Psychological counseling clinic

Stop guessing. The psychological consultation clinic is neither a "psychiatric clinic" nor an emotional ATM that can clear all your worries with one click. It is essentially a place that provides professional support to all those who are stuck with psychological problems and emotional distress - whether it is as small as insomnia for a week in a row, or being stuck in panic for half a month after an argument with family members, or as big as being diagnosed with depression or anxiety disorders and requiring systematic intervention with drugs. There is no need for the shame of "I can't enter this door if I'm not sick."

When I was an intern at the psychological clinic of the Municipal Mental Health Center, I met too many people who stood at the triage table for a long time and did not dare to go in. Last week, there was a little girl in high school uniform who squatted at the door for more than 20 minutes with her schoolbag strap in hand. The first thing she said when she came in was "Auntie, I always have a stomachache during exams. Are you being too pretentious to come here?" ”She went to the gastroenterology department three times before, and there were no problems after gastroscopy. Finally, the gastroenterologist asked her to come to the psychological clinic for a check-up. After four cognitive-behavioral consultations, she adjusted her cognitive bias that "failure in the exam means life is over". When she came for a follow-up visit last week, she said that her stomach did not hurt during the mock exam that had just ended. After leaving the exam room, she went to buy sausages with her classmates.

If you go there for the first time, you will most likely fill out a few sets of scales first. Don’t think that the hospital is overcharging. The 90-item symptom list and the Anxiety/Depression Self-Rating Scale are all routine procedures in domestic outpatient clinics. They only cost 100 yuan in total, which is much cheaper than taking a chest X-ray. The doctor must first use these scales to rule out whether you have organic problems - for example, hyperthyroidism will make you have a bad temper, and hypothyroidism will make you unmotivated every day. They can't just talk to you about your childhood and treat physical problems as psychological problems, right?

It’s normal for the counselors you meet to have different styles. You don’t have to think, “I’m looking for the wrong person.” If you meet someone with a psychoanalytic orientation, they may ask you after a few words how your relationship was with your parents when you were a child. You may roll your eyes and think, "Why is it that my quarrel with my partner now has to do with my mother not buying me a doll when I was ten years old?" ”Don't rush to deny it, they are just looking for the root of your current pattern of coping with intimate relationships. Many of the emotions you think are "inexplicable" are actually hidden in your childhood coping habits. If you come across a cognitive-behavioral school, they may give you a small assignment after chatting for 15 minutes. For example, the next time you can't help but attack yourself, immediately take out your mobile phone and write down 3 small things that you did successfully that day, even if it is "I got up on time today." This school has quick results and is suitable for solving specific short-term problems, such as test anxiety and self-denial habits left by PUA in the workplace. There are also counselors with a humanistic orientation who may listen to you more than they say throughout the whole process. If you cry for half an hour, they will not interrupt you, let alone say, "Is this a big deal for you?" and will just stay with you quietly. This type of counselor is especially suitable for people who have long felt that no one understands them and cannot find an outlet for their emotions.

Don’t be frightened by the saying that “it takes dozens of psychological counseling sessions to get better”, and don’t think that “I went to it once and it didn’t work, so that’s a lie.” There used to be a boy who worked in Internet operations. He suffered from insomnia for three weeks because his project was canceled. He came to do two relaxation training + cognitive adjustment. After returning, he was able to sleep through the night. He has not been here since. But there was also a client who had the experience of being neglected by his family for a long time in his childhood. He had accumulated emotional stuck points for more than 20 years. He came to the clinic once a week for almost a year before he slowly reconciled with himself. Everyone's problem level is different. How can there be any unified "treatment standard"? Just like if you take medicine for three days to get rid of a cold, but you have to stay in the hospital for half a month for pneumonia, you can't ask all psychological problems to be solved in one session. That would be too difficult for the counselor, right?

Oh, yes, there is also the issue of confidentiality that many people are concerned about. Consultants in regular outpatient clinics have strict ethical requirements. Even if you tell him that you secretly changed your boss’s coffee to cold boiled coffee last week, he will not say a word to you. Unless you clearly say that you want to harm yourself or others, you will go through the legal warning process. You can rest assured about this. As for the question of whether to take medicine, there is no need to talk about the color of the medicine. If you have reached the level of severe depression, can't even get out of bed every day, and have recurring thoughts of self-harm in your mind, then you must first take medicine to stabilize the level of neurotransmitters. Simply relying on consultation is too slow and can easily lead to danger. ； But if you just recently fell out of love and can't get over it, and you eat and sleep normally, then the doctor generally won't prescribe you medicine. Don't think that "if you don't prescribe medicine, you don't take my problem seriously."

Yesterday I passed by the clinic where I was a trainee, and I happened to see the little girl who was a sophomore in high school jumping out with her mother, holding a strawberry-flavored ice cream in her hand. The sycamore tree at the door had fallen yellow leaves, and they swirled and drifted away when the wind blew. To be honest, psychological counseling clinics are really not as mysterious and scary as everyone thinks. It is just like going to an orthopedic surgeon when your knee hurts, or having a tooth filled when you have a cavity. You just come here to find a professional to help you slowly untie the knot that you cannot understand. There is really nothing to be ashamed of.