Psychologists are raised on alarm – Newspaper Kommersant No. 242 (7443) of 12/28/2022

In 2022, the need for psychologists has grown in Russia by 62.87% compared to last year, according to a joint study by the online school of psychological professions “Psychodemia”, Alter, a service for selecting psychologists, and the HeadHunter resource. The authors also note a significant – by 62% – increase in the number of sessions with specialists of this profile, as well as a several-fold increase in the demand for corporate psychological assistance. Experts attribute such indicators to both political events and a natural increase in the popularity of psychological assistance.

The authors of the study point out that both in 2021 and 2022, surges in demand for psychologists’ services were noted in March and October-November. This is partly due to the seasonality of such calls, the researchers say. However, in 2022, they emphasize, the number of people who turned to Alter psychologists in the months mentioned jumped sharply. The surge in March, the report says, is associated with the events of February 24, and in the autumn with the partial mobilization announced at the end of September and its consequences. As a result, in 2022, the number of sessions with psychologists increased by 62% compared to 2021, and the number of new clients increased by 46%.

According to the director of the psychological platform Alter, Ramil Alshin, in a calmer 2021, there was a clear decline in demand in May-July due to seasonality. However, this year there was almost no seasonal decline; on the contrary, growth continued.

Experts from the HeadHunter (HH) resource, based on an analysis of vacancies, have calculated that in 2022 the demand for specialists in this field in the state throughout Russia increased by 62.87% compared to last year. The main requests came from educational and medical institutions, as well as government agencies. The largest increase in demand was observed in Moscow – 67.9%. According to HH, companies have become more likely to list the activities of a corporate psychologist or psychological assistance to employees in job descriptions, with a 101% increase in such searches in 2022.

Alter is also seeing growth in demand from corporate clients. The number of employees who turned to psychologists tripled from March to October compared to the same period in 2022. At the same time, the number of sessions increased by more than five times.

According to co-founder of Psychodemia Maria Danina, the incoming request from companies to conduct calming trainings for employees, train managers in soft skills and support group skills, as well as organize support groups in companies by school experts has increased.

Among the reasons why people start therapy, in 2022, the authors of the study note, family and partnership relations took the first place – 25% of the total number of requests. Compared to last year, their number increased by almost 1.7 times (in 2021, there are 15% of them, and this topic was only in third place in popularity). In second place are “strong emotions” (anger, aggression, guilt, resentment, stress) – 19% of requests (in 2021 their share was 14%). Approximately the same number of requests – about 19% – concerns decision-making and motivation. In 2021, this topic was in first place – 28% of requests. In fourth place are questions of self-esteem and self-confidence – 13%. At the same time, in 2021, this topic was in second place: 19% of requests. The authors of the analysis note that the number of requests related to conflicts, quarrels and difficulties in communication increased by 37.5% – 11% in 2022 against 8% in 2021. In addition, the number of users of the service not from Russia has doubled: in March-November 2022, their share was 31%, while in the same period in 2021 it was 15.55%.

The head of the working group on the psychological well-being of the population under the State Duma Committee on Family, Women and Children, Alexei Bogachev, commenting on the results of the study, notes that Russia, like the whole world, is going through a “period of profound transformation.” “In the course of this transformation, not just social ties are destroyed, but the internal adaptive structures of the individual. Both specific people and the community as a whole, which can be designated as citizens of Russia, fall into the area of ​​primary existential experiences,” says Mr. Bogachev. “All this causes a breakthrough of psychic energy, which is experienced as anxiety. So now we have a huge amount of unstructured anxiety – naturally, there is a desire to go to a specialist. Aleksey Bogachev notes in this regard that the partial mobilization of a “significant part” of Russian men, on the contrary, structured the state of anxiety, “paradoxically” allowing psychic energy to be directed somewhere. Women, on the other hand, grew more anxious as a result of these events. The level of anxiety in society will only grow, the expert predicts: the demand for psychological assistance will grow by another “three to five times.”

About 80% of customer requests are related to anxiety, nervousness and apathy, confirms Elena Burdelova, psychotherapist, psychiatrist at the Doctis telemedicine service and the Mother and Child clinic: ideas about the world. At first it was covid, now it’s a political situation.” In this regard, she emphasizes, the professional community is concerned that a law on psychological assistance has not yet been adopted in Russia.

“As long as there is no regulation, we cannot guarantee the quality of care,” agrees Alla Shaboltas, Dean of the Faculty of Psychology at St. Petersburg State University, Doctor of Psychology. It is to be expected, she continues, that more and more people will turn to non-professionals. Aleksey Bogachev notes that in early December, Russian President Vladimir Putin indicated the need to hold a government meeting on the issue of psychological assistance in Russia. The expert is sure that this can change the situation: “It is unlikely that the instruction of the head of state will be ignored, and it is obvious that the decisions at this meeting will also concern the legislative regulation of the psychological service.”

Natalya Kostarnova