16_11_2017_EYP_noticia_Loureiro

On November 14 and 15, the psychologist Carmen Loureiro gave a series of sessions to the students of the 2nd year of Psychology of the School of Education and Psychology. These classes are part of the subject "Psychology of motivation and emotion", taught by Professor Elkin Luis Garcia.

Loureiro offered a number of tips to students when dealing with patients in the first session, such as letting them talk and trying to get them to reflect. He also pointed out the importance of taking a slow pace so that the therapist himself relaxes and does not unload tensions on the patients, together with the need not to deal with the case in the first session.

Also emphasized was the good use and interpretation of nonverbal language, such as the use of the space between the therapist's and the patient's place. Loureiro emphasized the basic positioning of the patient, i.e., how the therapist receives the patient: it is important to receive the patient with pleasure, availability and give signs of openness. On the other hand, one must learn to observe the patient (their clothes, make-up, how they sit) in order to get to know them better.

Throughout the two conference Therapeutic Skills sessions, the importance of putting oneself on the same level as the patient was emphasized, without becoming too relaxed or intimate with the patient by providing information staff (self-disclosure). "Making the patient feel listened to is part of the solution," said the psychologist.

Loureiro emphasized the need to face complicated situations with the patient: "There are times when we have to work with painful material, even though it may be devastating. Otherwise, we would make patients throw money away... We also have to lose our fear of criticism with the patient, lose our fear of confrontation".

It is worth noting the strong practical component of these conference in which students were able to simulate enquiry situations through role playing. role playingrole playing, debates and video analysis. The role playing focused on exercises in which one student acted as a psychologist and another as a patient together with an observer and other exercises in which Carmen Loureiro herself acted as patients attending enquiry for the first time. In this way, students could share their impressions and experiences at class.