and health care
A lot of people associate psychology with
a psychotherapist. They think of a psychologist who asks the client
to lay down on a sofa and tell him everything that comes into mind.
The psychotherapist will not say a word as long as the client is talking
and nods every now and then to stimulate the client to keep on talking.
Other techniques are saying 'And what do you feel when that happens?'
or 'Mmmmm'. Because we are aware of this association a lot of people
have with the word psychology we will first try to correct two common
In the first place,
a psychologist is not always someone who helps you with your problems.
Psychology is the science that studies human behavior and thinking.
Examples of other work done by psychologists: - play a role in the design
of the cockpit of an airplane to make sure the instruments work intuitively
and safe, - assessing memory problems in the elderly to see if they
might suffer from some form of dementia, - judging eye witness testimonies
on their reliability.
Second, in the field
of psychotherapy, the type of therapy described above is not common
practice anymore. The most widely practiced types of psychotherapy resemble
a normal conversation with an equal who has heard a lot of problems
and tries to use this experience to show clients a ways to deal with
can find information about where you can find help for mental problems.
The institutions named below are dutch. In the future we will also add
organizations that are active outside the Netherlands.
When should you get help?
First of all, remember that everyone has problems and that they
are a natural part of life. Problems only become intolerable when they
disrupt your normal life or cause intense mental suffering. It might
be hard to determine when mental suffering becomes 'intense'. Or when
'normal' life is 'disrupted'? For these terms, 'intense', 'normal',
'disrupted', are subjective. Only you can make this judgment.
For most people, the general practitioner is the first person they come
to when they need help for a psychological problem. He can sometimes
make several appointments with you to talk about your problems. When
he agrees with you that you might profit from further care, he can reassign
you to a specialized institution.
Is your problem practical or psychosocial? (for example problems related
to finding a house, or financial problems) then you can go to the Algemeen
Maatschappelijk Werk (AMW). For problems related to an addiction
you can go to a Consultatiebureau voor Alcohol en Drugs. You
can find these institutions in the telephone book.
If you suffer from mental problems in such a way, that your normal life
is negatively influenced, the general practitioner can give you the
address of a Regionale Instelling voor Ambulante Geestelijk Gezondheidszorg
(RIAGG), a psychiatric hospital, or to an individual psychologist
If you want free advice over the telephone, you can call the stichting
Korrelatie (0900-1450, 10 eurocent per minute), between 9.00 u.
and 22.00 u. Written information is available at the
Nationaal Fonds Geestelijke Volksgezondheid (NFGV): postbus 5103,
3502 JC Utrecht, telephone number (030)2971197.