The psychology community is currently experiencing a complicated situation due to the uncertainty generated by the pressure to obtain official recognition. ISEP has contacted some of its former students to talk with them about their lives as psychotherapists, how they are experiencing this situation, and how they see the future.
Margarita Messina completed the Master’s in Clinical and Health Psychology at ISEP 7 years ago.
Tell us a little about yourself.
I have a degree in Psychology. After finishing my university studies, I decided to continue my education because I still didn’t feel capable of starting to work as a therapist with real patients. I decided to do the Master’s in Clinical and Health Psychology at ISEP because a friend of mine had enrolled. It had been recommended to her for being practical training and for providing recent graduates with the necessary tools to confidently attend to the most common cases that appear in consultation.
I really feel that I did the right thing. I wasn’t prepared to face a session with a patient; I lacked confidence. The master’s helped me to be a real psychologist. And now it’s been five years since I opened my own practice.
The situation that new professionals are experiencing is a bit confusing due to the implementation of new official training to obtain recognition as a General Health Psychologist. Did you apply for the recognition?
No, not at all. I didn’t apply for it.
And can’t you have problems practicing if you don’t apply for it?
No, because I practice psychotherapy and I don’t need any official recognition to do so. If I had wanted to be a Clinical Psychologist, I would have done the PIR or, in the absence of calls for applications, applied for my recognition as a General Health Psychologist. But having one recognition or another doesn’t mean that patients will come on their own; I wouldn’t get more visits.
My business cards say psychotherapist, and for now, I live doing what I love most, and I feel fulfilled as a professional. Patients come to my practice because I do my job well. I don’t have a website or advertise! I only get referrals or people from the neighborhood who know me. For me, that means more than a simple official recognition on a diploma: it’s a recognition of my dedication and work.
I would like to ask the clients of some of my colleagues, who are General Health Psychologists, if they know that their psychologist has that recognition. I don’t think anyone cares about that: the important thing is to treat the patient well, to do your job well.
Isn’t it harder to open your practice now than it was years ago?
I opened mine 5 years ago, already in the midst of the crisis. When I finished the Master’s, ISEP provided me with offices so I could start working. I didn’t have money, but I had a lot of desire. Getting a helping hand is essential nowadays. ISEP still offers office sharing to its students, and it’s a perfect option to start your professional career. I recommend it to everyone.
When I had my first patients, and some income, I decided to rent a small apartment, less than 60 square meters. And I’ve been in it ever since. I can also do it because I didn’t do the PIR or apply for recognition as a General Health Psychologist. If you apply for it, you must adapt your practice to current regulations, with access for people with reduced mobility, for example, and the investment involved is difficult for someone starting out.
The best thing is that now I live from my work, I have my own practice, and I collaborate with other professionals to offer comprehensive care to my patients. I work with a speech therapist and a child psychologist whom I also met at ISEP.
How do you see the future of the profession?
I don’t know about the profession’s future. Mine is full of work. The future depends on each individual. If I do well, I will have patients. In our profession, referrals are our source of new patients, our future. There’s nothing better than a person who, with your help, has regained their smile, has seen their child improve in their studies, or how a couple has regained their passion.
Being a psychologist is a vocation; it’s wanting to help anyone feel better and gain quality of life. Perhaps it sounds like a cliché, but that’s what I think. Humanity will always need help to continue growing, to know how to face changes. Psychotherapists are an essential pillar for the development of society.