10 Psychologist Mistakes That You Need To Know How To Detect
In the practice of the psychologist, especially the clinician, there can be a series of common errors that, although they do not have to harm the patient’s health or the development of the therapy, it is true that they influence it.
Psychologists are also human and, although we have enough knowledge to do our job well, sometimes we screw up a little.
To err is human and to rectify it is wise, which is why pencils have a built-in eraser. For this reason, and in order to help identify mistakes that we may make, We are going to review those psychologist mistakes that are easy to make.
It is common that, at the beginning of our career as psychotherapists, we make some mistakes. Nobody is perfect and making mistakes is human, so it is totally normal to make the occasional mistake or mistake.
However, given the great importance of doing psychotherapy well, both for the patient’s health and for the reputation of the psychologist who has treated them, It is necessary to be careful and avoid committing them, especially those that may have a greater impact on us as professionals or even harm the patient.
With this we do not intend to generate fears and insecurities in new therapists. It is assumed that, when one begins as a psychologist, whether clinical or not, they have sufficient theoretical and practical knowledge to practice their profession, with skills acquired throughout the degree and postgraduate studies that legitimize their practice. The objective of this article is to make known what the most common psychologist errors are in order to recognize them in oneself and prevent them from happening again in the future.
These are the most common or easiest psychologist mistakes to make.
1. Not adjusting the therapist-patient relationship
One of the most fundamental aspects of therapy is the relationship between the psychologist and his patient. This, when established correctly and together with the characteristics of the therapist, can facilitate the effect of the therapy.
We cannot talk about this relationship without mentioning the idea of the Optimal Line of Involvement. , an imaginary space in which the relationship of involvement between the patient and the professional is the most appropriate for the effectiveness of the therapy. Crossing this line, whether through too much or too little involvement, can ruin the therapist-patient relationship. If it is crossed over a long distance, the risks will be greater.
The mistake here would be to cross the line to one side or the other, which can lead to two possible situations.
Getting too involved with the patient
A very close therapist-patient relationship is established, with a high level of emotional involvement. We care too much about the patient, so much so that we take their problems home and make them part of our lives.
This does not mean that it is wrong to give a patient a warm hug or that we do not care about their mental health. Of course it matters to us, but that importance is professional. We must not forget that the therapist-patient relationship is professional and, for therapy to work properly, limits must be set.
There are several problems that could appear if the relationship is too close, apart from the loss of the effectiveness of the therapy:
Being too distant from the patient
On the other hand, we find a low emotional involvement, that is, a therapist-patient relationship that is too distant.
High involvement is a problem, but so is excessive emotional distance from the patient. , which can make you understand that we don’t care at all. We must understand that in therapy intimacy, sensitivity or warmth are fundamental aspects and, if we do not show them as therapists, it may cause the patient to abandon therapy because they feel uncomfortable.
We all have our own opinions. No one has the same vision of the world and each person’s beliefs can be very varied. Sometimes, a patient’s beliefs can be very shocking and even discriminatory, such as homophobia, racism, xenophobia, machismo…
Regardless of our opinions on those beliefs, We are not the ones to judge or correct them in the patient. As his psychologist, we must focus on the problem for which he has gone to therapy and other problems that, although they have not motivated him to go to the psychologist, may cause him psychological discomfort.
The job of a psychologist is to help their patients work on those thoughts, behaviors or emotions that make them suffer and that generate great discomfort in him or her. What we should not do is try to change those thoughts, behaviors or emotions that we, in our personal opinion, consider to be wrong.
What we must be very clear about, and in order to avoid possible errors in consultation related to this aspect, is that if we do not feel capable of treating the patient because their opinions are too shocking to us or go against our way of being (e.g. , being homosexual and caring for a homophobic patient) it is better to refer him to a colleague or another professional who we believe will be able to handle the case better.
3. Don’t immerse yourself in the patient’s history
The patient who goes to the consultation should feel listened to and understood, as well as minimally valued.
For this reason, it is essential to immerse yourself in your history, knowing your name, surname, your partner’s name, job title, children and other aspects that are fundamental in your daily life.
We can keep these data on a sheet and, if we do not remember them well, review them from time to time during the session. although the best thing is to have done the review appropriately before receiving the patient.
If you do not do so, we force you to have to explain who you are, why you are going to the consultation, who your family is or the relationships you have with them and this, obviously, will give you the feeling that you are really wasting your time and money. money because he doesn’t see that going to therapy will help someone care about his situation and consider how to help him.
4. Not applying active listening
Every psychologist has heard the expression “active listening” on more than one occasion. It is considered a fundamental skill in the professional life of every therapist and we must master it. If we do not listen to what our patient tells us it will be very difficult know what is happening to you, why it is happening and how we can help you. This is why it is essential to comply with the following:
Pay attention and interest to what the patient communicates to us, both at a verbal, non-verbal and attitudinal level.
Process information and separate what is important from what is not.
Not hearing what we want to hear, but what the patient is trying to say.
Return listening responses, both verbal and non-verbal, showing the patient that we are actively listening to them.
There are people who are naturally skilled in the application of active listening and others, even if they are psychologists, find it a little more difficult. Fortunately, this skill can be perfected. there are multiple active listening exercises and some tips to apply it as we discuss in the following article:
Related article: “5 active listening exercises to train this skill”
5. Talking too much or not at all about ourselves
Here we enter a point that is the subject of debate among psychotherapists: is it okay to tell a patient things about ourselves? What can he do for you? Are we crossing the barrier between the professional and the personal?
Some are of the opinion that absolutely nothing personal should be said, and that we should focus exclusively on the patient’s life and his psychological discomfort. However, others consider that not talking at all about ourselves is a mistake, since we are too rigid with the patient and do not contribute to generating an environment of trust.
