Different from psychotherapy, psychological counseling is a process in which psychotherapists correct the psychological and behavioral problems of the clients (patients and patients).
Psychological counseling is called counseling in English, which literally means consultation and consultation. Or PsychologicalCounseling, which means the process of providing psychological help, advice and teaching to clients. Carl, an American psychologist, defines counseling as: "Counseling is the relationship between those who point to others and those who seek such help. In this relationship, people gradually learn to treat themselves and others in a more positive way by helping others and the atmosphere they create. "
Psychological counseling is a very broad concept abroad, involving vocational guidance, education counseling, mental health counseling, marriage and family counseling and other aspects of life. All kinds of consultation are different, but they all have some common characteristics. That is, it is a professional help relationship, and specially trained personnel provide help for the inquirers.
Psychological counseling is the application of psychological knowledge, theory and technology, through the process of consultation, conversation and guidance between consultants and seekers, to provide feasible suggestions and help seekers discuss and study various adaptation and development problems of normal people and people with mild psychological disorders, so as to achieve the purpose of self-reliance, improve health level and improve quality of life.
Practice has proved that psychological counseling has a very obvious effect on mental health. In psychological counseling, the mental health of the help-seekers can be transformed into a good direction through the help-seeking relationship. There are three meanings here:
First, it can help seekers to improve their psychological ability to deal with themselves and interpersonal relationships;
Secondly, psychological counseling can not only eliminate some diseases, but also promote the reconstruction and development of personality;
Third, not only people with psychological barriers can seek psychological counseling, but also normal people who encounter resistance in their own development can seek psychological counseling and benefit from it.
The object of psychological counseling
The most common and main targets of psychological counseling are healthy people or sub-healthy people with psychological problems, not morbid people. They are the working targets of psychiatrists. Counsellors sometimes cooperate with psychiatrists for psychotherapy.
Healthy people will face many problems such as marriage and family, career choice, parent-child relationship, children's education, interpersonal relationship, study, love, sexual psychology, self-development, anxiety, depression, stress coping and so on. They will expect to make ideal choices, successfully spend all stages of life, achieve inner balance, and exert their abilities to seek a good quality of life.
Psychological counselors can provide pertinent development suggestions and give corresponding help from the psychological point of view. If the help-seekers feel that the above problems have affected their life and work, and the resulting psychological conflicts are difficult to solve by themselves, psychological problems will arise. Through systematic analysis and guidance, psychological counselors can alleviate the emotional distress and inner conflict of help seekers.
The object of psychological counseling meets the following conditions:
1) has a certain intellectual foundation: only in this way can help seekers describe their problems clearly and understand the counselor's meaning.
2) Appropriate content: Some psychological problems are suitable for psychological consultation, and some need medication.
3) Personality is basically sound: if the client has serious personality disorder, psychological counseling will not play its due role.
4) Reasonable motivation: If you lack the motivation to change yourself, but want others to change, or the motivation to ask for help is beyond the scope of psychological counseling, it is suitable for psychological counseling.
5) Have communication skills.
6) Have a certain degree of trust in consultation.
In addition, a certain economic ability is needed to maintain the basic cost of psychological counseling.
Characteristics of psychological counseling
According to the Encyclopedia of American Philosophy, psychological counseling has the following characteristics:
1, mainly for normal people;
2. Provide effective help for people's lives;
3. Emphasize personal strength and value;
4. Emphasize cognitive factors, especially the role of rationality in choice and decision-making;
5. Study the individual's personality differences when making overall goals, plans and playing social roles;
6. Fully consider the situation and environmental factors, and emphasize people's utilization of environmental resources and changes when necessary.
The role and task of psychological counseling
Psychological counseling can provide people with brand-new life experiences and experiences.
For those whose psychological adaptability is within the normal range, the new environment provided by psychological counseling can help them understand themselves and society, and handle various relationships well, so as to better exert their internal potential and realize their self-worth.
For those who are in trouble because of psychological problems, with the help of psychological counseling, they can gradually change their thinking, feeling and reaction modes that are incompatible with the outside world and learn methods that are suitable for the outside world, thus improving work efficiency and quality of life. Specifically, psychological counseling can help people-
1) Establish new interpersonal relationships.
Really effective psychological counseling should have sound psychological characteristics, be able to focus on visitors, master rich knowledge of human behavior and a set of skilled skills to help others, which creates conditions for the establishment of new interpersonal relationships between psychological counselors and help seekers.
In the relationship with psychological counseling, help seekers can express their feelings without worrying about destructive consequences or paying any price for adventure or failure. In consultation, they can make excessive or indifferent emotional reactions, and psychological counselors often respond with a positive attitude, prompting the parties to make new constructive and positive reactions and successfully apply them to other interpersonal communication.
2) Understanding internal conflicts
Psychological counseling can help clients realize that most psychological problems stem from their unresolved internal conflicts, not from the outside world. The external environment is only the stage for internal conflicts to unfold.
3) Correct wrong ideas
Help-seekers are usually convinced that they know exactly what they need and what they are doing, but in fact they deceive themselves with all kinds of irrational ideas. Psychological counseling encourages them to seriously think about their wrong ideas and replace them with more accurate rational ideas.
4) Deepen the self-awareness of help seekers.
Psychological counselors guide clients to explore themselves. When people really know themselves, they also know their needs, values, attitudes, motivations, strengths and weaknesses. Once they know themselves, they can plan their lives according to their own situation at any time.
5) Learn to face the reality
People who come to consult are generally good at escaping from reality and often spend a lot of time recalling the past and planning the future. The topic is always inseparable from yesterday and tomorrow, avoiding the present. Help-seekers not only reduce anxiety by escaping from reality, but also always want to manipulate reality according to their own wishes, and often try to get the support of people around them to help them escape from reality. Counselors let them realize this and guide them to face the reality.
6) increase psychological freedom
Most people who come to seek psychological counseling lack psychological freedom in at least one important aspect. Psychological counselors help them to give their hearts greater freedom and accept contradictions and imperfections.
7) Help those who seek help to take new and effective actions.
Only by assisting those who ask for help to take reasonable and effective actions that lead to desire can we reduce our inner troubles. The crux of psychological problems lies not in the helper's inability to control his thoughts and desires, but in the helper's failure to change or satisfy his desires through effective actions. It is difficult to control thoughts and desires, and it is easier to control behavior. Why don't we choose the easy one?