From the author: I suggest you read a series of articles about psychological counseling/psychotherapy. Answers to popular questions: Who? How? For what? What happens at the session? A journey to the Wizard of Oz, or psychotherapy from the inside. Part 1. Why The Wizard of Oz? In my opinion, this fairy tale illustrates the very journey of a person to another person who does something to our psyche. But WHO is this person, WHAT does he do to our psyche, and most importantly, HOW? Today I propose to consider these questions using the example of fairy-tale images. All the adventures of the heroes along the road are a metaphor for the very process of psychological counseling, or psychotherapy. Using the example of the characters of the same fairy tale, I also want to point out some differences between the work of a professional psychologist and a non-professional esotericist. So... Send the stupid Scarecrow to the wizard for brains, the insensitive Tin Woodman for the heart, and the cowardly Lion for courage. They knew what they needed from life and what they needed to be happy. (Ellie in this case just looks completely lost - she doesn’t know the way, she wants to go somewhere, but she doesn’t understand how to get there). These will be images of people who have decided to change something in their lives. And they went to the wizard. Let's assume they have a choice: 1. They went to a professional. Psychologist/psychotherapist/psychoanalyst. How will this whole process happen? First of all, space is created for personal development. One of the main professional talents is the art of asking questions. Let's take, for example, the Scarecrow. Psychologist: What did you come with? What worries you? Scarecrow: I’m stupid. I don’t have enough brains, I want you to help me get them. - Why did you decide that you are stupid? - I’m supposed to be without brains, because I’m a scarecrow. - How do you know that a scarecrow is supposed to be without brains? - Yes, everyone says that. - So, you are a scarecrow without a brain, and you would like to be smart. - Yes. - How do you imagine a smart scarecrow? - Well, he can find a way out of any situation, unusual ideas come to his mind. - How would you know that you are smart? - Oh, I could help my friends if they found themselves in a difficult situation. I myself wouldn’t know where ideas come from. - Okay. Tell me what important things have happened to you lately. - Well, my friends and I were traveling. One day we found ourselves in the same story... We had to do something. - Uh-huh. Please tell us about this in more detail.- ...here I said that it can be done like this....- Is that what you said? Did this help your friends? Did you get this idea from nowhere? - Yes. - How could you characterize a person who helps friends, finds a way out of a situation, gets ideas from nowhere? - This is a smart person. - And who in this case did all this? - Me .- ? ? ?- Is it really me?!- It seems so.- So I’m smart?- Is your behavior similar to the behavior of the smart person you described?- Yes. How could I not understand before! This means I already have brains, I don’t need others! Thank you, I ran! And something like this happens over the course of 1, 2, or 102 sessions. Depending on how great the confidence in your stupidity, or the fear of seeing your intelligence. The psychologist will not say anything, even if he understood from the first minutes that the Scarecrow is not a fool. It just so happened that he himself does not see his happiness. The psychologist can only use helping questions or special tasks to direct the Scarecrow to an idea that will illuminate his head. This is called insight. When a person suddenly says: “Hurray! I understand everything!” No one does anything to you, you just understand that you have courage, brains, and heart. If you came to this on your own, and the psychologist simply created the conditions for this, then the changes that have occurred to you will be sustainable, caused by you personally. Everything that happens to you is the work of your hands alone; no one is forcing anything on you. And you suddenly realize that you yourself are very smart, brave, kind. Whatever you want to be. Have you done something with your life?)