In Guatemala, Psychologist's Day is celebrated on July 23, following an agreement between the Guatemalan College of Psychologists and the Government on December 28, 1990. But what does celebrating this day mean?
Legally, it means that every psychology professional working in State institutions may receive paid leave. From our perspective, rooted in a personalist philosophy, the reason to celebrate this day is recognition: recognizing with admiration and respect the Guatemalan psychologists who professionally give themselves in service to someone else. This mission of forgetting oneself in order to see and accompany another is among the noblest and most truly human there is.
In recognition we also find a sense of unity. One is not more or less for belonging to a different psychotherapeutic approach or institution, if what is sought is to accompany the person who suffers toward a better path. Today, as an academic and professional community, we can find one shared meaning, the same love and self-giving in going out to meet others.
Recognition is, finally, a gaze: an I that admires and a Thou who deserves to be valued by others. That Thou is the one who recognizes the person as the fundamental value, who knows that neither their acts nor their circumstances define them and, lastly, who knows that the person in front of them is not what they are at this moment, but what they can become. For that and much more, today we celebrate these heroes of mental health and human well-being.
Happy Psychologist's Day!
