The main qualities of a good psychologist. Essay - What a psychologist should be

What important professional personality traits of a psychologist can we talk about? To answer this question, it is necessary, first of all, to determine the purpose of the psychologist as a professional. His professional activity is aimed at providing psychological assistance to a specific person or group of people in the course of solving their mental problems, i.e. come to their aid in difficult times. The psychologist must use his professional knowledge in order to calm specific person during the grief that befell him, the misfortune that occurred, arising when solving some problems or difficulties. It should help people to be confident in their potential, restore their faith in life, arm them with optimism, ensure their psychological health, high quality life, to ensure their full development of personality. At the same time, the psychologist is faced with various kinds of life situations. varying degrees, including critical ones in which the client finds himself. The need to provide psychological assistance requires the psychologist not only to comprehensively study the situation in which the client or group of people find themselves, but also to intervene directly.

Klimov E.A. classifies the profession of a psychologist as a “person-to-person” type as a profession that requires special knowledge, skills, abilities, i.e. special training (qualification) of an employee, during which secondary characteristics of the specialty are formed. These signs include goodwill, a sense of empathy, emotional stability, intellectual activity, high level professional knowledge, ability to communicate with people, kindness, tact, observation, etc.

Professor Ovcharova R.V. examines the requirements for the personality and activities of a psychologist. Using R. Cattell's questionnaire, she presents the following personal characteristics of an ideal practical psychologist:

1. A psychologist must have high (general) mental abilities, be insightful, reasonable, free-thinking, and analytical.

2. The psychologist is sociable, therefore he prefers to work with people.

He is a sociable person, he is generous towards people, easily forms active groups, remembers people’s names well, is kind, tactful, and diplomatic in communication.

3. He loves joint actions, subordinates the interests of the individual to group interests, is conscientious, conscientious, has a sense of duty and responsibility, strong, energetic, and knows how to subordinate himself. He is brave and quickly solves practical issues.

4. The psychologist is emotionally stable, self-possessed, calm, really weighs the situation, and is resistant to stress.

Ovcharova R.V. lists “personal manifestations incompatible with the work of a psychologist”: immaturity of personality, low ego strength, low intelligence, lack of empathy, insufficient independence of thought, inability to solve one’s problems, excessive inhibition, low organization, poor resistance to stress, need for overprotection, high anxiety and guilt, low self-esteem.

These requirements are absolute, and it is difficult to find people who would organically combine such a multitude of properties and qualities, however, these standard requirements can serve as general guidelines.

In addition to the methodology multifactorial study personality of R. Cattell, in the study of PVC, psychologists use such methods as: a method for diagnosing the level of empathic abilities of V. Boyko; methodology for determining social intelligence; method for diagnosing the level of subjective control by J. Rotter; R. Amthauer's structure of intelligence test; method for determining selectivity and concentration of attention by G. Munsterberg; an original technique for diagnosing creativity.

Abramova G.S. names the following main qualities of the work of a qualified psychologist.

The psychologist must focus on the value of another person, on faith in his capabilities, abilities, “consider his client as a person capable of living in the context of culture, possessing a sense of perspective, the necessary level of reflection to demonstrate a variety of approaches to the problems of his life,” i.e. . a psychologist must have a high level of morality.

A qualified psychologist must be able to identify a variety of reactions (verbal and non-verbal) to a wide range of situations and problems of the client and avoid value judgments about the client's actions. Accordingly, the necessary quality is creativity, spontaneity and adequacy.

A psychologist must strive to understand and use many concepts in his work.

The practical psychologist is “culturally productive”, i.e. capable of developing a variety of thoughts, words, and behaviors within one's own culture and within other cultures.

A qualified psychologist understands and accepts the limitations of his capabilities, is ready to cooperate with colleagues, realistically assesses his capabilities and level of qualifications, “constantly reflects on the content of his professional activity»

Necessary for work is the awareness of interpersonal influence - the psychologist’s reaction influences the client and vice versa, the psychologist “specially highlights this influence, recording both his feelings, thoughts, desires and possibilities, and the client’s feelings, thoughts, desires and possibilities.”

For a psychologist, respect for the client’s dignity is an axiom.

Abramova G.S. believes that the position of a qualified psychologist should be based on professional reflection, and not on the content of the self-concept.

Aminov N.A. considers the main conditions for the professionalism of a psychologist to be communication skills, the power of influence on the behavior of other people and integral sensitivity to the object, process and result of psychological activity.

As part of the psychophysiological approach to the study of individual differences and human abilities, a relationship was identified between communication abilities and natural typological prerequisites, in particular, the weakness and lability of the central nervous system and its adaptive properties.

