A wary public

Getting an education

Perhaps spurred by societal issues and a desire to help, more Russians are seeking clinical or practical psychological training. "Ten years ago, there was no department or university where we could even get training in psychotherapy," Maknach remembers. "Now we have several opportunities for training in Moscow and St. Petersburg."

Although psychology programs are still largely research-focused and located only in Russia's big cities, such as Moscow or Leningrad, says Maknach, that's a major improvement from the mere six psychology departments that existed in the entire Soviet Union before 1991. And now institutes can offer degrees in psychology, in addition to universities. But, according to Robert Solso, PhD, who taught at Moscow State University in 1980 as a Fulbright Scholar and has lectured there in recent years, there are some "fly-by-night" programs due to the lack of accreditation.

While the signs are good for the growth of psychological practice, one of the major obstacles is a lack of teaching resources. "There are not enough trained professionals who can teach psychology, so sometimes it is horrible," says Maknach.

"And there is little literature available," notes Janice Strength, PhD, a psychologist at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, Calif., who has been instrumental in establishing a graduate psychology program in Moscow.

When Strength first began visiting Russia in 1991, only Freud and a small portion of Jung's work had been translated into Russian, she says.

"Many authors commonly read in the West are still not available in Russian," she adds. "Most psychologists in Russia have read everything in the language. There's a finite amount of information available."

And then there's the "brain drain" problem, says Michael Cole, PhD, of University of California, San Diego, and editor of the Journal of Russian and Eastern European Psychology from 1969 until 2000. In the last five years, the Institute of Psychology has had to cut salaries by 40 percent. "Many professors will take on second jobs," says Solso. "One professor--a full professor and head of a laboratory--is working three jobs." Academically, there's been a sea change. Students were paid to go to school in the past; now many have to pay. So, some students and faculty leave the country to study or teach.

Another problem for Russian psychology is the lack of licensing laws. "There is no regulation from the state," says Maknach. "Anyone can call him- or herself a psychologist."

"There are people hanging out a shingle claiming to be psychologists and they're really hurting people," adds Strength. Maknach compares these people to "magicians or tarot card readers." And to add insult to injury, according to Maknach, sometimes those kinds of services are more acceptable to people, even well-educated citizens, and they are more ready to seek this kind of help.

"Sometimes in the minds of the people, there is not much difference between them and psychologists," he says, adding, though, that in more urban areas the situation is not quite as dire.

"The whole discipline really hasn't come into its own," explains Strength. Few Russians seek psychological counseling. Many who lived in the shadow of the Iron Curtain remember "psychology" being used in nightmarish ways, such as forcing people to take psychotropic medications to change their political views. "Some people are afraid they'll be prescribed medications and they won't like it, or they'll be sent to a hospital and the records of their visit will jeopardize their future," says Maknach.

And for legitimate problems, there aren't enough medications. Strength tells a story of a Russian friend whose sister has bipolar disorder: "They picked her up off the streets and put her in a psychiatric hospital and gave her medications until she stabilized. But then they took her off the medications."

When people do seek psychological help, they try to find a place where it's affordable.

"The fee for psychological services is very high and people must pay for themselves," explains Maknach. There are no third-party payers--prior to 1991, medical help was basically free.

Although the situation for psychologists in Russia is far from ideal, things are getting better. More programs to train students and to help citizens are being developed. Women's shelters and domestic violence hotlines are being founded, for example. Foreign psychologists are stepping in to help facilitate training as well as social healing. According to Solso, the U.S. government and private organizations fund many opportunities for American psychologists to teach in Russia or for Russian psychologists to train in the United States. And, he says, there's a lot we can learn from Russian psychologists.

Task Fill in the gaps in the text using the words or phrases from the list below:

Specialise; therapist; professional bodies; providing; counselor; professions; extensive training;

What is the difference between a clinical psychologist and a therapist or a counsellor?

Clinical psychologists have _____ 1_____ in assessing a range of psychological difficulties and determining the most appropriate form of help, as well as being trained in _____ 2_____ more than one type of therapy.

Therapists and counsellors, on the other hand, usually ____ 3_ _____ in providing one particular type of _____ 4_______, like psychodynamic psychotherapy, or counselling, or cognitive behaviour therapy. If you know what form of therapy would be most likely to help your problem, you might go directly to see a ____ 5____ or a _____ 6______.

Therapists and counsellors are not yet legally regulated ______ 7______, but many therapists and counselors voluntarily register with one of the major ________ 8____.

Key: 1.extensive training; 2. providing; 3. specialize; 4. therapy; 5. therapist; 6. counselor; 7. professions; 8. professional bodies.

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