The job description of the psychological counselor ...
often still causes confusion in society. Are they psychotherapists, psychiatrists, alternative practitioners, social therapists, coaches or even clairvoyants? None of this is the case!
Psychological counselors see themselves as psychosocial life coaches, among other things, and in the 21st century they de facto represent the extended family and the pastor of the 19th and 20th centuries. They close the gap left in the conventional healthcare system by the overburdening of general practitioners, who used to be able to act partly as pastors, and provide preventive support for the mental health of clients. In the sense of a psychosocial service provider, they advise mentally healthy clients outside of the medical profession. The list of activities describes the tasks and areas of counseling as distinct from medicine.
Psychological counseling can therefore essentially be understood as a solution-seeking, clarifying and supportive form of intervention that is limited in time and does not represent a treatment for mental illness.
In principle, the overarching ultimate goal of psychological counseling is to improve the problem-solving skills of healthy people and to improve their subjective well-being.
Due to current social developments and their consequences for each individual, an increasing need for counseling for people in difficult life situations is to be expected.
As the increasing pressure to perform, unemployment, high divorce rates, information overload, lack of contact, communication deficits and the parallel loss of family and real friendships are placing an ever greater burden on people, it is obvious that the need to resolve stressful life situations efficiently and sustainably in a short space of time is growing.
More and more people enjoyed an excellent education or vocational training - but were not sufficiently taught by their parents or at school to successfully overcome the challenges of everyday life or even strokes of fate.
In subjectively stressful situations, it does not help if they seek advice from an untrained person. As people generally assume that they have to present a solution as soon as they are asked for advice, the final solution will be that of the person giving the advice and not that of the person seeking it. As a result, the person seeking advice may not be able or willing to fully integrate the solution into their value and belief system.
In contrast to friendly problem-solving discussions, the aim of psychological counseling is to provide objective, neutral and appreciative support to the client in clarifying their problems. The counselor uses learned counseling techniques and specific questions to find individual solutions. However, it is a prerequisite that the possible solutions are only ever found by the client themselves.
This implies counselling for the prevention, clarification or alleviation of life problems, crises of any kind, inter- and intrapersonal conflicts such as decision-making problems, questions about life changes, issues relating to general, professional or family reorientation, stresses associated with ageing or retirement, career planning, optimization of leadership behaviour, improvement of communication, etc.
The motivation for seeking psychological counseling is usually a current problem that is subjectively perceived as difficult to solve. People usually feel disoriented, overwhelmed or faced with an insurmountable hurdle.
Nevertheless, they feel mentally healthy and recognize that their situation can be changed and solved, even if the subjective feeling of suffering can be so considerable that it reaches the level of an individual illness, even without the presence of a mental disorder.
The primary goal of psychological counseling is therefore per se to improve quality of life.
It can be conscious and planned psychological counseling and support for healthy people of all ages in a wide variety of problematic and decision-making situations.
Psychological counseling provides suggestions for understanding oneself and one's social environment better, discovering and developing individual social and personal skills, living in harmony with oneself and one's social environment again and, above all, listening to individual needs again and implementing them!
Counseling is always goal- and solution-oriented. It provides professional support in reducing existing problems, stresses and strains in the private, partner, family and work spheres. The solution-oriented development of strategies for overcoming problems, disorders and stresses in all areas of life ultimately leads to stabilization, improvement and enhancement of quality of life.
Training as a psychological counselor is not only trendy, but also offers you a secure foothold for your future
a secure foothold for their future in an industry with constantly growing demand......
Even in ancient times, the activity of the "psychological advisor" was of great importance. In his day, Socrates saw himself as the midwife of true knowledge, which only emerges through independent thinking. (Plato: Theaetetus 149-151d) In his guidance and support for his own thinking, Socrates saw the right help for self-help. It is not without reason that Socrates is regarded as the first psychological counselor, insofar as he gave everyone advice on all matters of life.
But even in today's world, in which people are exposed to immense psychological pressure due to often rapid and emphatic changes and developments, which is often difficult to cope with in a time of social loneliness, psychological counseling outside of medicine is indispensable as a health care strategy.
At a time characterized by psychosocial stress, existential pressure, constant competition and interpersonal problems, a growing need for care for mentally ill or elderly relatives and loneliness, the need for advice is increasing dramatically.
People in problematic life situations are not helped if they talk to their family members or confidants and look for solutions there. Only professional help can provide sustainable solutions through an objective and neutral view of the problem situation and possibly protect people from long-term mental illness.
And it is precisely for these reasons that the profession of counselor is absolutely in vogue. Whether in companies or in private life - psychological counselors are in demand like never before. This is because this profession focuses precisely on the psychological stress points of those seeking advice and provides support in overcoming life crises - before a mental illness possibly develops.
The task of the psychological counselor is to support people in acute stressful situations and to work with those seeking advice to find ways out of the crisis, to strengthen the client's psychological well-being and ultimately to prevent mental illness.
The psychological consultant offers uninfluenced, neutral and also appreciative support for the client. Whether in large corporations or in a private consulting practice, the psychological consultant can be optimally deployed and offer those seeking help solutions in order to optimize the client's life.
Psychological counselors see themselves as so-called life coaches or psychosocial counselors who are primarily active in prevention. They are the modern counterpart to the philosopher of antiquity, the pastor and the extended family who provided advice in the past.
Nowadays, they close the gap between general practitioners, who no longer have the time to provide pastoral care to their patients due to the overload of the healthcare system, and psychotherapists, whose area of responsibility often only begins with mental illness.