Why is going to the psychologist booming?

Since Psychology was born as a science at the end of the 19th century, it has gone through a process of evolution and diversification of its areas of study and intervention in people's problems.

On the one hand, it has been influenced by the social, economic, and political changes that have occurred in recent decades to adapt its objectives, techniques, and methodologies, and on the other, it has contributed to transforming society and making us see the mind human and mental health with different eyes. Due to this bidirectional phenomenon, today we are experiencing a true boom in applied psychology ; More and more people are looking for this type of services, and the needs and problems that are addressed by Psychology are more varied. Let's see why this has happened.

Why is it more and more common to go to the psychologist?

The rise in popularity of Psychology as a useful discipline for day-to-day problems and the experiences of all kinds of people has not come about by chance; It responds to a series of social, technological and social transformations that have contributed to making the work of psychologists more flexible, accessible and valued than it was a few decades ago. We see what these changes consist of.

1. The emergence of online psychology

In a relatively short time, online psychology has gained great popularity, in part helped by the COVID-19 crisis and the mobility restrictions applied by the governments of many countries due to the coronavirus. Part of its success lies in how simple it is: it only changes the communication channel, which becomes a digital platform that allows video calls; the rest remains the same.

This way of having the services of the psychologist allows you to save the trip to the professional's consultation , and also makes it possible to lower the cost of each session. By the way, it is a very good alternative for those who, due to health problems or because they live in isolated areas, have problems leaving the house and traveling long distances.

2. The destigmatization of psychological problems

Not so long ago, it was assumed that the psychologist's work was limited to helping "crazy" people or, in any case, those who had severe cognitive deficiencies or learning problems. Even among patients from well-off classes, it was common to perpetuate the stereotype of the well-to-do woman with “hysteria” problems, basically problems associated with neurosis and altered moods, in part fueled by suggestion. This made it easy to associate psychology with intervention in stigmatized groups: people marginalized by society, women who were considered "a burden", bad students...

Fortunately, and although there is still work to be done in this regard, nowadays the lives of those who experience problems traditionally associated with this kind of role have been destigmatized, and it is assumed that any type of person, rich or poor, with more or less intelligence, male or female, may need to see a psychologist .

3. Increased awareness of mental health issues

This element is closely related to the previous one; In the same way that the stigma that had been placed on those who went to the psychologist has been weakening, the conception of what a mental health problem is has gained many nuances; It is no longer supported by stereotypes and a very simplistic view of what it is like to need professional help in this area .

For example, depression has come to be seen as a very common psychopathology that can manifest itself in a wide variety of different experiences, and that occurs even in those who appear from the outside to be successful, well-liked and popular people. It cannot be taken for granted that a diagnosis gives us a clear and predictable picture of an individual's behavior and way of thinking, and knowing this means that more people are interested in psychotherapy services.

4. The emergence of more specialties in applied psychology

As a result of the influence of Positive Psychology, it has been evolving until Psychology is not so focused on disorders and cognitive or learning deficits, opening more towards ways of addressing the needs of people from a humanistic perspective, that is to say, that it takes into account the potential to exploit the talents and concerns of the individual.

For this reason, much of the work of psychologists is not limited to correcting the "lack of" something, but also works to expand the positive qualities that are already present in the individual, even if it is latent . In this way, action is not only taken to mitigate symptoms that cause discomfort, but also support is given to those who want to carry out personal and professional development processes, sometimes under the name of “coaching”.

Regarding personal development, this type of support involves helping people to connect with their values ​​and with the priorities that stem from it through a process of self-discovery, setting exciting and motivating goals that add meaning to their daily activities in the short term. and in the long term, and teach them techniques of emotional management and time management that are in line with achieving the objectives that have been marked in that roadmap. In short, experiencing personal development consists of experiencing truly significant projects for oneself, and learning to face the challenges that come to us in that context.