Profession psychotherapist

Psychotherapists assist and treat healthcare users with varying degrees of psychological, psychosocial, or psychosomatic behavioural disorders and pathogenic conditions by means of psychotherapeutic methods. They promote personal development and well-being and provide advice on improving relationships, capabilities, and problem-solving techniques. They use science-based psychotherapeutic methods such as behavioural therapy, existential analysis and logotherapy, psychoanalysis or systemic family therapy in order to guide the patients in their development and help them search for appropriate solutions to their problems. Psychotherapists are not required to have academic degrees in psychology or a medical qualification in psychiatry. It is an independent occupation from psychology, psychiatry, and counselling.

Would you like to know what kind of career and professions suit you best? Take our free Holland code career test and find out.

Personality Type

• Social / Investigative
• Investigative / Enterprising
• Investigative / Social

Knowledge

• Psychological theories

  The historical development of counselling and psychological theories, as well as the perspectives, applications, and interviewing and counselling strategies.

• Psychiatric disorders

  The characteristics, causes and treatment of psychiatric disorders.

• Historic development of psychotherapeutic schools

  The timeline of the psychotherapeutic schools of practice, their general description, characteristics and fields of application.

• Conditions for the professional practice of psychotherapy

  The institutional, legal and psychosocial practices and regulations related to the practice of psychotherapy.

• Psychopharmacology

  The awareness of various effects that medicines have on the patient or client's behaviour, mood and thinking.

• Scientific research methodology

  The theoretical methodology used in scientific research involving doing background research, constructing an hypothesis, testing it, analysing data and concluding the results.

• Supervision of persons

  The act of directing one individual or a group of individuals in a certain activity.

• Psycho-social forms of intervention

  Types of support activities and interventions that can reduce stressful events, symptoms or risk and improve the quality of life.

• Psychosomatics

  Interdisciplinary medical specialty addressing the connection between the social, psychological, and behavioral attitudes and their impact on human processes.

• Psychiatry

  Psychiatry is a medical specialty mentioned in the EU Directive 2005/36/EC.

• Psychopathology

  The criteria of psychiatric diagnoses, the use of the disease classification system, and the theories of psychopathology. The indicators of functional and organic disorders and the types of psychopharmacological medications.

• History of patient's psychotherapeutic problems

  The records of the patient`s previous psychotherapeutic problems or disorders.

• Personality development theories

  The theories of the healthy and psychopathological personality development.

• Psychology

  The human behaviour and performance with individual differences in ability, personality, interests, learning, and motivation.

• Therapy in health care

  The principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions.

• Health care occupation-specific ethics

  The moral standards and procedures, ethical questions and obligations specific to occupations in a health care setting such as respect for human dignity, self-determination, informed consent and patient confidentiality.

• Psychological diagnostics

  The psychological diagnostics strategies, methods and techniques concerning health-related experiences and behaviours as well as mental disorders

• Disorders affecting self-awareness

  The consciousness process related to various medical disorders and illnesses and its manifestation and treatment options.

• Theories of personality

  Theoretical conceptions of personality, such as psychodynamic theory, humanistic theory or behaviorism.

Skills

• Promote mental health

  Promote factors that enhance emotional well-being such as self-acceptance, personal growth, purpose in life, control of one`s environment, spirituality, self-direction and positive relationships.

• Conclude the psychotherapeutic relationship

  Conclude the process of the psychotherapeutic relationship, making sure that the patient's needs are met.

• Counsel clients

  Assist and guide clients to overcome their personal, social, or psychological issues.

• Ensure safety of healthcare users

  Make sure that healthcare users are being treated professionally, effectively and safe from harm, adapting techniques and procedures according to the person's needs, abilities or the prevailing conditions.

• Discuss the end point of therapeutic intervention

  Identify a possible end point of therapeutic interventions with the patient in accordance with their original goals.

• Work on psychosomatic issues

  Work with body and mind issues such as the spectrum of human sexuality and psychosomatic ailments.

