Psychological consultation inquiry

Formal and effective psychological counseling inquiries should focus on the three core dimensions of "institutional qualifications, counselor competency, and service matching." Anyone who promotes "100% cure" and "includes solving emotional/academic problems" can be directly excluded. Ordinary people do not need to go to the counselors with the best titles and highest fees. They will give priority to counselors who match their own problem areas and can communicate without pressure. The cost-effectiveness and effectiveness are the highest.

Last week, a sophomore girl came to me to complain. She said that when she clicked on the first advertisement that popped up when she searched for psychological counseling, the customer service staff boasted that all their counselors were "internationally certified psychological experts." She was so excited that she paid for a package worth 8,000 yuan, and every time she went there three times, the counselor would just tell her to "stop thinking so much and be happy." She asked me how to avoid such outrageous pitfalls.

Let’s talk about the most basic institutional qualifications first. There is actually no controversy about this. Priority is given to psychological clinics registered by the National Health Commission, or regular institutions whose business scope is clearly marked as “psychological counseling services.” If you encounter someone who dares to take cases with the name of “health consultation” or “cultural communication”, just go directly. Oh, by the way, if you find out that the address of the agency is in an ordinary residential building without a separate reception area or soundproof consultation room when you check it, it is recommended to consider it more. After all, consultation is a matter that requires absolute privacy. You don’t want to hear the neighbor knocking on the door in the middle of the conversation.

Regarding the judgment of consultants’ competency, there are actually two different voices in the industry. One school of thought believes that only registered counselors and supervisors registered in the registration system of the Chinese Psychological Society are reliable. This standard is indeed stable. All information can be checked directly by entering your name on the official website of the registration system. The number of case hours, length of supervision, and areas of expertise are all clear, and there are almost no pitfalls. However, many practitioners believe that one cannot rely solely on certificates. Some teachers who have been in school consulting for more than ten years, or counselors who have been doing marriage and family mediation in the community for a long time, even if they do not have a registration system certificate, have a good understanding of the problems in the corresponding field, and the effect is not necessarily worse than that of counselors with high titles. I myself have met a school-based consultant who costs 300 yuan an hour. His effectiveness in handling cases of teenagers who are tired of learning is better than some college professors who charge 3000 yuan an hour. After all, he deals with high school students every day and knows that the "emo" and "lay down" that these children talk about are not really lazy, and how much pressure is hidden behind them. If the counselor you meet does not belong to the registration system, just ask them to provide relevant training certificates and case experience descriptions. Real professionals will not mind showing these to you.

Many people will first look at the price when checking for consultation, thinking that the more expensive the product, the higher the quality. It is really unnecessary. The price is basically only linked to the consultant's qualifications and training costs, and has nothing to do with the suitability for you. If you need postpartum emotional adjustment, find a well-known supervisor who mainly does corporate EAP and has not taken on many maternal cases. No matter how high his fee is, you will feel that he does not understand your collapse of waking up in the middle of the night to breastfeed. Just like if you have a cold, there is no need to call for a cardiologist. Symptoms come first.

As for genre selection, there is no standard answer, it all depends on your own acceptance. Those who have clear traumatic experiences and want to quickly relieve symptoms may find CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy) short and quick. There are specific adjustment methods each time and it will not be too painful. ； Those who want to sort out their growth experiences and adjust their cognitive models from the root may be more suitable for psychoanalysis or family therapy. I once had a client who went to a psychoanalytic counselor for the first time. Every time he talked about his childhood experiences, he cried until he could not breathe. He found it too painful, so he changed to a CBT counselor, and the insomnia problem was adjusted within two weeks. However, there are also friends who like the process of slowly digging out the root causes. They feel that after a long-term consultation, the whole person is enlightened. No one is right or wrong, and your own comfort is the most important.

Oh, by the way, when you look up, if you see promotions such as "Three times to cure anxiety" and "Guaranteed to win back your ex", don't think too much and just cross it out. The ethical code of psychological counseling clearly stipulates that no promises of results can be made. Anyone who dares to say this is a liar who is eyeing your wallet.

In the final analysis, psychological consultation is not about those fancy titles and gold-plated certificates, but whether you can find a professional who can catch your emotions. If you are really not sure, it is more effective to schedule an initial interview of 30 minutes to get a feel for it than to flip through dozens of pages of reviews and ask a dozen netizens while holding your phone. After all, you can only know if the shoes fit your feet by trying them on yourself.