Imagine that you are a person struggling with mental health issues (for example, intrusive thoughts, panic attacks) or certain emotional difficulties (such as increased irritability or mood swings), or you simply have some questions related to this field (for instance, whether hallucinations can occur in obsessive-compulsive disorder, whether you might “lose your mind” from anxiety and fears, or what it means when a neurologist tells you that you have a “neurosis”).
Now, imagine that you decide to seek additional information or answers to your questions from a specialist — let’s say, a psychologist. You open Google and type “psychologist.” Then you choose someone and write to their email or Facebook page. You start with something like “Hello, dear Mr./Ms. X…” or “Hi doctor, may I ask you a question…” or in some other way. The specialist replies. They answer one or two of your questions, and you think: “Wow, what a good specialist, replied so quickly,” or “Glad I found them, how clearly and politely they explain,” or maybe you don’t think much and just continue writing.
Then, after your third or fourth question, the specialist replies: “Sorry, I cannot continue at this moment. If you wish, I can offer you a formal consultation.”
You look at your watch — it’s been only 5 minutes since the conversation began. You wonder, “Is it really so difficult to dedicate another 10-20 minutes and answer my questions?” You think, “All I need is a couple of simple answers; they’re not doing anything extraordinary, they’re just talking.”
You get upset or even angry that this psychologist turned out to be so “inhumane” — you’re in a difficult situation, you just wanted to clarify a few things, and they immediately redirect you to a paid consultation.
You may get offended and write: “Please, just answer this one last question…” or “I thought you were a trustworthy and kind person, but now…” or “How arrogant of you — what’s so hard about answering a couple of questions…” and so on.
You’re emotional, irritated. You might even post about this incident on Facebook to calm down or tell your mom during your next conversation how cold and heartless this psychologist turned out to be, saying things like “A psychologist should first and foremost be kind and humane…” and so on.
From this point, there could be many possible developments, but let’s stop here.
Now, please imagine that you are a psychologist.
You genuinely want to help people (because that’s exactly why you chose this profession — if your primary goal had been to earn a lot of money, you surely wouldn’t have chosen to become a psychologist, especially in Armenia).
But you’re frustrated because you cannot allocate enough time and resources to help everyone, and you are often forced to offer paid consultations to people who approach you with questions — a service that is, unfortunately, not accessible to everyone (although there are well-founded reasons for its cost).
Okay, without delving into your entire professional journey (which, in terms of skill development, looks something like this), without discussing how much effort, time, and money it took to get to your current career stage, just imagine or recall the following:
The number of people who have mental health problems or questions and who try to contact you (or other specialists) is very large because: a) Think about how many Armenian-speaking people there are worldwide;
b) Add to that the fact that, according to WHO and other agencies, 4-10% of the global population has mental health problems;
c) Add the fact that the number of people who have questions is even larger than those who have diagnosed problems;
d) Add also that you, let’s say, work in more than one language, and people approach you in Russian, Spanish, or other languages.
Now it becomes clear why you receive so many messages, letters, and calls.
Yes, it’s clear — but you, your colleagues, and maybe some potential clients know this, but not everyone.
Your day, like anyone else’s, has only 24 hours. Naturally, the time you can dedicate to work is limited.
That’s why, in practice (even with the greatest desire), you cannot answer all messages and questions completely — even if you close your office door, decide to stop earning money, and work only on a volunteer basis, you would still not have enough time.
To competently and fully respond to the vast majority (80-90%) of questions you receive, it’s necessary to ask many additional, clarifying questions. That already becomes a consultation — which is precisely your job, the way you earn money to meet your and your family’s needs and to live with dignity.
And most importantly, the cost of your services as a psychologist (as with most helping professions) is based, among other factors (which I discussed in detail earlier), on time.
You are paid for your time.
And even if, from the outside, it seems like people are “just asking questions” and it “shouldn’t be so hard for you to answer,” remember that at the very least, they are taking your life’s most valuable resource — your time — which you could otherwise spend earning income, improving yourself, or simply resting and enjoying life.
Now, once again, imagine that you are a person with mental health difficulties, emotional struggles, or simply questions about this field…