• Evaluate practice in psychotherapy

  Adopt a critical attitude towards existing psychotherapy models and their applicability to individual clients.

• Provide a psychotherapeutic environment

  Create and maintain a suitable environment for the psychotherapy to take place, making sure the space is safe, welcoming, consistent with the ethos of the psychotherapy, and meeting the needs of the patients as far as possible.

• Manage psychotherapeutic relationships

  Establish, manage and maintain the therapeutic relationship between psychotherapist and patient and client in a safe, respectful and effective way. Establish a working alliance and self-awareness in the relationship. Make sure the patient is aware that his/her interests are a priority and manage out-of-session contact.

• Work in a multicultural environment in health care

  Interact, relate and communicate with individuals from a variety of different cultures, when working in a healthcare environment.

• Provide treatment strategies for challenges to human health

  Identify possible treatment protocols for the challenges to human health within a given community in cases such as infectious diseases of high consequences at the global level.

• Work with healthcare users under medication

  Work with healthcare users who are using prescribed medications and other drugs.

• Respond to healthcare users' extreme emotions

  React accordingly when a healthcare user becomes hyper-manic, panicky, extremely distressed, agressive, violent, or suicidal, following appropriate training if working in contexts where patients go through extreme emotions regularly.

• Advise on healthcare users' informed consent

  Ensure patients/clients are fully informed about the risks and benefits of proposed treatments so they can give informed consent, engaging patients/clients in the process of their care and treatment.

• Conduct psychotherapy risk assessments

  Conduct risk assessment procedures, making use of any tools or guidelines. Recognise language used by the patient that might imply harm to self or others asking direct questions if required. Facilitate the process of getting the patient to discuss any thoughts of suicide, and quantify the likelihood of these being put to practice.'

• Accept own accountability

  Accept accountability for one`s own professional activities and recognise the limits of one`s own scope of practice and competencies.

• Identify mental health issues

  Recognise and critically evaluate any possible mental health/illness issues.

• Manage personal professional development

  Take responsibility for lifelong learning and continuous professional development. Engage in learning to support and update professional competence. Identify priority areas for professional development based on reflection about own practice and through contact with peers and stakeholders.

• Facilitate the psychological development of the healthcare user

  Facilitate the process of self-discovery for the healthcare user, helping them to learn about their condition and become more aware of and in control of moods, feelings, thoughts, behaviour, and their origins. Help the healthcare user learn to manage problems and difficulties with greater resilience.

• Apply context specific clinical competences

  Apply professional and evidence based assessment, goal setting, delivery of intervention and evaluation of clients, taking into account the developmental and contextual history of the clients, within one`s own scope of practice.

• Use psychotherapeutic interventions

  Use psychotherapeutic interventions suited to the different stages of treatment.

• Interact with healthcare users

  Communicate with clients and their carer’s, with the patient’s permission, to keep them informed about the clients’ and patients’ progress and safeguarding confidentiality.

• Motivate patiens

  Encourage the patient's motivation to change and promote the belief that therapy can help, using techniques and treatment engagement procedures for this purpose.

• Manage healthcare users' data

  Keep accurate client records which also satisfy legal and professional standards and ethical obligations in order to facilitate client management, ensuring that all clients' data (including verbal, written and electronic) are treated confidentially.

• Comply with quality standards related to healthcare practice

  Apply quality standards related to risk management, safety procedures, patients feedback, screening and medical devices in daily practice, as they are recognized by the national professional associations and authorities.

• Develop a collaborative therapeutic relationship

  Develop a mutually collaborative therapeutic relationship during treatment, fostering and gaining healthcare users' trust and cooperation.

• Contribute to continuity of health care

  Contribute to the delivery of coordinated and continuous healthcare.

• Record the outcome of psychotherapy

  Keep track of and record the process and results of the treatment used in the psychotherapy process.

• Decide upon a psychotherapeutic approach

  Make an informed choice about which type of psychotherapeutic intervention to apply when working with patients, according to their needs.

• Follow clinical guidelines

  Follow agreed protocols and guidelines in support of healthcare practice which are provided by healthcare institutions, professional associations, or authorities and also scientific organisations.

