen. If a psychotherapist is more of a psychiatrist, then he will also behave this way. But the attitude towards the Orthodox can change everything radically. Maximum attention will be paid to the reasons, which, from the point of view of believers, are that people have forgotten about God and do not strive to save their souls.

Agree, the question disappears. One tries to prescribe chemicals, and the second shrugs and reminds about repentance, confession and prayer. Although both, in our example, work with depression. Different views on the source of the problem change everything, the entire nature of the treatment and rehabilitation process.

Tricky combinations of old and new

Psychoneurologists also exist these days, but now it is even more difficult to say for sure what prevails in them. It all depends on the specific specialist. A neurologist psychotherapist very often works with symptoms that are no longer considered a separate disease in ICD-10, but this approach has not yet been forgotten in Russia - this is vegetative-vascular dystonia. It is characterized by the presence of a whole bunch of different symptoms and does not have its own syndrome.

It is already clear that this is a complex disorder of the nervous system and psyche, and therefore it is necessary to act somewhere at the junction. However, more and more often, patients with VSD are sent to psychotherapists, and the diagnosis itself is made less and less often. The answer to the question of what is the difference between a neurologist and a psychotherapist is quite simple. The first works with disorders of the nervous system, and the second with mental ones.

Psychotherapists work with both adults and children

How long will you have to see a therapist?

How long are you going to see a psychotherapist? A few months? A couple of decades? You should discuss this with your therapist at your first visit.

As a rule, situational troubles—such as a breakup or hating a job—are best resolved in a short period of time (maybe a couple of months or weeks of visits). Long-term problems—such as a difficult childhood, sexual abuse, or major depression—may take longer (several months or years).

The type of therapy you choose may be dictated by how long you plan to do it: psychodynamic methods explore the past and can last for years. Cognitive therapy focuses on present-day issues and typically takes 15 sessions or less.

In case of mental disorders, a person needs a competent specialist, whose therapy will help restore the nervous system. In our country, treatment by a psychotherapist, psychiatrist or psychologist is rarely practiced. Many people do not understand the differences between these specialties and do not know who to go to with what problem. A psychiatrist and psychotherapist are certified doctors who have the right to prescribe medication in combination with verbal treatment; a psychologist uses only verbal methods in his work.

What methods does the doctor use to treat?

If you are wondering what a psychotherapist treats

, then the method of treating it is as follows. First he communicates with the patient. This method has a strong effect on the consciousness and subconscious of the patient. Treatment by such a specialist is performed voluntarily, and the patient can choose the type of treatment:

communication,
hypnosis,
encoding,
psychoanalysis,
bioenergy therapy.

The main goals of psychotherapy are understanding, eliminating stressful situations, emotional release and coincidence with oneself.

Main differences between specialties

All three professions have one goal - to help restore the psyche destroyed by disorders. Differences in methodology and competence:

1. Education and rights. A psychotherapist and a psychiatrist are doctors; they have a higher medical education, so they can examine the patient and make a diagnosis. A psychologist is not a medical professional and can only help confirm the diagnosis during the examination process.
2. The dominant methods of treatment: for a psychiatrist - medication, for a psychotherapist - verbal with medication, for a psychologist - verbal.
3. Area of competence: A psychiatrist treats mental disorders caused by a failure of brain activity.
4. A psychotherapist treats mental illnesses.
5. A psychologist helps mentally healthy people cope with social adaptation, increase self-esteem and organize life through consultations.

Among these three specialties, the psychotherapist has the widest profile. This profession can be mastered only after three years of practice as a psychiatrist. Psychology has the largest number of areas. A psychologist may have specializations in age, professional, gender, or social areas.

When to see a psychiatrist

A psychiatrist has the right:

give advice;
examine to determine the degree of mental incapacity;
prescribe medication treatment to correct brain function;
forcibly hospitalize a patient if he considers his condition dangerous for himself and for the people around him.

A psychiatrist has no right to talk to a patient without the latter’s written consent.

Basic diagnostic methods in psychiatry:

1. Clinical diagnosis - interviewing the patient and his relatives according to a certain scheme. Based on emotional reactions, facial expressions, gestures and the semantic content of the answers, conclusions are drawn about the presence and type of mental disorders. Relatives are interviewed to verify the accuracy of the patient’s words and identify the information he is hiding.
2. Material study of the functioning of the brain through laboratory research of the thyroid gland, pituitary and adrenal hormones.

Particular attention is paid to the relationship between mental and physical health of a person. Sometimes, to make a diagnosis, it is necessary to gather consultations with other specialists.

The list of diseases that a psychiatrist treats is huge and is constantly updated with new items. The most common: schizophrenia, epilepsy, disorders due to traumatic brain injury, manic-depressive psychosis, cyclothemia, drug addiction, neurosis, developmental delay and other somatogenic diseases. All of them are classified as life-threatening mental disorders.

