My therapy is not going well: what to do when your psychologist is not helping you

What to do when you perceive that the psychotherapy process you are going through is not helping you?

When a person goes to a psychologist it is because he/she needs help from a professional, although, on some occasions, the therapy may not work at all well..

Regardless of who is to blame, the fact is that when your psychologist does not help you it is best to get a second opinion.

Psychological therapy: what to do when it doesn't work

Therapy may not work for several reasons. One of the problems may be that the psychologist in question has not correctly identified the problem. If the psychologist does not work in this initial phase, the treatment he or she carries out will not work either, or at least not with the desired effect.

On the other hand, if the therapy is not going well, it may also be due to a lack of adequate therapy.. Sometimes the patient's problems are complicated and they do not know how to connect with their psychologist.

It is a fact that psychology is a very complex field and sometimes finding the right therapy can be complicated.

Finally, another reason why a therapy may not work is because the sessions have not been because the sessions have not been carried out with the recommended frequency..

In the same way that a medical treatment does not work well if it is not taken in the right dosage, a therapy, if not carried out frequently enough, can fail. In this case we ask you to be patient, to comply with the guidelines established by the professional.

A premature abandonment of therapy will never solve anything.

What to do if my therapy is not working?

If you feel that your therapy is not working, the first thing to do is to talk to your psychologist.. You have to be very clear and not be shy about telling him/her. Do not be ashamed, your psychologist is there to help you and will be very grateful for this type of information that you are going to provide.

In the great majority of the therapies the objectives are established by both parts and, of course, the work requires the implication of both parts.. Both the patient and the psychologist are in the same boat, so communication is the most important thing.

Having trust with your psychologist is fundamental to be able to have a fluid conversation with him/her. If you are not able to communicate this problem to your psychologist, it is a bad sign.

The best way for the psychologist to make a valid diagnosis and establish the appropriate therapy is to be honest with you. If you think that you are wasting your time or that he/she is not helping you at all, don't be afraid to tell him/her.It will all be for the better.

On the other hand, the fact that a therapy with a psychologist does not work does not mean that your problem has no solution.

From Atlas Psicólogos Tres Cantos we recommend to have a second opinionSo you should never lose faith in the therapy.

If when you have a bad experience with a dentist you go to another one, and when the same thing happens with a hairdresser you also do it, why not with a psychologist?

How do I know if my therapy is going well?

Sometimes it costs a little to see the results of therapy.. Sometimes patients are in a hurry to recover or fall into the despair of thinking that they will never be able to recover.

These aspects end up clouding the judgment and make it impossible to establish a diagnosis through which it is known whether the therapy is working or not. As in practically everything, there are a number of factors that help us to realize that the therapy is not working.

Psychology is a profession based on science. This implies that the actions of psychologists have to be grounded.

Unfortunately, some therapists still base their practices on approaches other than evidence, achieving results that are not satisfactory for the patient. A psychologist should listen patiently and not talk about himself.

One of the most important faculties that a psychologist must have is the ability to listen. In addition, a psychologist should actively participate in your problems by asking questions, should actively participate in your problems by asking you directly to obtain more information and to better understand your situation. and thus better understand your situation.

If your therapist does not spend much time listening to you or constantly interrupts you, this is another bad sign.

Communication in therapy is important

Just as you need to communicate with your psychologist about what is going on with you, he or she needs to reason with you about the decisions he or she makes. The best way to understand a therapy is to be clear about the reason why it is being done..

A psychologist should be able to explain to you in a simple way the reason why he/she is suggesting certain guidelines. If he/she does not give you explanations or minimizes your problem, it is another symptom that the therapy is not going well.

For therapy to go well, it has to focus on the future. It is useless to focus on the past, nothing can change anymore.. If the psychologist spends a great deal of time dwelling on the past, it is likely to aggravate the problem, generate a new one or lengthen the duration of therapy.

All these aspects are negative and new symptoms that the therapy is not going as well as it should. A psychologist has to help you in your day-to-day life and offer you practical solutions that will help you when you leave the office. It is obvious that rehashing the past does not help this.

During a psychological treatment there are days in which you will probably come out better than others, especially in the early and intermediate phases of therapy. For this reason, it is important to know that a psychologist cannot treat a problem in just one sessionand the results of some sessions are not necessarily super positive. However, over time you should notice an improvement.

A psychologist should never cross the professional line. He is not your friend, that must be clear to you. The psychologist must be honest with you and offer you an objective professional treatment. Likewise, he/she should never judge you or impose his/her value system.

If you feel identified with any of these problems, maybe it is time to change your psychologist.

Pay attention to all the details and, of course, bear in mind that whenever you go for a consultation, it is to get better.. If you regress or feel bad about yourself, change before the problem becomes more serious.