Life is full of obstacles that sometimes it is difficult for us to jump due to circumstances. You may suffer discrimination, harassment at work, you do not know how to mourn, that you have suffered sexual abuse, that you have been taken advantage of, that you live with toxic people , that you have financial problems that are affecting your emotions … Life’s obstacles can degrade your mental health.
But it depends on how you handle these obstacles and difficulties, those that help you have a good quality of life or that, on the contrary, your life is in chaos and you don’t even know where to take it. If you have decided to go to the psychologist to find your way, congratulations! It is a good start for change, your therapist will help you manage these problems, but … what if your psychologist does not like you or you think that his strategies are deficient or that they are even making you feel worse than before?
You don’t have to like it to move on
You are not always going to like your psychologist. In fact, most people go through phases during the psychotherapy process where their admiration and sympathy for the therapist will increase and decrease. This can be based on a number of factors, such as the type or difficulty of the material being addressed in therapy, the amount of stress that you or the therapist may be experiencing, or something else entirely. These changing feelings toward one’s therapist are a normal part of the therapeutic process.
Some people, however, find that they have gone as far as possible with their current therapist, or discover shortly after starting therapy that the therapist they choose is not the right one for them. There are those who will stay with the psychologist even if they do not like it because ‘they have already started’ or because they do not have the courage to tell him that he does not want to continue with the sessions . But if it creates anxiety or stress for you and you don’t always agree with your therapist, this can be totally normal because they can pressure or challenge you to achieve change in your life.
The key is to recognize the difference between a short-term stress level due to a specific problem that you are working on with the psychologist or a minor disagreement, and a more serious long-term problem that is interfering with your treatment in the future. future. This difference is not always easy to detect but it is essential to do it to change professional time without your pocket suffering and that your evolution is adequate.
When you start with a psychologist you will have to evaluate if that professional is convenient for you within 3 sessions because he will explain what his method is and you will have to commit to him in case you like his way of working. If, after the first three sessions, you feel like you have problems with the therapist that have not been resolved, it may be time for a change. Most therapists will respond professionally and make sure that if you need a referral, they help you with that. Some therapists may ask why you are leaving and have a good idea to answer honestly or say that you prefer not to say so.
If you don’t like it either way, you better change
If you don’t like your psychologist and you want to give him a chance in one or two more sessions (apart from the initial 3) to see if it is your perception that is not right, then okay. But if you realize that you do not feel well when you go to his therapy and even your life begins to be worse than before, then you will have to assess whether that psychologist is really helping you what you need or not.
If you do not like your psychologist and as the therapy progresses you do not feel improvement, then it is better that you look for another psychologist who has good references. The psychologist is a professional who will try to help you within what he considers to be best for you in the situation in which you find yourself, but if you do not feel good with the way he is helping you, that disagreement you have can do progress slow.