Although in recent years there are more and more people who turn to a psychologist, there are still reluctant people who are looking for alternative solutions, such as finding answers and solutions on the Internet, replacing the psychologist with a friend or using medications.

Psychologist or internet browsing?

If you try to solve your problems by looking for solutions on the Internet, there is a risk to:

• get to the forums area and focus on the negative aspects shared by other people
• you find certain specialized information but without having the big picture, which could lead you to erroneous conclusions
• you postpone the moment of starting psychotherapy and the situation will become more and more burdensome for you

The psychologist is the competent person for psychoeducation, giving you the information you need, is the one who guides you, guiding your steps towards overcoming the difficult period in your life.

Psychologist or friend?

Surely the help of a friend in difficult moments is important. At the same time, there are situations in which it is not enough, because:

• cannot provide you with specialized support
• maybe the perspective from which he/she looks at things is not a realistic one (because of his/her personal life history, distorted automated thoughts, etc.)
• maybe, noticing that you are in a more difficult situation, out of the desire not to hurt you, does not tell you certain things
• at some point, your friend may feel overwhelmed by the role of psychologist with which you invest him/her

A good professional psychologist, a psychotherapist gives you the warmth, understanding and support you would receive from a friend, but to these being added the objective perspective and skill of a specialist.

Psychologist or psychiatrist?

Although perhaps at first glance the medication can be viewed as the solution at hand, at a closer look you can also see the shortcomings it brings:

• if you rush to take medication even when psychotherapy alone would be enough, you lose the chance to (re)discover your resources and grow on a personal level
• side effects and, most often, the fact that treatment cannot be interrupted suddenly
• there may be a tendency that later, whenever you are facing a problem, to turn to medicines

The psychiatrist can have a very important role in overcoming a critical period of your life and is the one who prescribes you the appropriate medication. However, the psychologist, psychotherapist is the first person to whom you can ask for help, because, depending on the problems you are facing, it can either guide you to using your own resources, without the need for medication, or it can recommend you to go to a psychiatrist.