Psychologist Alexandrova spoke about changes in the anxious mood of city residents

Fewer and fewer people are concerned about the situation in the country and in the world

Over the past year, the demand for psychologists in Moscow has doubled – even those who previously considered it just a fashionable youth entertainment are turning to therapy. For many, this is just the beginning of a long journey towards mental health: people are looking for prescriptions for drugs “for nerves”. For some, it’s just a confession: they can no longer cope on their own. Practicing psychologist Anastasia Alexandrova told MK: today Muscovites have returned to the demands of 2019-2020 – they are worried about relationships and career growth, and not about the situation in the country.

One of the popular portals for finding a specialist reports that the demand for the services of psychologists in the capital has increased by 100% over the past year. They rely on statistics of user requests. However, as psychologist Anastasia Alexandrova noted in an interview with an MK correspondent, in practice the demand is somewhat less:

– My colleagues and I are recording a slight increase in the number of clients. Definitely not twice, more like 30-40 percent. If earlier I took two a day, now I take three,” says the specialist. – I noticed that a lot of adults come, over thirty. Previously, there was a clear predominance of young people aged 25-30, but now their parents have come along.

Alexandrova added that today there is a significant trend towards returning to psychologists. Those who stopped therapy several years ago are now in need of help again. Moreover, some people already need medicinal support – this means that the path goes from a psychologist to a psychotherapist, and from there to a prescription for drugs. As for issues that can be resolved with words, personal ones have again become the most pressing – people are concerned about their personal lives and careers.

– During the pandemic, there were a lot of requests from those who could not adapt to the new rules of life, had difficulties with self-isolation, were afraid of getting infected, and so on. In 2022, requests were also in accordance with the news agenda; everyone was very worried about events in the country and the world. Well, now, according to my observations, everything is back to normal. Clients again come with “normal” requests: about finding a job, changing their profession, building relationships with managers, many talk about friendship and relationships with partners, children and parents. These are ordinary, everyday requests. And I consider them natural: a person cannot remain involved in global issues for a long time, he burns out sooner or later and returns to his everyday problems. Everyone needs to somehow move on with their lives, the psychologist sums up.