The misinformation among people on the figure of the psychologist is really great. In addition to the traditional prejudice that those who are dealing with a psychologist is crazy about the nature of things, is interesting to note the different types of reactions when I tell someone who majored in psychology and that are entered (by little and finally) Roll of Psychologists ... The most popular
that is often voiced by way of joke is: "So now I know where to turn for my mental problems", followed by the surprising revelation that in reality just as much of a joke is not. The top five
there surely also the variant of the paranoid type, "but then as now we are talking, you're definitely looking at me!" The answer I would give every so often is: "no, I was simply ignoring them and thinking what to prepare for dinner tonight ..." Alas, we are not Borg not seek information hidden in the minds of others and above all, apart from pathological cases, we like to do a conversation for the sheer pleasure of chatting without obtaining food for thought for designing future experiments or disprove theories psychological .
Even worse are the people (and fortunately are quite rare) who believe that a psychologist to know all techniques of persuasion more efficiaci and use them to "cheat" constantly people. Well no, not always the case, otherwise we will make all agents as a profession ...
Following are another classic: "Last night I had a strange dream, you who have studied psychology, you tell me what it means?" And then you also want the numbers to play the lottery?!
reactions when you are having more fun but not a specific psychotherapist but a psychologist work, especially with colleagues from the various temporary jobs I did last year. The best are those who look at you with suspicion (especially in business realities rather large) and they think you're some sort of indicator of personnel management or even the leadership to control the progress of workers at lower levels. For example, when talking about issues in the workplace or with colleagues / managers just see you smile and you change the subject, expect you to be at a safe distance and start again from where they stopped talking softly. Every so often I am tempted to make me a laugh, passing next to them, saying that the university also teach us to read minds, so it is not necessary to speak softly or change the subject, but then turn back, or those who handle them to him by the mind then these things ...
Personally I am of that to be valid for psychologists to be more useful that a good dose of empathy (seasoned with a certain capacity for detachment in some contexts) and a good ability to both criticism (constructive, possibly ) to above all others that self-criticism, then, apart from this, it is not necessary to be able to telepathic aliens probing every aspect of the unconscious human with a simple chat .
E ', however, also true that certain beliefs developed in part also because of some people who have taken a degree in Psychology you believe in God or exploit land, sometimes even unconsciously, the "power" who acquire for a variety of mechanisms that trigger with your patient / client.
In conclusion, on the one hand it would be nice that the world look to the psychologist in a different way, getting rid of many false beliefs, and sometimes absurd, the other is very important that we psychologists try not to give a wrong image of what who we are.
