Perhaps due to the influence of counselingperhaps due to the influence of humanistic psychology, there are many people who believe that psychologists are basically characterized by being a kind of mystics.
Not the kind of mystics so alienated that it is impossible to relate to them, but the kind of spiritual gurus who act as an inspiring mirror for others. People who, having achieved a very high degree of understanding of the human mind, They are able to adapt their ideas to make room for any other way of thinking and connect with it
In other words, it has come to be assumed that the psychologist is the one who transforms his own philosophy of life into a very simple principle: always empathize with others, without giving more importance to your own ideas than those of the other
This idea, of course, is based on an exaggeration about the degree of skills that psychologists acquire throughout their career; After all, they are people of flesh and blood. However, my opinion is that this idea is not only misguided, but it is also harmful and is simply used to try to silence certain ideas and opinions.
It is very common to hear phrases like “it seems incredible 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 for something, but that, in most cases, this type of complaint does not occur when a psychologist expresses ignorance about a topic that he or she should master. , but when you behave in a way that is not liked and that is considered 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, it is possible that the lack of tact in giving an unambiguous point of view and being very committed to a form of opinion will be criticized. see things.
This does not happen with almost any other profession: doctors, engineers or carpenters can have a very settled philosophy of life and talk about their ideas without major concerns, but the psychologist seems to be obliged to have to speak for everyone, maintaining 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 include different ways of thinking. .
Market with empathy
But psychologists They do not rent their way of thinking to constantly accept the points of view of others with the aim of creating empathy.
First of all, a psychologist is defined by what he does in his professional role, not in his personal life. That a psychologist should not confront a patient’s ideas, for example, does not mean that he cannot express opinions diametrically opposed to someone in any other situation.
This, which seems obvious, is often overlooked due to the influence of two elements: relativism and constructivism taken to the extreme.
The belief of “anything goes”
From radical relativism, especially in its aspect of cultural relativism, it is assumed 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, you must develop a special sensitivity to “connect” with the other person’s mind at a certain time and place, to help them get closer to a certain goal.
In this vision of psychology, it is not considered that there are certain theories about behavior that are more valid than others because they have been empirically tested, and consequently psychologists they do not have the added value of knowing better the mental processes of people 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 (that’s 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 implementation of an almost artistic sensibility It is totally contrary to the notion of psychology as a science.
What defines psychologists is not their ability to establish therapeutic connections with other people; This is just one of the characteristics of a certain class of psychologists: those who intervene on specific people and groups of people. Furthermore, even during therapy the psychologist does not have to assume all the contents of the patient’s speech as true, and has good reason to believe, for example, that a mystical experience in which a saint appeared has not been real.
What all psychologists have in common is that, to do their work, they use scientifically generated knowledge and, therefore, allows to reduce uncertainty about a topic Psychologists try to predict people’s behavior to a greater or lesser extent taking into account a series 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. Complaining because someone who is trained in psychology does not accept the “truth about oneself” is meaningless precisely for that reason.
