Todays blog focusses on what it is like to be a psychologist. A field where you listen and support those who need it from an objective, evidence-based perspective. This can be quite a demanding field, but hear from one of our very own psychologists about her experience in the field.
Whenever I talk to people, be it friends, relatives or clients, I always encounter the same question at some point. “How do you deal with doing what you do? Isn’t it hard?” Oddly enough, the answer is not a simple one.
Often when people think of visiting a Psychologist, they imagine laying on a fancy couch, disclosing their deepest, darkest secrets to a man in a brown suit, holding a clip board who seems overly interested in their childhood. While I can’t speak for everyone, I certainly don’t wear brown suits, and people don’t usually lay down when they come to see me. Instead, you are more likely to find toys, music, games, and teamwork.
At childpsych and You Matter, we work with a combination of children and adult clients. This means that in a day we can go from playing Jenga and doing arts and crafts to build self-awareness and emotion regulation skills in children, to conducting Psychoeducation Assessments assessing for ADHD and Autism, to helping adults manage the anxiety of working from home while home-schooling children. It is safe to say that no two days are the same, which is hugely refreshing!
It would be naïve, and frankly incorrect to say that the job of a Psychologist is always easy. What job is? However, the one thing you can be assured of is that every single person working in this field is doing so because they have an absolute passion for the job. In order to work as a Psychologist we must go through at least six years of fulltime education and training, and as part of this, we learn how to manage the tricky days. More often than not, this involves supervision of our own where we can debrief with a superior, and a whole lot of self-care.
The whole purpose of doing what we do is the satisfaction we get when we help our clients to reach their goals. Whether that is helping a child to sleep in their own bed; support someone through the process of grief; or diagnose and treat a neurodevelopmental disorder; our goals are always the same – to help our clients live the life they want, the way they want.
If you are interested in discussing any of the points further, we would be more than happy to hear from you. Feel free to send an email to admin@youmatterpsychologists.com.au and we will answer any questions you may have.