The ideal would be to talk about ourselves, but in the right measure and very occasionally. Self-disclosures can be useful at certain moments in therapy, although it is true that if the patient insists too much on knowing what our life is like, we must respond by emphasizing the importance of talking about him or her and not about us.
But we should not talk too much about ourselves, since we will be making a mistake. Therapy is for the patient, not for us, and that is not the place for us to talk about ourselves.
Self-disclosure should be a controlled offering of information, not a release of our personal life. If we want to talk about ourselves in therapy, let’s go to a psychologist and play the role of the patient.
Self-disclosures have several positive effects in therapy:
It makes the patient reveal himself to us more.
Increases patient trust in us.
The therapist is perceived as a warmer and closer person.
Improves the effectiveness of therapy.
What can be revealed during therapy?
Talk about our professional experience.
Age, marital status or number of children.
How we have handled certain problems or opinions.
Positive feelings about our patient.
How the therapy develops.
Negative feelings (less frequently)
Information about personal religious or sexual beliefs (less frequently).
6. Using overly technical language
When we talk to our patients, we should avoid using overly technical language or, if we have to use it, at least explain to the patient what each term consists of.
Using too many complex and technical words will run the risk of being pedantic, as well as give the patient the feeling that he has entered a place where he is not learning anything and it feels a little silly.
Under no circumstances do we want the patient to feel this way, since psychotherapy is to make them feel comfortable, open up and improve their psychological state. The therapist must introduce the psychologist’s language to the patient’s natural language so that he can understand what is being done to him and what techniques are being applied.
This It also applies even to patients who happen to be psychologists. Even so, we must introduce them to the techniques that we are going to apply, even if it is a minimal explanation or review. For example, if we are going to apply Jacobson’s progressive muscle relaxation technique, it is advisable to explain it at least a little.
7. Avoid the therapeutic alliance
This error consists of focusing too much on the techniques that we must use and ignoring the relationship we have with the patient.
It is normal that, at the beginning, we spend a lot of time designing and planning the sessions, something that is certainly essential when approaching any case. We do this to feel safer, with a greater sense of control over the therapy. However, Trying to control the situation too much, ignoring the relationship we are maintaining with the patient, can weaken the alliance. between patient and therapist.
As therapists we must master the techniques and tools that psychology offers us, but also strive to build a good therapeutic alliance since it is a positive predictor of the success of the therapy.
The therapeutic alliance is the implicit pact between the patient and the therapist, whose goal is to achieve therapeutic objectives. To ensure that this therapeutic alliance is adequate, it is advisable to take into account the following 3 aspects :
Positive emotional bond between patient and therapist.
Mutual agreement on the goals of the intervention.
Mutual agreement on therapeutic tasks.
Alliance is a continuous process, not something that is established suddenly as soon as you start therapy. It is essential that, as therapists, we monitor how psychotherapy is developing in order to maintain, improve and repair the alliance if necessary.
It is almost from the first year of psychology that the maxim states that We should not tell our patient what to do, but rather act as a guide in making their own decisions. The patient is the true owner of his life, his actions and his decisions and he must be responsible for his successes and his mistakes.
But although this is a fundamental idea in the life of every psychologist, it is also a fairly common mistake. The mistake would be to direct the patient towards a certain path, the one that we like and that we have not taken into account either the decisions or the will of the person we are caring for. That is to say, tell the patient what to do regardless of what they think or what they feel is uncomfortable.
What we must do is guide the patient towards the path that he or she wants to follow. If we tell the patient what he has to do and he has the bad luck that it doesn’t go well, we run the risk of him blaming us for what went wrong. On the other hand, if we limit ourselves to acting as a guide, it is less likely that something will go wrong and, if it does go wrong, we will be exempt from responsibility or blame since the decision was made by the patient.
9. Being too rigid and not making it more flexible
Although we must plan our sessions and have prepared all the tools that we are going to apply with the patient, it is true that the idea of perfection, excessive planning and high control of therapy are not good allies of our profession. In fact, it could weaken the therapeutic alliance.
It’s not that we should improvise in every session we do, but it is true that sometimes things will not go as we had imagined. , especially because the patient’s life is a process, unstable and changing. What we thought would work yesterday may no longer be useful today.
It may also be that, as the therapy progresses, the patient opens up more and more and reveals new information to us, data that makes us see that perhaps it is better to apply a new technique, different from the one we had planned to apply at the beginning, which is why perhaps it is more convenient for us, and above all better for the patient, for us to apply a new approach.
You may be interested: “Moral reasoning: what it is, and explanatory theories”
10. Not taking into account where the therapy is at
As therapists we must delve deeper into our patient’s feelings and emotions. Among our functions is to enter the depths of your mind, investigating your best-kept memories, your schemas, beliefs and values.
When doing this, we must be sure that we will be able to adequately control and manage the emotions and attitudes that we are going to awaken in the patient. When we open a door, we must be sure that we will be able to close it later.
Going deeper when you don’t touch means a lot of problems. If we do it ahead of time, the patient may feel intimidated and threatened, feeling that their time has not been respected. This will make you defensive and shut down.
On the other hand, if we take too long to delve deeper, it may happen that the patient also closes off, refusing to talk about his personal life at this point because he feels that he is already better and considers that there is no need to talk about something that he sees no relation to. problem that, on the other hand, seems to have already been solved.
Lastly, we have not going deep at all. Although the patient may not know that therapy has to go deeper at some point, When you finish it you will notice that not everything that should have been discussed has been covered. and you will have the feeling that you have not allowed him to vent as much as he wanted.
