Interview with Saxa Stefani, expert in social psychology

It is a pleasure to interview a professional like Saxa Stefani, who undoubted This time with one of the most versatile social psychologists of today, with an extraordinary curriculum that shows us not only the love for psychology and people, but for the adventure of knowledge, where the interviewee continually continues to grow in continuous learning and professional experience, learning to know the human mind and society in parallel.

Saxa Stefani is a psychologist at the University of Buenos Aires, where he was also a university professor. He studied doctoral at the University of Barcelona obtaining accreditation as a scientific researcher. He is an expert in social psychology and is currently residing in the United Kingdom, performing research and teaching activities tasks.

Hi Saxa, first thank you for this time where we hope to travel together for a world as exciting as that of social psychology.

Hello, thanks to you. It is always a pleasure to talk about psychology and social psychology and bring this exciting world closer to people.

Seeing your experience and training, the first almost obligatory question would be: what do we understand by social psychology?

Freud said that psychology is, above all, social psychology. And we are born, we develop and interact in the world that is by social and group definition. No one exists or can be conceived outside of human groups, the first and fundamental, the family, but then school groups, friends, co -workers ... we live immersed in groups all our life!

The great revolution of social psychology is to have dared to understand and intervene about human behavior in the group dimension, which is the point of confluence of the individual and the social, with the aim of establishing a healthy relationship between people and their environment.

Let us continue in this area. What fields do social psychology work and how?

If we thought of science as the different letters of a deck, social psychology would be the wild card: there are no areas of interaction where it cannot be inserted: everything we do and produce is mediated by the groups, so the consideration of social psychology She is forced!

The interesting thing is that we have been able to create this wonderful discipline to understand the complexity of human behavior, and today no one discusses that psychology is key if we want to understand ourselves and as a society.

To give examples, social psychology serves both to understand the care of children and help parents to be better managers, to use it in schools and education in general, to organize work and work areas, and of course, To treat discomfort and promote health. Anyway, that each human activity that is desired to study in depth, be it philosophy, economy, medicine or law, must incorporate the psychological look. Otherwise the analysis will always be incomplete!

Saxa, a practical question why would you recommend training in social psychology?

So we commented before, studying psychology becomes inevitable.

In addition, the social psychology in which I specialize, provides two key aspects:

One, reach the root of the problem, the depth, because social psychology analyzes the irrational, the effect of the unconscious. We call them emerging. They are emotional and are at the base of behavior. Who does not know this unconscious determination of behavior will feel frustrated when trying to understand human behavior. And unfortunately, many approaches do not sufficiently consider this aspect.

Two, multidimensionality. Social psychology states that human activity has an ecological dimension, what does that mean? That the famous discussion of whether it is the individual or society who determines the behavior, makes no sense. In order to explain human phenomena, several dimensions must be incorporated. For example, we cannot understand bullying or bully Legitiman -group of peers-, or the environment in which this situation is presented -educational community-. As you can see, we cannot reduce problems to a dimension if we want to solve root problems.

That is why there is so much frustration and failure when trying to solve human problems. After years of experience in many fields of psychology, I have come to the conclusion that social psychology is the most complete way to study human activities and to intervene scientifically successfully.

Give?

I have been fortunate to work professionally in psychology in diverse fields, from clinical psychology to human resources management in companies, from psychiatric care or addictions to educational management. It has not been an easy path, since we are immersed in a demand for hyperspecialization, and this happens in all disciplines. And it is valid, of course, but sometimes that hyperspecialization makes it difficult to see and establish important connections when explaining certain phenomena.

Where do I feel more comfortable? Perhaps the educational field has a special interest in its great transformative capacity and health promotion in psychosocial terms.

If you had not studied psychology, what other degree would you have liked?

Good question! I don't know, maybe some artistic or musical training, because that aspect is very present in my family history. But I think that the impulse for understanding and helping others would have been triggered anyway!

How were your beginnings in the field of psychology and that was decisive to transfer this knowledge as a teacher?

I am in mind the moment I decided to study psychology. When I was still a teenager I participated in an urban project for the recovery and sanitation of a river that crossed the city where it lived. We had to present it in different congresses and won national and international awards, coming to present the project at the Eco-Río Earth Summit '92. But what interested me most were the technical aspects but the human issues that needed to be resolved in the development of the project. There was a situation that had great impact on me at that time: part of our project raised inhabitants of the area - in the situation of extreme poverty and health risk - where the project would be located, there would be a residential sector with new homes and access to basic services and comfort. Unfortunately, we observed in the interviews held with them that rejected the idea of ​​being realized with better conditions.

I realized the complex of the human factor and I decided that I would dedicate my life to understanding it.

What differences and similarities do we find among psychology as a discipline between for example: Spain, Argentina (where our interviewee) and the United Kingdom (where he lives and works and develops various professional tasks)

That is another privilege that I treasure and appreciate, the possibility that I have had of knowing, living and studying in such different cultures. That experience has allowed me to have several psychosocial analysis inputs. I have concluded that human needs are always the same, it is the response attempts that differ between one and another culture, and those differences sometimes seem abysmal!

It is very curious to observe some communities where certain problems or situations are highly conflictive, while others are resolved or well managed, and vice versa.

Beyond the differences in approaches, which exist, I am more interested in how the western world has changed its conception about psychology: before, visiting the psychologist was seen as a synonym for a deficit or a disease. Today going to the psychologist is synonymous with making a decision to improve you as a person, overcome any conflict. That is a breakthrough!

