From the author: I again don’t know how to insert a table:(The Tao of a PsychotherapistNatalya Olifirovich Having been studying the identity of professionals in the field of psychotherapy for many years, I was faced with the fact that it is very difficult to describe the process during which “birth” occurs “and the development of a specialist. There are heterogeneous models based on various theories of development, which describe in more or less detail the “movement” of a specialist between various crisis points of his professional life. However, they cannot “capture” all the specifics of this complex process, and do not. give answers to various ontological questions that arise for both beginners and experienced psychotherapists. Who is considered a “good” psychotherapist? How to help others and at the same time remain yourself? How does a psychotherapist “treat”? These questions arise from the specifics of professional life, and the answers. Sometimes you have to search for them for a very long time and never be completely sure of their correctness and uniqueness. It seems to me that to describe the complex and multifaceted development of a psychotherapist as an individual and as a professional, the use of the category “Tao”, with the help of which in Chinese philosophy describe the eternal action or principle of creation. The most accurate translation of the word “Tao” is the path. Tao is both the source of all forms and the energy that shapes the entire process of creation and creation itself. Since Tao embraces everything, including opposites, it cannot be described in intellectual terms. It is because of this that Chinese philosophy is full of paradoxes. For example, Tao is both singular (the unique path of each thing and each phenomenon separately) and the One, the universal law of the Universe, uniting all things and all phenomena into one existence. Tao seems to be “poured” into all other active forces, “permeating” them. Tao is conceptualized simultaneously as both a means and a goal of existence. Knowledge and understanding are terms that do not apply to Tao at all. It is possible that everything that exists exists “just like that,” and we are looking for a goal because we do not understand the principles of Tao. When we understand, we stop looking for purpose and meaning, and live “just like that” - and only then do we coincide with the principles of existence [2]. Thus, choosing this category as a basic one, I wanted to draw attention to the main characteristic of Tao - the impossibility of intellectual comprehension, the “unspecified” goals and meanings, life “in the flow” of those processes that permeate our relationships with ourselves, the world and Others. Use We use the term “psychotherapist” to reflect a certain position based on the fact that it most accurately describes a specialist in the field of professional helping psychological activity. In fact, the boundaries of this activity were outlined by the Strasbourg Declaration of Psychotherapy of 1990, which characterized psychotherapy as a special discipline from the field of humanities, the practice of which constitutes a free and independent profession. The declaration emphasized that the training of psychotherapists should be carried out at a highly qualified, scientific level: education in the field of one of the psychotherapeutic methods should be carried out integrally, including theory, personal therapeutic experience and practice under the guidance of a supervisor, with simultaneous familiarization with other methods. Psychotherapeutic education can be obtained by a person who has an appropriate higher education in the field of humanities and social sciences (medical, psychological, philosophical, pedagogical, etc.). Thus, in this article I will try to outline my vision of the complex and multifaceted professional path of a person who, as I chose to provide psychological assistance to other people as a professional activity - a psychotherapist. The necessary and sufficient conditions for the appearance of a psychotherapist are, in my opinion, the following. The first is the needs of the environment, or the system in which one will live andwork as a psychotherapist. It is obvious that it was the pregnancy (“pregnancy”) of the external environment with the idea of ​​the need for professional helping activities that brought this profession to life. There are still cultures where this profession does not exist, and the functions of psychotherapists are performed by family, church, clergy, reference groups, etc. Therefore, a professional psychotherapist appears where and when he is needed. Many wrote that in the USSR there was practically no psychotherapy as a practice of providing psychological assistance, because it challenged the very foundations of the state. The result is too unpredictable, too much philosophy and not enough “concrete achievements of the set goals.” And only in the 90s. Residents of the post-Soviet space have developed a strong need to move not “in step,” but along their own, unique path, which has led to the emergence and development of a profession. That is why in small towns and villages, where a collectivist, communitarian culture still exists, where people support each other within the established system of family, friendship, and professional relationships, a psychotherapist is “not born,” because his functions are performed by society. The second condition is fulfilled when the willingness of a