Obozov N.N. pays attention to the following qualities:

1. Non-judgmental attitude towards individual differences of people;

2. Sensitivity to emotional state the person who is nearby, a tactful attitude towards the client.

3. Plasticity (dynamism combined with flexibility), i.e. the ability to easily switch from one topic to another, easily get out of dead ends;

4. Emotional restraint and tolerance - the ability to avoid neurotic and subjective deviations in one’s own assessments and behavior. Be extremely restrained in response to the client’s breakdowns, be able to relieve the anxiety of another, calm them down - tolerance for possible neurotic breakdowns of the client;

5. Maintaining a general culture of behavior, i.e. use of knowledge of cultural heritage samples;

6. The ability to build and maintain your line of behavior to the end, i.e. the ability to promptly return the conversation to a given topic if the client jumps from one topic to another or any discussion goes beyond the scope of objectivity;

7. Having knowledge in the field of possible behavior of people in conflicts.

The important moral qualities of a psychologist are certainly considered to be benevolence, respectful attitude towards people, sensitivity, responsiveness, altruism, humanity, and intelligence.

Of great importance for a practical psychologist are the communicative qualities of his personality: the ability to understand other people and psychologically correctly influence them. A psychologist must be able to work with people, understand characters, and have not only psychological knowledge, but also psychological intuition. The communicative qualities of a psychologist that are important for his professional activity can be considered attractiveness, sociability, tact, politeness, the ability to listen and understand another person. In general, the complex of these qualities is often called “communication talent.”

The general attitude towards life and activity is manifested in such personal qualities that are significant for a psychologist as responsibility, organization, optimism, openness, curiosity, observation, independent judgment, creativity, flexibility of behavior, and the ability to reflect on one’s experiences.

For a psychologist, such emotional manifestations of personality as ease, naturalness and sincerity in communication, resistance to stress, emotional stability, and the ability to empathize are important.

The necessary strong-willed qualities of a psychologist include persistence, patience, and self-control.

The necessary personal qualities of a practical psychologist include the ability to empathize and the ability to understand the client’s condition. However, the ability to maintain some distance is also important. If this psychohygienic rule is not observed, the psychologist may experience burnout syndrome and communication overload.

A necessary quality of a practical psychologist is confidence in behavior with a client. Otherwise, he will not earn the client's trust.

At the same time, it is important to avoid excessive self-confidence and faith in the infallibility of one’s psychological conclusions. The tactlessness of a psychologist is manifested in his tendency to attribute supersignificance and exclusivity to his profession. The demonstrative behavior and narcissism of the psychologist repels the client.

It is important for a professional psychologist to have adequate self-esteem, to understand individual characteristics your personality, your abilities, strengths and weak sides character. At the same time, it is useful to know ways to compensate for your own personal shortcomings.

Social intelligence is one of the important PCTs of a psychologist. Social intelligence is an integral intellectual ability of a person that determines the success of communication and social adaptation. Social intelligence combines and regulates cognitive processes associated with the reflection of social objects (a person as a communication partner, a group of people). The processes that form it include social sensitivity, social perception, social memory and social thinking. One of the most common studies of social intelligence is psychological test Guildford. According to J. Guilford, social intelligence is a system of intellectual abilities associated with the knowledge of behavioral information.

Social intelligence provides an understanding of people’s actions and actions, an understanding of a person’s speech production, as well as his nonverbal reactions (facial expressions, postures, gestures). It is a cognitive component of the communicative abilities of an individual and professionally important quality in professions such as “person - person”.

Social intelligence is a professionally important quality for “person-to-person” professions and allows one to predict the success of the activities of teachers, psychologists, psychotherapists, journalists, managers, lawyers, investigators, doctors, politicians, and businessmen.

According to N.A. Aminova and M.V. Molokanov, the leading components of the abilities for psychological activity, for thoughtful work with people are the abilities to understand the behavior of other people. The study of the role of social intelligence in the activities of psychologists is not found in science, but the analysis of sources on psychological work allows us to assume that of the many personal qualities necessary for a successful psychologist, there are also constituent components of the structure of social intelligence. And for everyone structural element In the process of psychological activity, priority will be given to its component of social intelligence, its leading function, as well as skills that allow solving problems at different stages of psychological work.

The connection between social intelligence and psychological activity is expressed in the fact that, on the one hand, psychological activity is provided by social intelligence, performing cognitive-evaluative, communicative-value and reflexive-corrective functions; on the other hand, knowledge of systems, transformations, classes and behavioral results act as operational mechanisms for the activities of a psychologist. The components of the structure of social intelligence are manifested in the ability to use verbal and nonverbal means of transmitting information, learning as much as possible about the client, restoring all the details of the studied context of the conversation, predicting the result of the work done, etc.

