Psychologists and their “laser eyes” – a scary myth. Read here why you can feel free to open up in therapy in a self-determined way.

Many people believe that their psychologist can look directly inside them, ‘see through’ them with laser eyes, so to speak; they think the psychologist knows their deepest secrets, whether they want that to or not.

This myth of psychologists and their laser eyes can make people feel very insecure or even frightened. It makes people feel defenceless and vulnerable. Talking from the perspective of being a psychologist myself: in my private life, the top 3 responses when I first tell people about my profession are: ‘Oh, from now on I’ll have to be really careful what I’m saying’, ‘Oh dear, you must be analysing me now’ and ‘Have you already given me a diagnosis?’. In extreme cases, it can even happen that people don’t want to talk to me any more at all once I’ve told them about my profession.

Fact is: psychologists are naturally trained to empathise with their clients and react sensitively to changes in facial expressions and gestures, for example. However, they cannot “see through” someone. They need people to openly tell them what is bothering them.

When you tell your psychologist how you feel, they will ask you questions, repeat what they have heard in their own words or try to mirror the feelings underlying your statement. Psychological counselling and therapy takes a non-directive approach, which means that your psychologist will not give you direct advice or tell you what would be best for you and what you should do. You’ll be able to find this out using reflexive questioning techniques, for example, because the knowledge of what is best for you lies exclusively within yourself.

In psychological counselling and therapy, clients are allowed to ask themselves the following questions: do I want to open up to my psychologist and give them access to my feelings and thoughts? Or would I prefer to keep certain things to myself? How do the different options affect the progress of my treatment and my well-being?

Let’s talk about it in a free initial session!

#secret #openness #progress