Psychologists do not sell their empathy

Psychologists are often criticized for having well-formed opinions and not giving them up.

Perhaps because of the influence of counselingperhaps because of the influence of humanistic psychology, there are many people who believe that psychologists are basically characterized as mystics of a sort.

Not the kind of mystics so alienated that it is impossible to identify with them, but the kind of spiritual gurus who act as an inspirational mirror for others. People who, having reached a very high degree of understanding about the human mind, are able to adapt their ideas to make room for and connect with any way of thinking of others..

In other words, it has come to be assumed that the psychologist is one who transforms his or her own philosophy of life into a very simple principle: to always empathize with others, without giving more importance to one's own ideas than to those of the other person..

This idea, of course, is based on an exaggeration about the degree of skills that psychologists acquire in the course of their careers; after all, they are real people. However, my opinion is that this idea is not only misguided, but also harmful and is simply exploited to try to silence certain ideas and opinions.

Political correctness in psychologists

It is very common to hear phrases such as "it seems unbelievable that you are a psychologist". The alarming thing about this is not that it is common to get angry or reproach a person dedicated to this profession, but rather that, in most cases, this kind of complaint does not occur when a psychologist expresses ignorance about a subject that he/she should master, but rather when he/she behaves in a way that is not in line with his/her profession. when he or she behaves in a way that is disliked and is seen as an attack on the opinion of others..

For example, if a psychologist has very clear ideas about a controversial topic and expresses his or her opinion assertively, he or she may be criticized for lack of tact in giving a point of view that is unambiguous and very committed to one way of looking at things.

This is true of almost no other profession: doctors, engineers, or carpenters may have a very settled philosophy of life and talk about their ideas without major concerns, but the psychologist seems to be obliged to speak for the whole world, keeping a very low and discreet profile.. Political correctness is assumed as something that should emanate naturally from their profession, and it has reached the point where it must be assumed, for example, that all currents of psychology are equally valid because they reflect different ways of thinking.

Commercializing empathy

But psychologists are not in the business of renting out their way of thinking to constantly welcome the views of others in order that empathy can be created.

First of all, a psychologist is defined by what he or she does professionally, not in his or her personal life. Just because a psychologist should not confront a patient's ideas, for example, does not mean that he or she cannot express diametrically opposed opinions to someone in any other situation.

This, which seems obvious, is often overlooked because of the influence of two elements: relativism and constructivism taken to the extreme.

The "anything goes" belief

From radical relativism, especially in its aspect of cultural relativism, it is taken for granted that there are no attitudes and thoughts more valid than others.. This means that psychologists should not strive to find regularities in the way people think and act, since each individual is a world; instead, they should develop a special sensitivity to "connect" with the other person's mind at a given time and place, to help him or her get closer to a certain goal.

In this view of psychology, it is not considered that there are certain theories of behavior that are more valid than others because they have been empirically tested, and therefore psychologists do not have the added value of knowing more about the other person's mind at a given time and place. do not have the added value of knowing more about people's mental processes in general..

Thus, the only thing they are valuable for is their "sensitivity", the ease with which they connect with meaning systems created from scratch by other people (this is where constructivism comes in). And this sensitivity, if it is not expressed in all facets of the psychologist's life, cannot be authentic.

Psychology is knowledge

The idea that psychology is basically the putting into practice of a quasi-artistic sensibility is totally contrary to the notion of psychology as a science.

What defines psychologists is not their facility in establishing therapeutic connections with other people; this is only one of the characteristics of a certain class of psychologists: those who intervene on specific individuals and groups of people. Moreover, even during therapy the psychologist does not have to assume as true all the contents of the patient's discourse, and has good reason to believe, for example, that a mystical experience in which a saint appeared was not real.

What all psychologists have in common is that, in order to do their work, they use scientifically generated knowledge, which, consequently, allows them to reduce uncertainty about a subject, reduces uncertainty about a subject.. Psychologists try to predict to a greater or lesser extent the behavior of people by taking into account a number of variables, and if they do so it is because they have information that is more valid than other types of information.

Thus, psychologists do not have to accept, for example, religious fundamentalism or racism simply because they are "ways of thinking" that reflect a mental reality as valid as any other. as valid as any other. Complaining because someone trained in psychology does not accept the "truth of oneself" is meaningless precisely because of this.