The desire for self – knowledge and development, interest in people are the same conditions for professional growth as the previous qualities. Before you start to help others, an experienced psychologist should understand their own problems, to understand what abilities he has more developed, which are less, what are his strengths and weaknesses. After such introspection, the specialist will be able to use their advantages more effectively, and work on those qualities that are less developed. Only constant development, self-knowledge and introspection will allow the therapist to improve and grow in personal and professional terms. After all, work on yourself is the same indicator of competence, such as theoretical knowledge or mastery of techniques, and maybe even more important.
The profession of psychologist requires commitment and self-confidence. Such qualities are necessary to achieve results in any business. However, for the psychologist-practitioner, they are of particular importance, it is the inner core and strength that will allow the client to trust the specialist, and feel that their joint work will give the desired results and fruits. But do not confuse confidence with excessive self-confidence, using your authority to influence a person's choice. Sometimes there is a situation in such a way that the line becomes very thin, and sometimes it is difficult to feel it even for a professional. The goals and objectives of the psychologist is to act in the interests of the client, not to put pressure on him, to show all sorts of options, but this will be discussed later. At the same time, the consultant's self-esteem is also important. It must be adequate. Overestimated self-esteem will lead to the fact that the specialist will look at the client as if from above. Low self-esteem and uncertainty is destructive to the personality of a professional and is not allowed.
Tolerance and patience are essential qualities of a psychologist. The term tolerance means tolerance, acceptance, which may relate to the traditions and customs of other peoples, human behavior, his way of life or Outlook. To be honest, I do not like this definition, because tolerance sounds as if a person is forced to take a particular position, view, etc.Although the concept of tolerance is much wider and more diverse. This is not just tolerance and acceptance, but rather even the desire to learn something different from what we are used to, the ability to get out of the comfort zone, and expand your horizons. At the same time, we are not talking about giving up your point of view, opinions, habits, on the contrary, tolerance gives you the opportunity to see more, analyze, compare, share your experience, knowledge, get new information.
Thus, tolerance is important for the adequate perception of other people's views and worldviews. It is the Foundation of respect, understanding, openness, development and empowerment. That is why this quality is so important in the work of the psychotherapist. In addition, I would call tolerance one of the ways of knowledge that makes a person multi-faceted, versatile and more erudite. And these features, in turn, are also necessary conditions for professional development and work of a psychologist.
Analytical mind-another personal feature associated with the success and competence of the psychologist-consultant. The ability to analyze the situation, prioritize, think broadly and positively-fundamental skills that make the work effective. The tendency to analysis is manifested in the fact that a specialist can decompose the situation on the shelves, and then, like a puzzle, put it back together, consider from different points of view, without connecting emotions.
Of course, the work of a psychologist does not imply a complete shutdown of emotional perception, but conclusions and reasoning should be based on objective facts. It is important to Psihologicheskaya intuition or, in other words, insight. This ability should rather be called a kind of talent, gift, but also to develop it, too, can and should be. To have insight means to understand more than the client says, to see the hidden causes of his problems, to generalize all available information about the person and read it. This is quite a difficult task that requires experience and work on yourself. I must say that perspicacity – a rare talent, and not all psychologists are able to develop it fully. In my view, this ability is not just an indicator of competence and experience, but the highest achievement in professional development.
With all these features and qualities, communication skills, empathy and inclusion during communication with the client, the psychologist must have emotional stability and stress resistance. Emotional overload often leads to burnout, stress, depression. For a professional it is not excluded, but it is better if the self-control of a professional at a high level, and he counts his strength and capabilities. Emotional stability is manifested in calmness, in the ability to overcome strong feelings, and this is a kind of prevention of nervous breakdowns and psychological burnout. Also, these qualities contribute to rapid adaptation to changing working conditions and rapid switching from one person to another.
Observation and openness-qualities without which the work of a psychologist is simply impossible. Interest in people, the ability to notice seemingly insignificant details, attentiveness, ease, naturalness in communication and willingness to learn, to learn, the desire to see what others do not see. Without this it is difficult to imagine a successful specialist who helps people find solutions in difficult situations. The psychologist's answers to the questions are listed in another section.
In General, personal characteristics very clearly intersect with the professional activities of an experienced psychologist. Only under the condition of spiritual search, striving for self-improvement, goodwill, a specialist is able to maximize their potential and help others in this.