It is everything that happens from the moment you get in contact with a psychologist, everything that is worked on, both inside and outside the sessions. In the evaluation phase we obtain the necessary information to understand the difficulty you are going through, the origin of this difficulty and the reason why it continues to exist today. After generating this hypothesis, we will enter fully into the treatment phase, giving special importance to work and perseverance to promote change.
Finally, in the follow-up phase is where we aim to consolidate the therapeutic achievement by putting into practice what has been learned and spacing the sessions until the change is consolidated.

Am I weak for realizing I have a difficulty and trying to find a new way to manage it?
I once had a patient who worked in maintenance tell me, “In my job it is so clear to me that if I lack the right tool it will take me much longer to do the job efficiently that faced with the difficulty of how to deal with this situation of my son, I understood that I would not be using the right tool, that’s why I’m here.” Do you really think that person is weak?
In any case, honest, conscientious, responsible, curious? but weak? NO.

NO.

A psychologist is a licensed professional with a university education and a higher degree. A psychologist must always belong to his or her professional association and must have a membership number.

A therapist/coach does not require a recognized degree or diploma, anyone could be one, acquiring training through non-regulated courses or even without any of these.

Every treatment is unique, just as every request and every person who makes it is unique. While there are people who come with a very specific demand and no or slight pathology, there may be others with more diffuse demands along with an increase in pathology or difficulty. Some people come with a real motivation for change while others come with more resistance, some have the time and dedication to do the tasks and make the effort to change, while others find it more difficult to get involved outside of the session. All these factors must be taken into account. It is said that the average cognitive-behavioral process lasts from 8 to 12 sessions, although this implies that there are processes that last from 2 to 4 sessions, while other people require 14 to 18 sessions.

It is understood that this generates enough space for people to mature and put into practice the work done in the session and, at the same time, to give continuity to the therapeutic process. If the conditions require it, a biweekly visit can be made, but more frequent visits are only advisable in advanced stages of psychological treatment where the aim is to give the patient the wings to put into practice what he/she has learned and gain the ability to be his/her own therapist.

In very acute or critical cases, it could be considered to visit more than one session per week, but this should be assessed by the psychologist and only in really necessary cases. Probably, if we are in this situation, it is because the patient has been discharged from a hospital process in an admission format or is in a very acute situation where hospital admission to a patient could be considered.

Everything discussed in the sessions is governed by the double parameter of confidentiality. On the one hand, the code of ethics of the College of Psychologists and on the other hand, the data protection law.

In case the patient gives you express and conscious permission to share something, being able to revoke it whenever he/she wishes or, in those circumstances in which not disclosing the confidential information would result in an imminent danger to the integrity of the same person or third parties.

Online therapy has gained a foothold since the pandemic came into our lives. Previously it was a resource that was used less frequently, but this stage that we have experienced has shown us the virtues of this methodology.

The advantages are:

• There is the possibility of generating a space of trust in which we can save time and travel.
• It gives us greater time flexibility and eliminates geographical limitations.

It is good to note that, except in specific cases where I would advise against the use of this format, it can be used in a wide range of difficult situations with the same success rate.