Psychological help: how to know if I need it and how to find it.

Several tips for people who feel they may need psychological care.

"I need help." Words that we do not often hear nowadays, despite the fact that there are many people who are constantly suffering and would require someone's assistance. Problems of self-esteem, anxiety, constant sadness, the experience of traumatic events that we cannot overcome?

We are talking about people who need psychological helpbut who often do not seek it for different reasons or who are not sure if their problem needs professional help or not.

In this article we are going to talk about when we need this kind of help and how and where to get it.

Psychological help: how do I know if I need it?

The question of when we need the help of a psychology professional may seem simple to answer, but the truth is that many people find it very difficult to decide to consult and even consider that their discomfort is not enough to seek professional help.

The truth is that in clinical practice, psychologists see all kinds of people with different types of problems.. People of any age and condition can go to a psychologist, although within psychology there are different profiles of professionals more specialized in certain sectors, such as child and adolescent psychology or psychogeriatrics.

There are many problems that are treated or in which a psychologist can intervene. It is common for people with mood problems, anxiety, emotional and/or self-esteem problems, people with cognitive alterations, obsessive problems (such as OCD) or psychotic problems (e.g. schizophrenia), post-traumatic stress disorder or those with adaptive problems or difficulties in coping with certain situations to go to a professional.

Sexual dysfunctions and couple problems, lack of communication or the presence of family problems are aspects that can also lead a person to consultation. Other possible affectations can be learning problems, problems in the achievement of one's own identity, or a high level of work stress. Family counseling or psychoeducation or coping with an illness can also be carried out by a psychologist.

But the above are only examples. In reality, any person who presents any problem that generates a deep psychological suffering (whether we are talking about an identified disorder or not) or difficulties in adapting to the environment (whether or not we are talking about an identified disorder) or difficulties in adapting to the environment that surrounds him/her, he/she can seek professional help. It is possible that in some cases we are facing an adaptive process or derived from a situation that we do not know how to solve or for which we do not feel we have the resources to solve.

A psychologist is not going to fix, for example, an economic problem or a dismissal, but can help to recover the sensation of control and to fight beliefs of uselessness or maladaptive elements that are established in the psyche of the person and that are derived from it.

Of course, it must be taken into account that a psychologist is not a magician. Many people come to a consultation expecting a quick and miraculous remedy.. And in most cases, this will not be the case. Moreover, any treatment or intervention carried out will require an effort on the part of the patient/client/user, with the psychologist serving as a guide or promoter that will lead them to overcome their problems.

Why so much doubt?

Great part of the fault of this fact is due to the persistence of great prejudices with respect to the work of the psychologists or to the fact to go to one. Traditionally, and still today, going to a psychologist has been seen as an indication of a serious mental health problem (until not so long ago we were called "shrinks"), which in turn is seen as stigmatizing..

Many people are embarrassed by this, while others may be afraid of discovering the presence of serious problems. Others feel a deep reluctance to open up and explain their problems to someone they do not know, even if that person is a qualified professional. Likewise, many feel that their condition is not serious or profound enough to require professional help even if they have been suffering for years.

And this can be almost dramatic, since in many cases postponing the search for professional help can contribute to lengthening and even chronifying problems that could be solved or reduced in the long term. that could be solved or reduce the level of affectation they generate in a much faster and more efficient way if an earlier intervention had been initiated.

Fortunately, with the passage of time, the level of stigma attached to seeing a psychologist has been greatly reduced, even in terms of suffering from some kind of psychological problem (for example, anxiety or depression problems are very common in most of the population). There is a growing awareness of the need for professional help from someone trained in the workings of the human psyche. In fact, technically it is estimated that one in four people would need some kind of psychological help at some point in their lives. at some point in their lives.

Psychological help: public or private?

Before going into how to seek and find psychological help from a professional in this branch of science, it should be noted that we can find professionals who practice in public health care and others who practice in private health care (there are also those who practice in both).

Both options have advantages and disadvantages. On the one hand, private practice involves an outlay which, depending on the professional, his or her experience, theoretical framework or specialization in a specific subject, may be greater or lesser. Also, the large number of private professionals makes it difficult to choose one in particular. On the other hand, it is possible to monitor each case more thoroughly, frequently and efficiently, the sessions are longer and generally more productive, and there are no waiting lists.

As far as public health care is concerned, although we are dealing with a mental health service that does not require a direct outlay on the part of the patient, the limitations of the health system and the limited presence of psychologists within the system means that there is usually a certain delay in obtaining a visit, often on a monthly basis, and that the time each visit lasts is, with some exceptions, quite limited (so there is less time to deal with the problem in question).