particular psychotherapist to “be born” in a certain space-time continuum and, paradoxically, simultaneously begin to exist everywhere. The presence of the Internet, globalization, and the unification of specialist training leads to what followers of the ideas of Tao talk about - it is “spread out” everywhere. It is obvious that in his life a psychotherapist experiences not one, but many births and rebirths, which can be described in the ideas of unity and struggle of opposites, polarities or paradoxes. Let's try to explain this using the example of describing the stages of working with polarities. Using the idea of ​​polarities allows you to expand your perception of yourself and the world, abandon “black and white” thinking, and over time form a truly non-judgmental position. A simplified explanation of how the idea of ​​polarities “works” is that one strongly represented pole is technically replaced by another - its opposite. This leads to a change in perception, attitude towards the situation, oneself and the Other. However, such an inversion is only an intermediate stage, and not a result. In working with polarities, several stages can be distinguished: · certain thoughts, feelings, experiences of a person due to the current state; · the emergence in the process of working out the opposite meaning and experiences; · searching for a point of balance between two poles; · the ability to hold polar states at the same time; · search and experiencing other, semantically more complex poles and meanings; · finding a point of balance and stability, distancing from the situation [3]. Similar psychotechnologies are described by V. Frankl (paradoxical intention), A. Adler (negative practice), F. Ferrelli (provocations) , F. Perls (Gestalt technique “top dog/bottom dog”), etc. Such techniques are based on the so-called “reverse incentive to action.” There is a deeper level of psychological impact with the help of paradoxes, for example, a koan is a paradoxical task in Zen -Buddhism, insoluble within the framework of ordinary logical thinking, the goal of which is also to stop thinking and achieve satori (enlightenment). For example, the result of resolving a koan is not cognitive or verbal, but a procedural, special experience of personal integrity, which is also commonly called the state of non-duality. Therefore, the third condition is the willingness of the psychotherapist to go through a number of polar states and the development of his ability not to “get stuck” in any of them, but to continue moving at his own speed along his own path. Let us give examples of those aspects of professional life that are based on the dichotomous, “ black and white" perception of oneself,The Other and the World, and ways to overcome them. Just as analysts divide all defensive processes into two categories: immature, characterizing the boundaries between the Self and the non-Self, and mature, describing the characteristics of internal boundaries (between thoughts and feelings, Superego and Id, etc.), we will try to describe the development of a psychologist through the polarity of setting boundaries/refusal of boundaries. Let's try to describe each of the presented parameters.1. “Theory” in the broad sense of the word is any explanation of any phenomenon (phenomenon). When talking about theories, you need to remember the following. First, all theories are different ways of seeing reality that are not that reality. Secondly, any theory is only a partial explanation: by focusing on some aspects of the problem area, it leaves other aspects out of its scope. Thirdly, all theories are abstractions of reality, but abstractions that have some basis in real practice. Practice and theory mutually influence each other. Research and direct practice of therapeutic work provide the basis for theory building. The process of developing a theory involves constant testing of its correctness and the formulation of new hypotheses and clarifications. Today, the process of theoretical training of a specialist may have significant differences depending on how and what he studied. Let us list the possible options: obtaining a traditional psychological or medical education, which involves familiarity with various theoretical approaches and directions; psychological retraining, also including various disciplines on personality theories; training in a psychotherapeutic program (psychoanalysis, gestalt, psychodrama) for a non-specialist - a person in the humanitarian or technical profession, who has never before systematically studied other areas of psychology/psychotherapy. The third option gives rise to the majority of supporters of monotheorism, often due to simple ignorance of the existence of other theories of personality development/psychotherapy. The strength of adherence to one theory is the in-depth study of the methodology, techniques and methods of a particular approach. In-depth education in the field of one theory, techniques, and practical applications makes it possible to become a qualified specialist, as well as receive supervision adequate to the mastered method. The “disadvantages” of monotheorism are the low degree of flexibility and the reluctance of the psychotherapist to change his point of view when the client’s case “does not fit” into this theory. Any theory is just a set of lenses through which the therapist views reality. And no matter how perfect these lenses are, they allow you to see only one side of it. However, as L. Wohlberg writes in “The Evolution of Psychotherapy: Developmental Trends”: “There are many therapists of biological, behavioral, humanistic and other orientations who are committed to their creed with rare ferocity and are not inclined to accept doctrines that differ from their own.”