Questions and Answers

I’m looking for a psychotherapist. There are only a few who do psychodynamic therapy here, just about four or five of them. Two of them are out of town so I don’t really have a choice. I already know the person who is supposed to be the best. The problem is that I already have a sort of a relationship with him. I have been contacting him to help me out in my academics because he is also a professor of psychology at the university. He couldn’t do much to help me though. But every time I would call him I felt my low self esteem and I felt like he doesn’t like me and I’m bothering him. Since I don’t have much of a choice of psychotherapists, I was wondering if I should get into therapy with him. But with such a relationship, don’t you think the psychotherapeutic process will be affected?   Your dilemma raises the issue of dual relationships in psychotherapy. Actually, it’s the psychotherapist’s responsibility—not the client’s responsibility—to avoid any dual relationship such as teacher-psychotherapist, business partner-psychotherapist, sexual partner-psychotherapist, and so on. For example, if you were to have a psychotherapist who is also your professor, his knowledge of your personal issues could unconsciously influence the grades he gives you. In your case, the professor of whom you speak could ethically function as your psychotherapist as long as you are not taking any classes from him for a grade. And, if he does become your psychotherapist, you should never take any classes from him in the future. If you can accept these terms, then choose him; if you cannot accept these terms, choose someone else. As for your personal feelings about this man, the whole issue of your low self-esteem is a good reason to be in psychotherapy in the first place—and what better way to encounter it than with this professor. In other words, we should be using psychotherapy to face up to and overcome the ugly aspects of our lives; if, in the psychotherapy you hide or avoid these aspects of yourself, then you really are not doing psychotherapy in the first place.    Back to the list of questions

No advertising—no sponsor—just the simple truth . . . DID MY WORK help you? Have you found insight into your behavior? Have you found information unlike anywhere else? Then why not make a Quick & Easy donation to this freewill website to express your gratitude for my labor in creating something substantial, something that can change your life for the better? Huh? Donations? Freewill website? What’s this about?   A Guide to Psychology and its Practice www.GuideToPsychology.com   Copyright © 1997-2007 Raymond Lloyd Richmond, Ph.D. All rights reserved. San Francisco, California USA This website provides a vast amount of free information about the practice of Clinical Psychology. On the Introduction page, you can discover the website’s purpose and philosophy. Browse through the Subject Index, or Search the entire website for a word or phrase. Use the Feedback Form to send comments. And, if my work has been informative and helpful, send a freewill donation to help offset my costs in making this website available to everyone without charge.