The training of a psychologist, including the creation of conditions for the targeted development of such a quality as social intelligence, ultimately ensures a high level of professional success for the psychologist. This level is characterized by the psychologist’s ability to apply theoretical knowledge to solve practical problems, to transform theoretical knowledge into applied knowledge (M.M. Balashov). Thanks to his skills, a specialist realizes the goals and objectives set before him, consciously and skillfully choosing the most appropriate forms, methods and means of professional activity. Mastering this unique algorithm presupposes the formation of appropriate skills or operational readiness, which, from our point of view, can be formed as a result of the development of social intelligence.

Another necessary quality is the development of self-knowledge. Limited self-knowledge means limited freedom, and deep self-knowledge increases the possibility of choice in life. The more a psychologist knows about himself, the more will understand better their clients, and vice versa - the more a psychologist gets to know his clients, the deeper he understands himself.

Taking personal responsibility is also an important quality. Since many work situations arise under the control of a psychologist, he must be responsible for his actions in these situations.

There is also a code of ethics for psychologists. The work ethics of a psychologist are based on universal human moral and moral values. The ethical principles and rules of work of a psychologist formulate the conditions under which his professionalism, the humanity of his actions, the respect of the people with whom he works are preserved and strengthened, and under which the efforts of the psychologist bring real benefits. The Code includes 4 main principles: 1) The principle of respect; 2) The principle of competence; 3) The principle of responsibility; 4) The principle of honesty.

T.A. Prokofieva writes about the traditionally identified ethical principles for a psychologist: 1. Do no harm! 2. Don't judge! 3. Accept a person for who he is! 4. Principle of confidentiality 5. Respect your colleagues at work, their right to professional creativity and independent choice working methods.6. Principle professional competence. 7. Maintain a level of mutual revelation with the client, do not allow him to tell his most intimate things about himself. 8. Do not deprive the client of the right to be responsible for his rights and actions.9. Do not flaunt your knowledge, strive to help the client first independently formulate certain provisions and conclusions. 10. The principle of voluntary participation in psychological procedures.11. Respect yourself as a person and as a specialist! These ethical principles are spelled out in the special Code of Ethics for Psychologist. From the Code of Ethics for a Psychologist, you can understand what professionally important qualities a specialist should have.

Thus, we have reviewed a list of important professional qualities, principles and provisions characteristic of the profession of psychologist. The main ones include: high mental abilities, empathy, sociability, sociability, tact, responsibility, emotional stability, calmness, tolerance, creativity, goodwill, humanity, social intelligence, organization, etc.

What qualities should a psychologist have? Even people far from this profession understand that a specialist in problems human soul something different from them. First of all, a psychologist has the ability to live his days well and not waste them. He strives to systematically restore mental balance and constantly works on himself. After all, if you don’t do this, you can very quickly undermine nervous system only due to a lack of positive emotions.

As a rule, most people turn to a psychologist only when critical situations when he doesn’t feel strong enough to deal with the problem on his own. Let us consider in more detail the main personal characteristics of such a specialist.

Empathy

Having thought about what qualities a psychologist should have, it is necessary to note this personality trait. Being able to listen to the client is very important. It is necessary to create a trusting environment in the room where the counseling process takes place. Otherwise, it will not be easy for the person who crosses the threshold of the office to relax and put their thoughts in order. Empathic listening allows you to achieve high results regardless of the field in which the specialist works: in children's educational institution, government organization or is engaged in private practice.

Responsibility

What qualities should a psychologist-educator have? First of all, it's patience. After all, we have to deal with stress in children associated with adaptation in a team and various age-related changes. You must be able to take responsibility for the result. Psychologist’s mistakes can be very costly for patients: making the wrong decision, worsening the problem, increasing the level of anxiety. That's why you should try to avoid them as much as possible. When starting a professional activity, a psychologist must remember the responsibility assigned to him.

Responsiveness

Good specialist always tries to understand his interlocutor. When turning to a psychologist, every person expects to find support and understanding. Typically, before seeking help, people try many options to get rid of their fears, doubts and insecurities. Sometimes a lot of time passes before a person really begins to realize the need for change.

When thinking about what personal qualities a consulting psychologist should have, one should note such a characteristic as responsiveness. The ability to feel what is happening to the patient and understand his feelings is very important. Having chosen a profession aimed at helping others, you cannot become a soulless robot who cares about nothing except your own well-being.

