Unrealistic Expectations
Several other ghosts linger in the world of human services. Like the confusion regarding social and market exchange, these other ghosts tend to muck up the effective delivery of psychotherapy, counselling, psychological assessment, and organizational consultations.
First, there is the matter of an anxious client/patient obtaining answers to their complex and elusive questions. Why did this happen? Who is to blame? Will this problem be with me (with us) for the rest of my life? Human service providers—and especially those who call themselves “Doctor”—are expected to have answers regarding etiology.
Even if the provider focuses on the actual behavior rather than the causes of the behavior, they are expected to “know” something about the reason why someone is behaving as they are. Is it a matter of personality or the setting in which the behavior is occurring? Will the “old” behavior recur if I change jobs, find a new partner, or stop drinking? Expectations regarding etiological wisdom are even greater for those who are trained as psychoanalysts or provide “depth” oriented consultations. It is even assumed by their clients/patients that if they learn about the reasons why they feel and act as they do, then they will be “healed” and will be free to feel and act in a new way.
Second, an assumption is made that payment for services (market exchange) results in a successful “cure.” Furthermore, the more that I pay for these services, the greater is the chance that I (or our organization) will be “healed.” I pay more for an automobile so that it will provide a smooth ride: I pay more for psychotherapy or organizational consulting services so that I (we) will find a smoother ride in life. While we don’t necessarily expect our friends or other family members to “heal us” (social exchange), we do expect this “miraculous” healing of the person we are paying for services (market exchange).
The payment for cures is often easiest to establish when the bar is set low regarding the cure. Those psychologists and other human service providers who tend to focus on behavioral change are likely to achieve a higher rate of success than those who believe that genuine, long-lasting “cures” require something more than a temporary behavior change. Those who set a higher bar and identify behavior change as nothing more than treating the “symptom” are less likely to find and declare success with their paying clients/patients.
Social Status and Prestige
Where do psychologists and other human service providers stand on the social pecking order in the United States? As mentioned in our previous essay in this series, there is good reason to believe that professional status as often replaced race as an irrational determinant of social status.
