Psychology is a diverse scientific field that deals with the study of the mind and behavior of humans. It also encompasses the study of mental states, emotions, thoughts, and processes of humans.
Psychologists help individuals, families, and couples deal with the challenges of life, cope with stressful situations, manage mental illnesses, overcome addictions, and more. It is a psychologist’s responsibility to help people improve their quality of life by understanding their thoughts and emotions.
However, a degree in psychology is not the only thing you need to become an effective psychologist. To be able to help people efficiently, psychologists must acquire an essential set of traits. These traits are the actual parameters of how good of a psychologist you are or can be.
This article discusses the most important qualities you must have if you wish to become a psychologist.
1. Active Listening
To become an effective psychologist, the most essential trait you must possess at all costs is active listening. Active listening is a psychotherapeutic technique through which you can closely listen to your client and understand the severity of their problem.
Without active listening, you cannot understand the depth of your client’s emotions. It is also an important part of therapy because there’s a lower chance of a communication gap if your client feels heard and understood. They will be more comfortable expressing themselves in front of you.
You can use non-verbal cues, such as maintaining eye contact while they speak, nodding, leaning forward to listen to them, etc. It will help your client believe you are interested in listening to them.
Formal education can help develop this essential skill and others. With an online psychology degree, you can learn to develop and master these traits and be exceptional in this profession. Moreover, you will need at least a bachelor’s to be able to work as a credible psychologist.
2. Empathy
Empathy is just as essential as active listening. Listening to a client without empathy is not helpful at all. Empathy and sympathy are often used interchangeably, but they are different. The ability to understand a person from their frame of reference rather than your own, imagining yourself in their shoes and vicariously experiencing their feelings, is what it means to be empathetic. With empathy, you can deeply understand your client and communicate with them effectively.
You must know that your patients will come to you to speak about their feelings, and most of them seek validation. If you fail to provide them with that validation, you will not be able to create a healthy and comfortable environment for them.
To make therapy work and to help your client, it is crucial to ensure that they feel understood by you. Highly empathetic psychologists/therapists can help their clients face their past experiences by making them feel validated and understood while helping them process difficult emotions and experiences.
3. Trustworthiness
Psychological therapy only works if your client trusts you enough to open up to you about their problems and the challenges they have been facing. It begins with creating a trustworthy relationship with your client. If your client does not fully trust you, they will feel reluctant to speak about things that make them uncomfortable.
You can find out how much your client trusts you by paying attention to how much and what they tell you. If they only share superficial details with you, the level of trust in your therapeutic relationship needs work.
Making your client trust you is possible by taking a few measures. Remember to make them believe that you want to listen and understand them. Give them space, and do not judge them for anything they tell you. Keep their private information confidential. Taking these few steps will help build trust between the client and you. Moreover, be patient with them because many people take time to share important personal details.
4. Patience
As a psychologist, it is your responsibility to help your clients overcome traumatic experiences and ensure that they lead meaningful lives with good mental health. However, it takes a considerable amount of time to help clients snap out of difficult situations.
For example, if you are dealing with a patient with depression, it can take a lot of time to treat them. Therefore, psychologists need a lot of patience in the process of recovery.
It is important to stay calm and hopeful to see an outcome that you are waiting for. If you deal with the situation with patience, you will be able to think of better solutions. Being impatient can affect your relationship with the client and harm your reputation as a psychologist. Patience is a tough skill to master, but it is equally essential. You may get frustrated sometimes but remember not to let that frustration get to you.
5. Problem-solving
After being a good listener and building trust in your therapeutic relationship, you must have a problem-solving approach to treating your patients. Listening to them and understanding them is not the only thing that can solve a case. In fact, it is just the beginning. Patients will come to you with complex situations, and you must have the emotional intelligence to come up with solutions to their problems.
Do not conclude every situation haphazardly. Instead, be patient and wait for them to fully let you in on the intricate details of their situation/problem. Take your time to analyze the case, and then formulate your strategy to cater to that problem. This is how you can incorporate a problem-solving approach into your therapy plans.
Conclusion
It is a psychologist’s job to learn behaviors and help people cope with life and its challenges in a healthy way. Psychologists help clients improve their mental health so that they can effectively deal with the difficulties of life. However, only having a professional psychology degree does not make you a competent psychologist. You must develop some basic and essential qualities to perform your job perfectly. These qualities include empathy, active listening, a non-judgmental approach, a problem-solving attitude, understanding, and patience, to say the least.
