Becoming a Psychotherapist

1 Becoming a Psychotherapist A psychotherapist or therapist is at the front and center of helping individuals, families, schools, and communities with social issues such as suicide, bullying, depression, homelessness and discrimination. The profession also involves helping people with a wide variety of mental health conditions and debilitating emotional conditions learn to cope and face challenges appropriately. Therapists are specially trained to address the issues that cause these problems in order to provide the most effective treatment.

The term therapist may also include other professionals who offer a variety of social services such as counselors, social workers, psychologists, psychiatrists and mental health nurses. The process of talking about your difficulties, feelings and thoughts with a person who is able to provide a clearer perspective will often help in solving the problems, or at least developing healthier coping mechanisms.

How Therapy Sessions are Conducted A therapist conducts a therapy session on an individual, couple, family, or groups depending on the issue at hand. The magnitude of the issue will determine the number of sessions, the length of the sessions and the frequency with which they occur. Therapy may be a short-term, or long-term project depending on the complexity of the problem (Dryden & Spurling, 2014). Each therapy session is geared towards helping the client get closer to solving their problems and achieve the kind of life that they want. The client is encouraged to talk openly about what is going on in their life. The therapist should listen attentively without judging or interrupting. Unless the client shows intent to harm themselves or others, the therapist should not disclose the information shared to an external party.

Sociological Perspective

2 People identities and experiences are shaped significantly by the lens with which society views them, otherwise known as sociological perspectives. In conducting therapy on an individual, couple, or group, the therapist should consider the sociological perspectives that lead to certain behavior and outcomes. The therapist has an obligation to look at how the individual relates to the people and situations that surround them, and whether this has a positive or negative effect.

Human behavior must be understood in their entirety from multiple dimensions. For instance, to understand the problems encountered by a client facing racial discrimination, the therapist must seek to learn more about the community’s perception of people of that race, and also the client’s perception of themselves (McDowell, 2015). Additionally, to learn more about homelessness, the therapist must first understand the client’s social and economic background.

Bullying and aggression can also be analyzed from a sociological perspective. Family, peers, economic background, and socialization have a significant impact on how people interact with each other, as well as their ability to pursue opportunities.

Conclusion Suicide, bullying, depression, homelessness and discrimination are among the social issues that plague society today. People tend to act in accordance to the prevailing social and cultural norms; this forms their identities. As a result, there are people who are socially more disadvantaged than others due to life events, experiences and how they are perceived by other members of society. The majority of people who encounter these problems require therapeutic help in order to overcome them. Factors such as prohibitive costs, ignorance and stigma may hinder people from taking the necessary steps to attain professional therapeutic help.

3 Reference Dryden, W. & Spurling, L. (2014). On Becoming a Psychotherapist. Routledge.

McDowell, T. (2015). Applying Critical Social Theories to Family Therapy Practice. Springer.