From the author: I hope this text will be of interest to those who are thinking about psychotherapy, but are still anxious and have little understanding of what to expect from it. How conversations with a stranger can save him from problems and contribute to the fulfillment of his dreams. Most often, clients turn to a therapist with a more or less clear description of their problem: something in their life has gone wrong, broken, or somehow didn’t work out at all from the very beginning. For example, a relationship has broken down or you can’t meet the person with whom you would like to start it; problems at work; health problems; Sometimes people complain that the energy has disappeared somewhere, which is why life has become dreary and uninteresting. As a rule, the cause of problems is seen from the outside: in an insensitive partner, in a stupid and insignificant boss, and someone feels the injustice of the entire world order. Remember how Ostap Bender felt that atmospheric pressure was pressing on him more than on other citizens? Clarifying the request, I have to admit every time that I am not able to change the world myself (even in the person of its individual representative), nor to teach this to the client; I cannot promise that as a result of our work, my client's wishes will be satisfied, problems will be solved and dreams will come true. Then why do clients pay me money? For time? I do spend my time working with a client in session, thinking about them between our meetings and in supervision (this is when I see another psychologist to become more aware of my practice). It must also be said that I don’t just sit next to the client, I try to hear him, to try on his ways of dealing with himself and the world, as they say, “to be in his shoes.” Agree that listening does not mean hearing. To truly hear another person often requires considerable effort. This is all true, but clients, especially in the early stages of a therapeutic relationship, generally do not care about my time or the quality of my presence. They have a real problem, in solving which they want help from me. Therefore, clients pay me not only for my time. Helpful tips? I studied for a long time before starting practice, received and receive my own personal therapy, actively participate in the life of the professional community in order to deepen and expand my knowledge, develop my therapeutic abilities. Of course, if clients are interested, I always share with them what I know, but personal happiness is always an individual project. Only a person himself can comprehend his own life, take inventory of his goals and values, determine the need for changes and discover the available resources to implement these changes. Only a person himself can change himself, and therefore his life, and only what he himself wants to change in his life. There is a lot of psychological literature on the Internet, and quite often clients already have some understanding of various psychological theories and ideas. They themselves have long known “what is right” and what is “wrong” and where all their problems “grow from”, but at the same time they understand that knowledge is not enough to start changes. In general, useful advice does not work well here and knowledge is not enough. Psychotherapists working in various areas have long understood that changes in the lives of clients begin in the relationship with the therapist, in fact, thanks to the development of these relationships. Indeed, problems are not born with, they are acquired in relationships, and since they are acquired in relationships, it is logical to assume that problems should also be dealt with in relationships. So, do I take money for relationships? Of course not. The tool that a psychologist-psychotherapist uses in his work is his own soul. I work with my soul, but I don’t trade it. The goal of psychotherapy is not so much to satisfy the client’s needs as to gain him freedom, the ability to do anything.