1. Insufficient preparation and training.

A psychologist must have a strong theoretical foundation and understanding of psychological concepts, methods and techniques. Insufficient education or a frivolous approach to training can lead to inadequate understanding of the client’s problems, incorrect diagnosis and incompetent assistance.

2. Neglect of supervision.

Lack of supervision can result in missed valuable opportunities for learning, reflection and improvement of practice. Learning new methods and techniques, as well as analyzing individual situations with a supervisor, expands the possibilities in working with a client, allows you to avoid mistakes and correct any difficulties that arise in a timely manner.

3. Too strong identification with the client.

Empathy is great, but experiencing the client’s problems as one’s own can lead to a shift in focus to one’s own experiences and limit the professional’s ability to maintain objectivity and independence in the work.

4. Work for free, hesitate to take money from clients.

The inability to establish financial relationships with clients and working for free lead to rapid burnout, as well as a decrease in the assessment and recognition of the professional skills of a psychologist. Free, regular help also does not help the client take responsibility for the recovery process.

5. Help without asking.

In the quest of a novice psychologist to radically improve a client’s life, one must always adhere to the principle of moderation and proceed from the client’s request. Setting clear and realistic therapeutic goals is an important aspect of a psychologist’s work. It is necessary to be able to listen and understand the client’s needs in order to formulate goals that will be aimed at solving the problems expressed by the client.

6. The desire to cure the client in 1 session.

It is important to understand that the psychotherapeutic process requires time and gradual development, as well as systematic and in-depth exploration, working on symptoms and developing new skills and understanding. Psychotherapy can be a process spanning several sessions, several months, or even several years, depending on the complexity and nature of the client’s problem.

7. Inability to set boundaries.

Failure to set boundaries can lead to a violation of ethical standards and even the creation of a dependent relationship with the client. Clear time frames for the session, a preliminary agreement on the terms of therapy, the opportunity to write between sessions – all of this helps create a clear framework in which there is clarity and safety.

8. Enter into friendly or intimate relationships with clients.

Working with psychological needs implies a high level of trust and openness; the psychologist actually acts as a parent, an adult on whom the client can rely; abuse of trust causes irreparable harm to the client. The client’s romantic feelings towards the psychologist are most often due to transference. If a psychologist cannot cope with his feelings, he needs to undergo supervision and redirect the client to another specialist.

9. Take responsibility for the client’s decisions.

The consultant’s task is to help the client learn to make responsible decisions independently. The client will be able to come to a solution to his problem not if he receives a ready-made recipe or algorithm of actions, but will be able to identify the origins and underlying reasons for his actions.

10. Self-confidence, lack of self-analysis and personal therapy.

It is important to understand that self-confidence without proper self-analysis and personal therapy can become an obstacle to effective psychological help. Regardless of experience and status as a psychologist, a professional must constantly strive for self-development.

Without self-analysis and personal therapy, a psychologist may miss the opportunity to resolve his own emotional and psychological problems, to see his own stereotypes and prejudices, which can affect his work with clients, objectivity and impartiality.