Congruence

This concept means non-judgmental acceptance. A psychologist should not try to criticize the person who is seeing him. You cannot try to impose your point of view on him or lead him to make a certain decision. Many people ask: what qualities should a consulting psychologist have?

Of course, be emotionally flexible, get rid of the inner critic. Congruence implies that the specialist is trying not to judge, but to truly understand his interlocutor.

Observation

What qualities should a psychologist have? To be able to identify the problem in time, a specialist must be extremely attentive. There is no need to rush or make hasty decisions here. Every word spoken must be weighed for its appropriateness in the given context. Observation is an integral characteristic of the job. The more professional a psychologist works, the more attentively he will pay attention to all the details and draw appropriate conclusions.

Emotional detachment

It is necessary in order to be able to abstract yourself from the story that the client is telling. This quality has visible advantages - it allows the specialist not to immerse himself in the patient’s inner world. Otherwise, the psychologist will not be able to preserve his peace of mind. Gradually, the body's defenses will begin to deplete.

When you constantly encounter problems and emotional disorders among others, there is a high probability of adopting some destructive patterns of behavior yourself. For this reason, a psychologist must have strong nerves and take care of his mental health. Emotional detachment allows you to learn to abstract yourself from what is happening in especially difficult moments.

Sociability

Self-control is not a guarantee of success in professional activity. You need to be a communicative person, happy to interact with others. If a closed person who himself has communication problems comes to psychology, it will be very difficult for him to work with people. He may be able to get to the root of the client's problems, but he will probably not be able to provide him with real support.

Thus, when studying the question of what qualities a psychologist should have, it is necessary to turn to the issue of self-improvement. Constant personal growth allows you to avoid long-term anxiety, depression and fears. Since a psychologist constantly interacts with people, he must be able to not only provide real help, but also to protect yourself from possible unpleasant consequences. This is not as easy to do as it seems.

What qualities should a psychologist have? Even people who are far from this profession understand that a specialist in the problems of the human soul is somehow different from them. First of all, a psychologist has the ability to live his days well and not waste them. He strives to systematically restore mental balance and constantly works on himself. After all, if you don’t do this, you can very quickly undermine the nervous system just because of a lack of positive emotions.

As a rule, most people turn to a psychologist only in critical situations, when they do not feel strong enough to cope with the problem on their own. Let us consider in more detail the main personal characteristics of such a specialist.

Empathy

Having thought about what qualities a psychologist should have, it is necessary to note this personality trait. Being able to listen to the client is very important. It is necessary to create a trusting environment in the room where the counseling process takes place. Otherwise, it will not be easy for the person who crosses the threshold of the office to relax and put their thoughts in order. Empathic listening allows you to achieve high results, regardless of the field in which the specialist works: in a children's educational institution, a government organization, or in private practice.

Responsibility

Responsiveness

A good specialist always tries to understand his interlocutor. When turning to a psychologist, every person expects to find support and understanding. Typically, before seeking help, people try many options to get rid of their fears, doubts and insecurities. Sometimes a lot of time passes before a person really begins to realize the need for change.

Congruence

Of course, be emotionally flexible, get rid of the inner critic. Congruence implies that the specialist is trying not to judge, but to truly understand his interlocutor.

Observation

Emotional detachment

Sociability

Thus, when studying the question of what qualities a psychologist should have, it is necessary to turn to the issue of self-improvement. Constant personal growth allows you to avoid long-term anxiety, depression and fears. Since a psychologist constantly interacts with people, he must be able not only to provide real help, but also to protect himself from possible unpleasant consequences. This is not as easy to do as it seems.

The article discusses personal and professional quality using the example of a practical psychologist, however, in our deep conviction, these qualities are simply necessary for all specialists in the field of mental state and human health - psychiatrists, narcologists, sexologists, psychotherapists and others.

First block professionally important qualities of a psychologist include the orientation and motives of professional activity. This is, first of all, the humanistic orientation of the individual, a specific professional orientation and a flexible “I am a concept”.

Second block - these are requirements that relate to the social-perceptual qualities of a person, the ability to correctly display social facilities, in particular - psychological observation.

Third block - requirements for personality traits related to the process of processing and understanding social information. These are the requirements for social thinking, his criticality, professional reflection.

Fourth block - requirements for qualities related to the transfer of information and communication.

Let's look at these requirements in more detail. Note that the boundaries between the outlined complexes of qualities that form blocks are quite arbitrary.