You need to contact this specialist if:

suicide attempts were made;
the person is delusional and has hallucinations;
suffers from insomnia for a long time;
panic attacks occur;
tormented by phobias;
the person has epilepsy;
mental disorders appear, caused by injuries, accidents and other shocks;
the patient suffers from drug or alcohol addiction, delirium tremens occurs;
hysterical attacks often occur;
symptoms of such types of food addiction as bulimia or anorexia are noticed;
Dementia appears in older people.

These are not all cases in which you need to make an appointment with a psychiatrist, but they are the most common.

When to see a psychotherapist

A psychotherapist has the right:

Consult on an outpatient basis.
Diagnose mental illnesses not associated with serious organic brain damage, including those provoked by trauma.
Prescribe and carry out treatment: psychological influence, medication, complex psychotherapy. Verbal treatment in psychotherapy is considered dominant, medication is considered auxiliary. Psychotherapy sessions can be individual, group or family, and can last for a short or long time. The main forms of psychological influence: suggestion, persuasion, hypnosuggestive and body-oriented practices.

Psychotherapists treat neuroses and neurosis-like conditions caused by internal or external factors: stress, internal conflicts, depression, psychosomatic illnesses, panic attacks, anxiety, hypochondriacal disorders, sleep disorders, depression and others. People come to them to talk things out and calm down. Their goal is to adapt the patient's disorders to normal life.

Three alternative areas of psychotherapy:

Psychoanalysis. The fundamental difference between this approach and classical psychotherapy is in delving into the subconscious, searching there for the causes of disorders and destroying neurosis, and not in its adaptation to life. Suitable for patients whose psyche is already unpredictable and uncontrollable, but they have not yet gone crazy. A psychoanalyst never uses medications; treatment is very long and expensive. In addition, the therapy for each patient is exclusive and unlike any other.
Existential psychotherapy. This method uses the patient's entire life history. Based on this knowledge, they draw a general picture of his psyche and characteristics, and based on this, verbal treatment is carried out.
Gestalt therapy. Its goal is to develop the patient’s self-awareness and self-responsibility based on the general history of his psyche over the entire period of life.

You should contact a psychotherapist with the following symptoms:

alcohol, drug and food addictions;
symptoms of depression: apathy, pessimism, indifference to life;
fears, unreasonable anxiety and panic attacks;
attacks of hysteria, increased nervousness, irritability, sudden mood swings;
complexes and low self-esteem.

At an appointment with a psychotherapist - treatment methods

Treatment methods are quite varied, but almost all of them are based on the following points:

Psychoanalysis. The basis of this method is subconscious processes that determine all the features of the psyche and consciousness.

Existential psychotherapy. The basis of this method is to study the patient’s life as a whole and establish the relationship between the life lived and existing mental disorders.

When to contact a psychologist

A psychologist does not have the right to diagnose mental illnesses and prescribe treatment for lack of medical education. His competence is to advise and provide assistance to mentally healthy people through the verbal method. He can also engage in the following activities:

conduct personal, professional and other trainings, the purpose of which is to raise self-esteem and explain the intricacies of communication;
test people to determine their psychotypes, character traits, talents and abilities, as well as the level of psycho-emotional development;
conduct clinical and psychological studies to clarify the diagnosis;
help improve family and social relationships, restore or adjust spiritual harmony, and make life choices;
provide support to people in difficult situations in person and by telephone (hotlines);
help you recover from stressful situations and teach you how to cope with them in the future.

It is advisable to contact a psychologist if:

a difficult life situation has arisen that is impossible to understand on your own;
symptoms of depression such as apathy, indifference to everything that is happening, and a pessimistic attitude have been noticed;
have thoughts of suicide;
the person feels unwanted, lonely, has low self-esteem;
are haunted by obsessive fears and anxiety;
disturbances in sleep and wakefulness due to constant thoughts about the problem;
difficulties arise in communication and adaptation;
the loss of a loved one is difficult to bear;
There is a suspicion of any type of addiction.

Each of the specialists reviewed guarantees confidentiality to patients or clients. Professional ethics obliges them to remain indifferent to problems, not to give subjective advice and not to express personal opinions. Only in exceptional cases is compulsory treatment by a psychiatrist allowed; sessions of a psychotherapist and psychologist must always take place with the consent of the person who contacted them.

In the world, the number of patients with various mental disorders is measured in hundreds of millions. Every fifth adult has experienced mental illness at least once, what it’s like to live when one’s own psyche fails.

Mental health is not just the absence of mental disorders.
Mental health is a state of well-being in which a person realizes his or her abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, work productively, and contribute to their community. World Health Organization

Many people find it difficult to understand why a psychotherapist is needed. Normal people have friends, you need to have a heart-to-heart talk with them, and then gather your strength - and all problems will go away. And all this is a way of pumping out money; this never happened before and there were no depressions either.