How is a social psychologist different from a clinical psychologist? We ask this question because we have read your curriculum and we have been able to observe an era treating psychopathologies, in which you noted that you disappointed a little?

The only thing that should differentiate a social psychologist from a social one is the dimension to which he is dedicated. I think that all psychologists should have an excellence training in social psychology, and this does not happen in most universities. That is why we decided to pall this deficit from our CEIDEPS organization.

Regarding the other topic, it is true! But what to some extent disappointed me are mental health care systems. His approach and treatment seems fascinating, and also reinvindices the task of psychologists and therapists in this field!

There should be a recognition and quality training opportunities for the entire sector that hosts and treats, manages and cares. The professions that involve the care and management of people are, by far, the ones that cause the most work distress. A total revolution is needed in this field, although there are advances and in some societies they have already put themselves to it.

Do you believe as a social psychology professional, the crisis has triggered the number of people and groups in social exclusion and therefore the need for interventions in this regard?

Definitely! Economic crises often translate into psychosocial crises and as such have a direct impact on a broad sector of the population, functioning as "triggers" of a discomfort hitherto content.

If we take into account what is the degree of health of our society, and how, eventually, an economic crisis can affect you, we could be more capable of managing and preventing social discomfort. Keep in mind that the degree of health will be determined by the satisfaction of basic needs, but also by psychosocial needs of individuals and human groups.

That said, all crises are usually the result or "complaint" of a problem

What work are currently developed and what projects do you have thought for the future?

Yes, because we are in constant interaction and interdependence, not only at the group or local level, but more and more globally. Crises represent a complaint as you say, but not everything is negative. That complaint can allow us to actively review what types of responses best and improve our adaptive capacity. That is, crises can serve as an opportunity for learning and transformation.

I am currently working on three different projects, one on infidelity in couples, another on educational management and another on the group conditions necessary to produce empathic answers.

We know that not only you evolve forming but also a research and training center in social psychology can you tell us some of it?

Since 2012, an organization dedicated to research, development and training in Social Psychology -Ceideps, based in Barcelona but with students around the world. Our team shares the idea that training is, at the same time a great responsibility and a vocation that we enjoy greatly simultaneously. We are currently working to - mainly - expand the training to Portuguese and English.

What would be the maximum reward for a social psychologist when working and why?

Personally, seeing how people manage to achieve results and their gratitude when they exceed a phobia, satisfactorily cross a duel, overlap a trauma, in short, when they manage to be better and develop all their potential and well -being.

What reference or reference has you more impacted in the field of psychology or that illustrious character has always caught your attention to take it as an example?

It would be a long list! Freud, Klein, Erickson, Bion, Pichon-Riviere, Jung ..

On the most personal plane, Enrique Saforcada, professor at the University of Buenos Aires. I was instilled for permanent questioning and love for social psychology.

What would you tell people who want to study psychology? Should we have a vocation or can we get it?

There are different ways of approaching psychology because its areas of application are many. When someone tells me that he would be interested in studying psychology, I ask him: you are willing to question yourself and help others? If the answer is yes, go ahead!

Throughout your professional career, which we know is extensive. What particular case as a social psychologist has impacted you more when intervening or experimenting?

I tend to remember the cases in which I have not achieved my goal because they have forced me to expand or review my approach form.

I remember the case of a client who came to my consultation for a trichotylomania disorder, which is the compulsion to start the hair. He was a young person who was very worried about his physical appearance -he began to stay bald-. Therapeutically, I thought to address the emotional cause at the base of that behavior, and on the other generate a radical change in its proprioceptive aspect -as it perceived itself. I suggested that we started to shave our heads. There was no second session, he never returned! The symptoms are crutches in which we rely to manage the discomfort, if we get them out of blow we fail. Finding the timing of the process is not always simple.

Is it true that social psychologists are hired by large companies for marketing issues and study human behavior or by governments to somehow help in their campaigns in the same way?

Nothing escapes psychosocial analysis. Marketing professionals, for example, need to know what happens in consumer minds, it is natural that they use psychology professionals to generate effective communication with them and understand their needs!

It is very interesting, for example, as the genesis of mass consumerism in the United States achieved a spectacular development in the 40s and 50s, thanks to behavioral psychology experts who advised large companies.

How do you see the current academic level in Spain? Is it comparable to other European levels?

I am not sure that we can talk about general standards, since there are certain universities or departments that work very well, in most European countries. However, it seems that there is agreement that in the area of ​​Psychology in Spain has a lot of improvement margin compared to the rest of Europe.

What drives you to continue learning? Because we see a constant evolution, languages, master, doctorate, research projects, etc.

The continuously forming is in an attitude that is decided - or not - assume.

And while it has an individual component, I think we should stimulate them much more, in all areas, not only the academic, but also in work, in the educational, in the professional.

For example, I had never considered speaking French - I spoke 4 languages ​​- but I received positive stimuli, and I said, why not? I'm already studying a fifth language!

To finish and thank in advance this time for the interview, would you recommend psychoactive to our visitors?

Of course! It is so positive to promote curiosity and knowledge. This era that we have to live is extraordinary in that sense. We can access so much information much more easily! I congratulate you in this task of disseminating and bringing readers such interesting psychology!

Finishing this interview and thanking Saxa Stefani for their answers, we say goodbye waiting for you liked. Thanks Saxa, an affectionate hug.