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.
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