So, first block. The personality of a psychologist should be characterized, first of all, by a humanistic orientation, which is manifested in goodwill, endurance, sensitivity, sincerity, friendship, openness, optimism towards children and adults. A practical psychologist should also be characterized by a specific professional orientation - interest in a person, his inner world as a subject of cognition and transformation. A psychologist should not have stereotypes in the system interpersonal relationships. This is a person who has a positive perception of himself and others, is calm, confident in his humanistic aspirations, and is capable, of course, of having a positive attitude towards those he helps. In addition, a practical psychologist, as a specialist working with a uniquely complex object - a person, must be distinguished by a clearly expressed motivation for improvement, self-improvement and professional growth, with a constant expansion of the range of goals and motives of professional activity, enrichment of the “I - concept”.

The second block of professionally important qualities. The activities of a psychologist present high requirements to perception and attention. A psychologist must have special psychological observation - the ability to see the defining qualities of a person, character traits, temperament, will, by seemingly insignificant, at first glance, little noticeable phenomena and signs, to understand a person’s state by subtle changes in behavior; notice symptoms of trouble; quickly discover the strongest and weakest aspects of an individual, determine his status in the group. That is, a highly qualified psychologist must have the ability to obtain versatile and deep information about the psychological qualities of an individual in a fairly short period through direct contact with a person. Developed psychological observation is especially necessary for more accurately identifying and describing the individual psychological characteristics and abilities of people. We must not forget, however, that observation is a complex mental process, in which perception is closely related to the activity of thinking (comparison, discrimination, analysis), memory, imagination and the entire personality of the observer, interests, motives, orientation.

In the work of a psychologist great importance have emotional and volitional properties. Self-control, self-control, initiative, courage in communication and other qualities have a significant impact on the success of work under time pressure, in conflict situations, as well as in daily activities in " optimal mode". Desired characteristics are also: reliability, restraint, warmth, optimism, openness, ease, energy, adaptability. The presence of opposite qualities in a candidate for the profession of a practical psychologist - unpredictability, impulsiveness, hostility, pessimism, stiffness, lethargy, inadaptability - can be serious an argument in favor of this person’s professional unsuitability.

It is imperative to define another serious requirement for a psychologist - he must bear personal responsibility for his judgments, assessments, recommendations, demands and actions.

Consequently, the requirements for practical psychologists are very high. So high that the question arises: can there even be a person who is able to fully meet these requirements? The answer is quite predictable - most likely, it is very difficult to find such professionals.

But we deliberately give an ideal portrait of a practical psychologist in order to expand the limits of a specialist’s self-improvement as much as possible, and given the fact that professional and personal growth continues throughout a person’s adult life, the desire to match the described portrait is the path to outstanding professionalism.

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08.02.2011

To be a good psychologist, it is not enough to go through a quality school in theoretical and practical psychology. A person who decides to devote himself to this science must have certain personal qualities. Some of them can be acquired during your studies, and some must be had from the moment you determine your future profession.
If you turn to practicing psychologists, the survey results will show that there are only a few of the most necessary qualities. And all the rest can be acquired in the process of studying the chosen specialization and gaining practical experience.

So, the most important quality of a future psychologist should be respect for the person and genuine interest. Students should show a sincere desire to understand inner world a person, the characteristics of his psyche, the motivation of his actions and way of thinking. This interest cannot be instilled: it is either there or it is not there at all.

Among other important qualities a good psychologist And tolerance– display of tolerance towards other people, the desire to perceive other people’s manifestations without irritation and aggression. This quality can be developed, but it is quite difficult and time-consuming, and is also fraught with the appearance of hidden aggression in the psychologist. Therefore, it is important that tolerance has already been developed a priori.
The next important quality is flexibility and adaptability. This means that you must be able to quickly admit your mistakes, change behavior depending on the situation, and easily get used to new conditions - life and work. If you have this quality, then you have every chance of becoming an excellent psychologist.

Like any humanities course, it requires sensitivity from the student, or sensitivity. Ideally, you should be able to feel and guess about the person whose problems you will need to consider. This quality can be developed, but it must be present in you at least in some form.

Here are the main personality traits that distinguish a professional psychologist from a beginner. Among the important ones, it is also worth noting the psychologist’s ability to clearly express his thoughts; the ability to understand another person, as well as manage one’s feelings and their manifestations. All this can be developed if desired.

It is important that the psychologist should not get tired of abundant communication with other people. If you find it difficult to have intense conversations with people who have problems, you run the risk of quickly burning out at work. You don't need to turn to other people to understand how suitable you are to work as a psychologist and whether you have all the listed qualities? This is a big plus, because a psychologist must first of all know himself and his capabilities.