Emotional support is a phrase that is used a lot and defined very little. To some people it sounds like therapy under another name. To others, like something vague with no guarantees. Neither idea is fair, but the confusion is understandable, and clearing it up is the responsibility of whoever offers the service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In this article we explain what it is, what it is not, how it differs from psychotherapy and how to know which of the two you need. We do it from the inside: at RILOFU we offer support, not psychotherapy, and we prefer to say so plainly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is a non-clinical helping relationship. A person with training and experience offers you time, listening and tools to look more clearly at what is happening to you. It does not start from a diagnosis or aim to cure anything. It starts from a question: what are you going through and what do you want to do with it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It tends to be useful in situations like these:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What defines good emotional support is not a specific technique. It is the quality of presence, the absence of judgment and respect for the fact that the answers are yours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Psychotherapy is an intervention aimed at assessing and treating mental health problems: depression, anxiety disorders, trauma, eating disorders, addictions and many others. It works with methods that have empirical backing and with clinical goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Spain, psychological care in the healthcare setting is regulated. It is practiced by professionals with a specific qualification, such as the Psic\u00f3logo General Sanitario (General Health Psychologist) or the specialist in Clinical Psychology, as well as psychiatrists, who are medical doctors. They are registered with a professional association and bound by a code of ethics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This matters for a practical reason: if what you have is a health problem, you have the right to have it treated by someone qualified to do so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Emotional support seeks understanding, clarity and integration. Psychotherapy seeks, in addition, to relieve symptoms and treat a clinical problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Emotional support starts from what you bring, without labels. Psychotherapy may include an assessment and a diagnosis, which guide the treatment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Psychotherapy in the healthcare setting belongs to qualified professionals. Emotional support is not a regulated profession, so the training of those who offer it varies a great deal. That is why it is worth asking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Emotional support is suitable for life processes and forms of distress that do not amount to a disorder. Mental disorders, acute crises and the risk of self-harm belong to healthcare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Psychotherapy has a clinical framework, with defined professional responsibilities. Emotional support has a more flexible framework, and for that very reason it depends more on the honesty of the person providing it about their limits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Neither of the two can promise results. Psychotherapy has evidence of effectiveness for specific problems. Emotional support rests on something more modest and well known: talking with someone who listens well helps you think better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When someone who offers emotional support does any of these things, they have stepped outside their territory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Seek healthcare, starting with your GP if you do not know who to turn to, when:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you notice any of this after a psychedelic experience, read anxiety or depersonalization after a trip: when to ask for help<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You do not have to choose forever. There are people who are in psychotherapy and, in addition, look for specific support to integrate an experience. The important thing is that the two spaces know about each other: tell your therapist that you are receiving emotional support, and tell the person supporting you that you are in treatment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Since it is not a regulated profession, the responsibility for asking falls on you. Some useful questions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Be wary of anyone who promises to cure, who uses titles they cannot back up, who advises you against seeing healthcare professionals or who encourages you to depend on their sessions. On the different roles that exist in this field, read trip sitter, facilitator, therapist and companion: differences and when to choose each<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ricardo, who provides the support at RILOFU, holds a degree in Psychology. Even so, what we offer is emotional support<\/a>, not psychotherapy or healthcare treatment. We do not diagnose, we do not treat and we do not sell or supply substances. If in the first conversation we see that what you need is healthcare, we will tell you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you want to know what it is like from the inside, we describe it in what happens in a support session<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhen emotional support is a good option<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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They can go together<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
How to choose the person who supports you<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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How we understand it at RILOFU<\/h2>\n\n\n\n