A person who visits a psychologist for the first time often has many doubts. And that's normal - we always have questions about something unknown.

I suggest considering the most common doubts to dispel them.

1. "Only crazy people go to psychologists!"
I'll let you in on a little secret: psychologists work with healthy people. Those who are considered normal (everything outside the norm can be found in the ICD-10). Psychologists work with mentally ill people only in a few cases: together with a psychiatrist if necessary, in a psychiatric hospital or a psychoneurological clinic if the psychologist has a clinical specialization.

The psychologist's task is to help you make your life better and teach you to think critically. You don't have to be a victim of a disaster or childhood abuse to see a psychologist. Sometimes "making things better" means helping you through a current suffering, such as coping with the loss of a loved one, the aftermath of toxic relationships, or overcoming depression. And sometimes it means helping you change your job or achieve a promotion, improving your relationship with a friend, or overcoming your fear of public speaking. In other words, the spectrum of problems can be any - what is important to you now will be the subject of work.

2. "I'd rather talk to my friend about my problems."
We often think that it's easier and cheaper to talk to our friends about our problems, and that they will give us advice on what to do next. But friends don't follow the principle of confidentiality, and they don't always understand that "giving advice" means taking responsibility for someone else's life and decisions.

Advisors don't want to harm us, but following their advice rarely brings anything good - each person is unique, and what helped one person may not help another, or even worse, may ultimately ruin someone's life.

People go to psychologists for analytical information about their problem, for real changes in themselves and their relationships with others, that is, for concrete results of help.

A psychologist is a person who has the necessary knowledge to competently deal with your problem, not harm you with advice, not get emotionally involved, and not fall with you into the experience that rightly belongs to you.

3. It's expensive.
Yes, therapy sessions cost money, but a psychologist is a specialist who invests a lot of effort, resources, and time to become a skilled professional and provide quality services.
Our goal is to teach a person to independently cope with the difficulties of life, while accompanying them in this process. We don't make decisions for them or give advice, but rather listen and HEAR what is important to them.