Who would study psychology if they didn't have some kind of problem?

Chapter 201 Mentorship System

The tutorial system, also known as the tutor responsibility system, is a system that originated in Oxford and Cambridge Universities in the 14th century. Under this system, incoming freshmen can choose their own tutors or have the university assign them tutors. A tutor is responsible for several or a dozen students, and the tutor is mainly responsible for guiding the students' studies, papers, and intellectual life.

This relationship between "mentor and student" is closer than the general relationship between "teacher and student," and even more in line with the Chinese understanding of the "master-apprentice" relationship. Therefore, it is sometimes referred to as the "master-apprentice system" in private.

In a sense, this system is of great benefit to students, especially those from ordinary backgrounds.

Even in the most ordinary undergraduate institutions, the professors qualified to supervise graduate students possess at least the core competencies of their respective fields; they also hold considerable social standing in the local area and surrounding regions.

And some mentors are at a level that students may never have the opportunity to contact again once they graduate.

For example, when Nan Zhuren was an undergraduate, his teachers included a prison political officer who taught "Criminal Psychology," a chief physician of a psychiatric hospital who taught "Abnormal Psychology," and the founder of a psychological counseling center who taught "Group Psychological Counseling," among others.

In school, they are all called "teachers," but outside, they become "leaders," "bosses," and so on. In the classroom, they can be approachable and impart their knowledge generously; but in society, students may struggle for years and still not get the chance to give them a presentation.

Under the mentorship system, students from ordinary backgrounds can establish a "mentor-apprentice" relationship with these former luminaries, a relationship second only to "relatives," and gain genuine knowledge; if given the opportunity, they can also join the industry's core circle and acquire relationships and connections.

The well-known "Shengtian Banzi" and "Gao Zhiwu" are examples of this.

However, everything has its advantages and disadvantages.

Nan Zhuren looked at Huang Xin in front of him, reading the expression on his face.

[The nostrils are widening, the surrounding muscles are contracting and wrinkling, and the corners of the eyes are twitching.]

[It is physiological "anger".]

But this anger was fleeting, and his body did not react in a manner befitting his emotion.

The voice and tone were also very even.

This illustrates that the mind and body are separate.

His body was still responding, but his mind had become accustomed to it, or rather—numbed?

Huang Xin's expression at this moment reveals another attitude of the student group towards the mentor system, or "apprenticeship system".

"Numb anger".

The reason for this is that—between master and disciple, the master wields far too much power.

Leaving aside the fact that a supervisor's signature is required to publish a paper and graduate smoothly, the supervisor's power also permeates every aspect of graduate students' lives: final grade determination, various scholarship applications, signing off on holidays or when they go home for the Chinese New Year, and so on.

Therefore, choosing a supervisor for graduate students is a high-stakes gamble. What if you encounter a bad supervisor—

In the best-case scenario, students will have to help clean their own homes, walk the dog and take care of the children, help their supervisor's wife with her private work, help their children with their homework, and so on, turning them from graduate students into personal assistants.

In less fortunate cases, one might work under immense pressure 24 hours a day, be taken by their mentor to work unpaid in their private studio, and only have a short break for seven days starting from the first day of the Lunar New Year, becoming a pure ox or horse with its own provisions.

In the worst-case scenario, it could involve being implicated in academic fraud, taking the blame for financial irregularities, or even sexual exploitation.

Therefore, when Huang Xin slowly uttered the words "mentorship system," Nan Zhuren's heart skipped a beat, and his eyes narrowed.

But Huang Xin took a different turn.

He looked at Nan Zhuren and said slowly, "You might not believe it, but I really enjoy consulting."

Nan Zhuren nodded: "I believe you."

Because he read Huang Xin's micro-expression when he said those words.

Huang Xin simply smiled and then began to speak on his own.

Or rather, it's about venting.

Huang Xin shook his head: "Unlike Liu Pan, I was educated in the village and I have no connections; I am also different from you. When I was studying for my undergraduate degree, I knew that I was not a particularly gifted person."

"When I first studied psychology, I just wanted to become a psychological counselor. On the one hand, my psychology teacher had a great influence on me after I went to high school in a small town; on the other hand, I thought that psychological counseling was a lucrative profession."

“I knew nothing about the outside world and had no plans, so I missed the golden period for employment when I graduated from university. I lost my status as a fresh graduate in a daze and could only participate in the fall recruitment with other people in society.”

Nan Zhuren listened silently, not surprised by Huang Xin's narration at this moment.

Nan Zhuren had also consulted with some young people who had just left their student status, and Huang Xin's self-description was very similar to theirs.

However, this was not a consultation, so Nan Zhuren remained silent.

Huang Xin also had a clear mind and a well-defined goal, so he did not need Nan Zhuren to guide him.

He continued, seemingly oblivious to his surroundings: “While I was in school, I had my undergraduate professors supervise me and I accumulated over a hundred hours of counseling time. I discovered that I really enjoy counseling, and I do have some talent in this area, though not much. So after graduation, I chose to become a psychological counselor as my profession.”

When he said this, Huang Xin's tone was filled with emotion, even carrying a hint of recitation.

He seemed to be reciting some poetry: "Do you know, Nan Zhuren, the most fulfilling moment of my first twenty-two years of life was when I did counseling for a client in my first month of work. She told me that after my counseling, she felt like she had been baptized, her mood was much better, and the problems that had troubled her before were cleared up. She said it was the best day she had felt in a long time."

Nan Zhuren nodded slightly; he had a similar experience.

What Huang Xin said is also the motivation that supports most young counselors to continue doing counseling.

“I love counseling, and I even have a bit of a talent for it. Now, the counseling I love and am good at can even help others,” Huang Xin sighed. “I once thought it was the most wonderful thing in the world.”

"So even though my monthly salary was only a little over four thousand at the beginning, I still persevered."

Huang Xin's eyes glazed over for a moment, then he abruptly pulled away from the emotions he had just been reciting, as if he had returned to reality.

Seeing the change in Huang Xin's expression, Nan Zhuren couldn't help but ask, "And then?"

"later?"

(End of this chapter)