My curiosity about that service was aroused by an article in Resource about study pressure of international students: they said it helped. I decided to resort to the psychologists as I was under some pressure at work. I got their reply after one working day. The appointment was postponed to three weeks after my request, due to the sickness of the psychologist, nevertheless I still was impressed by their speedy response. Actually, I should have cancelled the meeting because my pressure was largely gone after the jolly Queen’s Day and Liberation Day; but because I still hoped to receive some useful advices from the psychologist, I attended on time in the morning of May 7. It was a pleasant talk: she listened to my problem patiently, and objectively analyzed it. After the conversation, however, I was a bit disappointed because I didn’t get any concrete advice for a solution. In retrospect, I asked myself three questions. First, since Monday is the tone-setting time for the whole week, is it a proper day to recall some past unhappy memories? Second, what caused my disappointment? My over-expectation on the psychologist? Thirdly, as a student with a different culture, how can I make sure my situation clearly explained to an Dutch psychologist? I can’t answer all these questions, but thinking of them helps me realize that maybe at most she is just a listener, not the mighty savior: I should have not counted too much on her. Anyway, it’s a worthy experience to me, I especially appreciate her wrap-up encouragement: ‘to stay who you are, to be yourself’. It enlightened me that maybe I don’t need any psychologist at all, I’m already the best one to myself.
Vid of the week: Can our university hire some psychologists like the one in this clip? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIhANxh7t_Q