One cannot but agree that in the past we somehow managed without psychotherapists. But there is a person, he has a problem, and he does not want to live “somehow as before,” he wants to live well now. A justified desire, which psychotherapy can help realize.

Methods used

At the appointment, the doctor, depending on the situation and personal preferences, can use different techniques to assist the patient.

Psychoanalysis
is a method that allows the patient to understand himself: what is happening to him, why, and, most importantly, how to deal with it.
Psychodrama.
Through it, either lived stage episodes from the patient’s life are played out, or upcoming ones that require finding a solution.
Gestalt therapy.
The technique is based on an experimental approach to psychotherapy, the goal of which is to expand a person’s consciousness and fill his life with meaning.
Music, dance, aromatherapy.
Hypnosis
is a change in the state of consciousness that combines sleep, wakefulness and sleep with dreams.
Neurolinguistic programming (NLP)
is based on the technique of imitating the behavior of successful people.

Who is a psychotherapist

Brief information so as not to confuse who is considered a psychotherapist and who is not.

Psychologist

- this is a person with a higher specialized education, the diploma says “psychologist”. After special training - “clinical psychologist”. All other names (Gestalt psychologist, art therapist and others) indicate only what methods he uses. A psychologist helps to find a way out of difficult situations and work through problems. But he does not treat mental disorders and diseases, he advises healthy people.

Psychiatrist

is a person with a higher medical education, a specialist in the field of psychiatry. He treats people with severe mental disorders, usually in a hospital setting, mainly with pills and procedures.

Psychotherapist

is a psychiatrist who has undergone additional training. He can prescribe medications, provide counseling, and treat with a variety of psychotherapy methods.

A psychotherapist is needed both for the rehabilitation of patients with serious illnesses and for the treatment of disorders that in one way or another interfere with living, working, building relationships and being creative. In general, psychotherapy improves quality of life.

Main directions of psychotherapy

In modern psychotherapy, more than 10 areas can be noted that are used as different methods of therapy. The main ones are the following:

Psychological analysis - this direction examines the functions of the subconscious (protective functions, purpose, desire, instincts), which reveal the psyche and mind.
Projection - treatment - implies independent regulation of the psyche, its ability to self-knowledge and independent responsibility.
Meaningful psychotherapy studies not individual parts of a person’s psyche, but his entire life as a single chain of a person with other people and with himself.

When is it time to make an appointment?

Mental disorders rarely appear out of the blue; as a rule, the symptoms gradually become stronger. The following should be on your guard:

The character has changed. The person becomes withdrawn, loses interest in business, and does not communicate with people who were previously important.
Confidence in one’s own strength disappears, so much so that one doesn’t even want to start something, because one is sure of failure.
I constantly feel tired, I either want to sleep or do nothing.
The reluctance to move is so strong that even simple actions (take a shower, throw out the trash) turn into a task for the day.
Incomprehensible sensations appear in the body. Not pain, but just something completely indescribable or very strange.
The mood quickly changes for no apparent reason from intense joy to complete despondency.
Unexpected emotional reactions appear: tears when watching a comedy, despondency in response to “Hello, how are you?”
Aggression and irritability are often present.
Sleep is disturbed: constant drowsiness occurs.
Panic attacks are coming.
Eating behavior changes: systematic overeating or refusal to eat is noticeable.
It's hard to concentrate, study, and get things done.
Obsessive repetitive actions and habits have appeared or become more frequent.
You want to harm yourself (or it is noticeable that a person is hurting himself: there are minor burns, scratches, cuts on the body).
Thoughts about suicide appear.

These are not all approximate symptoms that signal difficulties in the functioning of the psyche.

The main criterion: if something interferes with your life and reminds you of itself every day, go to the doctor.

If you notice any symptoms in a loved one or friend, offer to help. Do not scold or laugh at the person, do not force him to undergo treatment. Say what's bothering you and ask what you can do to help. Find the addresses of specialists so that a person can contact them.

When you don't need to register

If you're in a bad mood because of the nasty weather, if you got a bad grade, got fired, or had a fight with your loved one, you don't need a therapist. This can all be solved by a few days of rest, that same conversation with loved ones and a cup of hot chocolate or watching a football match.

If you have experienced severe stress, grief, cannot resolve a conflict that has been dragging on for a long time, and you really need to understand your feelings in order to understand what to do next, then you should see a psychologist.

However, if you are afraid that all these situations will have a bad impact on your life and decide to see a psychotherapist, it won’t get any worse. The doctor will help himself or refer you to the same psychologist (or to a psychiatrist if it turns out that your illness is more serious than expected).