El psicólogo, los otros y la gente

Resumo

This article summarises the author's opinion about what ordinary people, clients and professionals in Psychology think about the figure of the psychologist and his or her duties. Yela points out the three principal duties that the person in the street design as the function of a psychologist are: to be an expert on different psychological mechanisms, to offer a knowledge system that helps to understand him or herself and others, and to take part in the general improvement of society. He goes on explaining that a client expects to be liberated by the psychologist of his or her difficulties and to become more aware of his or her own psychological mechanisms. The author emphasizes as well the importance of the personal encounter. He ends the article speaking about the main areas of work for a psychologist (research, teaching, and applied psychology) and highlights the idea of commitment of psychologists.