In both systems there are high quality professionals who have undergone intensive training and who have been and who have received intense and exhaustive training for years, and their status in the public or private system is not a determining factor in this regard. In both cases they have the same functions and responsibilities at a legal level, and in all cases they must be registered with the official college of psychologists (otherwise they could not practice in the clinical setting) and be either Specialist Psychologists in Clinical Psychology and/or have a Master's degree in General Health Psychology.

A different type of help is offered by other sectors, such as coaching. Although they can help to address and cope with some day-to-day problems and promote the realization of changes and the strengthening of potentialities, it must be taken into account that most coaches are not psychologists and their knowledge and skills may be very limited, not being qualified to treat mental or health problems and disorders.

How does one reach a psychologist?

The process of seeking and finding psychological help from a professional is relatively straightforward, although it depends largely on whether the professional help is sought from the public administration or from a private practitioner.

Private practice

In the case of seeking psychological help privately, the main difficulty will be to choose a professional from among the large number of existing psychology offices and institutes. In this sense, to guide us we can make use of different directories of professionalsThe directory of the Colegio Oficial de Psicólogos is one of those that will allow us to find the professionals who are members of the Colegio Oficial de Psicólogos.

In order to choose correctly, it would be useful to know the line or theoretical framework preferably used by the professional (although nowadays a large majority is eclectic with regard to the use of different techniques) in order to choose the one we consider most appropriate, as well as the type of problem or problems that he/she deals with in his/her clinical practice. It may also be useful to know the prestige of the professional himself (although this is not an indication that he will be useful to us).

Finally, we can also be guided by the opinions of users with respect to the different professionals, although it should be borne in mind that each patient may have specific preferences and that there are different branches and ways of acting within psychology. What works well for one patient is not necessarily what works well for another, even if they have the same type of problem, and the feeling and the therapeutic relationship established between patient and professional can vary enormously.

Another aspect to bear in mind is that if the therapeutic relationship does not flow, or if after a reasonable period of time the treatment applied does not bear any fruit (remember that a psychological therapy requires a certain amount of time and the user's completion of tasks in order to be effective, and its benefits are not always realized at the beginning), we can change the professional.

Once the professional has been chosen, it will be a matter of arranging a visit with the psychologist in question by telephone or e-mail. At that time we will ask (if we do not provide them directly) a series of data in order to have some information, such as a brief explanation of the general situation, contact details and possibly some demographic data. In any case, the first visits are focused on getting to know the problem and the situation of the patient, client or user and the evaluation of this, to later analyze objectives and a possible treatment plan.

Practice in the public setting

To make an appointment with a psychologist in the public sphere requires first of all that you go to your family doctor, who, depending on the situation, may refer you to a psychologist. depending on the situation, may refer the subject to psychiatryand from there to a psychologist. However, unless a persistent and serious problem is detected, in many cases such referral is not carried out unless the patient in question requires it (partly due to the overcrowding of the service), which is something to be taken into account.

Thus, in the first instance the patient usually goes first to the CAP (Primary Care Center), from which he/she may be referred to different services depending on the problem detected. In the case of mental disorders, the subject is referred to a Mental Health Center (CSMA in the case of adults or CSMIJ in the case of children and adolescents). A large number of cases only receive treatment at these facilities, although in emergencies or acute phases of the emergencies or acute phases of some disorders may require a stay in other may require a stay in other facilities.

In the case of an urgent case, such as a psychotic outbreak or a subject in an acute manic phase, he/she may be referred to a Psychiatric Emergency Department (where we can find detoxification units or UHD, dual pathology, eating problems, gambling addiction, intellectual disability and mental disorder or UHEDI). In the case of a case of addiction to a substance, the referral would be made to a Center for Care and Monitoring of Drug Addiction or CAS.

The subject will be in an Acute Unit for the first three or four weeks in order to stabilize him/her. After stabilization of the patient or in case a temporary admission is required until the patient is completely stable, the subject may be sent to a Subacute Unit for a period of about three months. If necessary, the patient may be transferred to a medium-stay unit for about half a year, or to a MILLE unit in the case of a long stay.

In addition to this, various temporary residential facilities can be used, such as day hospitals, therapeutic communities or community rehabilitation services.therapeutic communities or community rehabilitation services. There are also permanent ones, such as supervised apartments and residential llars. In conclusion, there are multiple services to which a person can turn in case of need, and there are alternatives to treat different needs.