[1] However, knowledge of the existence of many theories is also not a panacea: some psychotherapists are supporters of eclecticism and “take” from various systems everything that they find correct and worthy of attention, linking different ideas into one more or less complete whole. Eclectics recognize the merits of many methods and theories and specifically select different aspects of them to work with. The strength of eclecticism is its flexibility and breadth of coverage when analyzing a problem and choosing a strategy for psychological assistance. However, non-systematic eclecticism is characterized by the fact that the psychotherapist does not feel the need for either a logical explanation or empirical confirmation of the techniques and techniques they use. The “disadvantages” of eclecticism are the lack of systematization and the combination in one field of ideas built on antagonistic methodological principles. A generalized theory, metatheory or multimodality (polymodality) can be considered as a more general conceptualapproach than unsystematic eclecticism or adherence to one theory. Proponents of multimodality try to connect, harmonize and systematically organize different theories (systematic eclecticism). A psychotherapist can be committed to one theoretical orientation and at the same time be an adherent of multimodality.2. A professional community, like significant others or a family system, allows one to develop, receive support, guidelines, a sense of inclusion in a reference group, etc. At the initial stages of professional development, a specialist experiences being at the “I am a non-professional” pole, accompanied, on the one hand, by a strong desire “grow”, on the other – dissatisfaction with one’s position. The other – “professional” – is initially perceived as an unattainable celestial being. Professionals are quoted, worshiped, read – and honored. This period of feeling like an unprofessional can last from several years to decades, and is sometimes accompanied by fluctuations from the “I’m no one” pole to the “I can do everything” pole. The resolution of this conflict occurs through the process of identification with significant Others, acquisition of competencies, personal therapy and supervision and ends with the adoption of the position “I am a specialist in the field of psychotherapy.”3. Relationships in the professional community are another important aspect of the development of a psychotherapist and his path. As L. Volberg wrote: “Many professionals are hostages of their rigidity, which arose at the beginning of their training.” This rigidity concerns not only the theory, but also the internalized system of relations in a particular psychotherapeutic community. On the pages of Internet forums, discussions regularly flare up about the “stiffness of analysts,” “the openness of psychodramatists,” “the limitlessness of Gestaltists,” etc. In our opinion, we are talking about normally functioning / dysfunctional systems. Once in a dysfunctional system, a psychotherapist can fight, compete, and prove something to “friends” and “strangers” all his life. “Friendship” in the professional community, described by A.N. Mokhovikov through the term “nepotism” [4], as well as its reverse side – competition, are the polarities that the psychotherapist must understand. An emerging respectful attitude toward “seniors” and “juniors” in age and “rank,” the ability to hear others while remaining in one’s position, and the willingness to accept different points of view is a sign of a certain maturity of a specialist.4. The subject-object of psychological assistance is the “border” along which many psychotherapists establish an invisible barrier between the two worlds. In a “black and white” polarized world, you are either a psychotherapist or a client - there is no third option. This idea is reflected in the common saying “there are no healthy people, there are unexamined ones.” What does this thesis give to a novice specialist? As usual, an opportunity to build boundaries, to separate “I” from “not-I”. This is the stage when specialists speak to clients using professional slang and labels, feeling their superiority and involvement in sacred knowledge. This crisis is normally resolved through taking the client’s position when undergoing personal therapy, through the understanding that none of us, even those who have all the necessary competencies, is not immune from injuries, crises and losses. Psychotherapists who have not completed this part of the path demonstrate professional cynicism over the years as a clear symptom of professional burnout syndrome, speaking about clients not as people, but as a set of certain violations. Those who have passed the crisis of arrogance and omnipotence acquire a deep understanding that we are all, first of all, people, and not bearers of “professional uniforms” and labels degrading human dignity.5. The relationship with the client is a dynamic process described in each of the psychotherapeutic areas. The question that the psychotherapist is looking for an answer to is this: can I be myself in therapy or should I hide my feelings under a “mask”? Can I express my feelings openly?