• Adhere to organisational guidelines

  Adhere to organisational or department specific standards and guidelines. Understand the motives of the organisation and the common agreements and act accordingly.

• Conceptualise healthcare user’s needs

  Get an idea of what the healthcare user needs are and visualise the case, the possible solutions, and treatments to be applied.

• Keep up with current trends in psychotherapy

  Keep up with current trends and debates in mental health services, being aware of changes in social, cultural, and political thinking about psychotherapy and of the interplay of various theories. Stay informed about increases in the demand for counselling and psychotherapies, and be aware of evidence-based research, the appropriate measurement tools for psychotherapy, and the need for research.

• Formulate a case conceptualisation model for therapy

  Compose an individualised treatment plan in collaboration with the individual, striving to match his or her needs, situation, and treatment goals to maximise the probability of therapeutic gain; considering any possible personal, social, and systemic barriers that might undermine treatment.

• Handle patient trauma

  Assess the competences, needs, and limitations of people affected by trauma, referring the patients to specialised trauma services where appropriate.

• Listen actively

  Give attention to what other people say, patiently understand points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times; able to listen carefully the needs of customers, clients, passengers, service users or others, and provide solutions accordingly.

• Encourage healthcare user's self-monitoring

  Encourage the healthcare user to engage in self-monitoring by conducting situational and developmental analyses on him- or herself. Assist the healthcare user to develop a degree of self-critique and self-analysis in regards to his behaviour, actions, relationships and self-awareness.

• Respond to changing situations in health care

  Cope with pressure and respond appropriately and in time to unexpected and rapidly changing situations in healthcare.

• Empathise with the healthcare user

  Understand the background of clients` and patients’ symptoms, difficulties and behaviour. Be empathetic about their issues; showing respect and reinforcing their autonomy, self-esteem and independence. Demonstrate a concern for their welfare and handle according to the personal boundaries, sensitivities, cultural differences and preferences of the client and patient in mind.

• Communicate effectively in healthcare

  Communicate effectively with patients, families and other caregivers, health care professionals, and community partners.

• Maintain personal development in psychotherapy

  Develop and monitor personal qualities as a professional psychotherapist, ensuring resilience, the ability to manage complex and unpredictable behavior and taking appropriate action when required

• Monitor therapeutic progress

  Monitor therapeutic progress and modify treatment according to each patient's condition.

• Reflect on practice

  Routinely evaluate own practice, critically evaluating and monitoring the practice methods and outcomes in consistent, coherent and appropriate ways, being aware of relevant methodologies and utilising feedback from managers, supervisors, other professionals, and patients/clients, in order to adapt the practice accordingly.

• Promote psycho-social education

  Explain mental health issues in simple and understandable ways, helping de-pathologise and de-stigmatise common mental health stereotypes and condemning prejudicial or discriminatory behaviours, systems, institutions, practices, and attitudes that are clearly separatist, abusive or harmful to people's mental health or their social inclusion.

• Perform therapy sessions

  Work in sessions with individuals or groups to deliver therapy in a controlled environment.

• Comply with legislation related to health care

  Comply with the regional and national legislation that is relevant to one`s work and apply it in practice.

• Work with patterns of psychological behaviour

  Work with the patterns of a patient or client's psychological behaviour, which may be outside of their conscious awareness, such as non-verbal and pre-verbal patterns, clinical processes of defence mechanisms, resistances, transference and counter-transference.

• Use clinical assessment techniques

  Use clinical reasoning techniques and clinical judgement when applying a range of appropriate assessment techniques, such as mental status assessment, diagnosis, dynamic formulation, and potential treatment planning.

• Use e-health and mobile health technologies

  Use mobile health technologies and e-health (online applications and services) in order to enhance the provided healthcare.

• Organise relapse prevention

  Help the patient or client identify and anticipate high risk situations or external and internal triggers. Support them in developing better coping strategies and back-up plans in case of future difficulties.

Optional knowledge and skills

Source: Sisyphus ODB