PhD/PsyD Just a thread to post the weirdest/whackiest/dumbest mental health-related stuff you come across in the (social) media...

[cara susanna]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

I saw this one the testing psychologist community facebook "19 yo male, struggling with sxs associated with adhd-pi that have gotten progressively worse since starting college. struggling with passing classes and have to drop several and move from a university to comm college and is still struggling." They then go onto describe a WAIS with average vci, wmi, and psi and high average wsi and fri. The poster then talks about parent ratings being not super confirming of adhd, but leaning toward sluggish cognitive tempo. Mom indicated that symptoms were present before age six.

Comments are driving me crazy. No discussion of parental over accommodation in high school. No discussion of the possibility of psychosis prodrome. No discussion of the kid just sitting in the dorm smoking weed all the live long day. Shoot, no actual discussion of (a) how ADHD would be impacting their current functioning and (b) also no mention of formal academic assessment skills. Even this psychologist had to take some bonehead classes (100 level math and english) at the local community college before being able to meet requirements for university.

Is this really the state of testing psychology? The testing psychologist community seems like a bunch of unserious people and dilettantes using testing for money instead of (a) describing, (b) explaining, (c) predicting, and (d) influincing outcomes.

Yeah, I'm in that group and I see that sort of thing often. Also a lot of promotion of things that are more pop psych than evidence based (CPTSD, RSD, "neurodiversity-affirming" practice, etc)

 

[borne_before]

Yeah, I'm in that group and I see that sort of thing often. Also a lot of promotion of things that are more pop psych than evidence based (CPTSD, RSD, "neurodiversity-affirming" practice, etc)

This stuff bugs me so much. Is like these things "new and exciting" so let's propagate them? Or lack of critical thinking skills?

 

[PsyDr]

..."neurodiversity-affirming" practice, etc)

WTF is that? Is that like a mechanic saying, "Yup, I affirm the engine is making a sound. $500 please." Because I would be pissed if a mechanic charged me for that.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

It is the current state of Psychologists who engage in testing. It is not the current state of properly trained Neuropsychologists and Psychologists with an extensive psych assessment background. There is a reason that most of us have a carefully curated "Refer Out" list. My reputation is partially tied to the quality of providers I send patients to, so I only do that to people I know and trust.

I too am picky w who I work with in regard to clinicians and also patients. Wis knows that reputation is important for consultation and forensic work. I’m trying to expand into speaking gigs and consulting. It’s be easier if I was a sellout like Amen, but I need to be able to sleep at night.

 

[R. Matey]

I too am picky w who I work with in regard to clinicians and also patients. Wis knows that reputation is important for consultation and forensic work. I’m trying to expand into speaking gigs and consulting. It’s be easier if I was a sellout like Amen, but I need to be able to sleep at night.

I bet he takes a heavy dose of trazadone. Or, at least, did.

 

[oliversacks4thewin]

I bet he takes a heavy dose of trazadone. Or, at least, did.

Honestly, from the interviews I have seen with him, he appears to have resolved his cognitive dissonance on justifying his unethical behavior to reduce his guilt. I bet he sleeps fine. I wish he didn't...

Maybe I should go annoy him at night? Send a ton of text messages and emails, asking for explanations on his "theories."

 

[EnPsychlopedia]

The top minds are again debating the validity and existence of DID. On the one had, most people seem to agree it's being wildly malingered and/or otherwise made en vogue by social media. On the other hand, skepticism of its validity is very slim. r/therapists will never change...

 

[WisNeuro]

The top minds are again debating the validity and existence of DID. On the one had, most people seem to agree it's being wildly malingered and/or otherwise made en vogue by social media. On the other hand, skepticism of its validity is very slim. r/therapists will never change...

I've still never had anyone with DID in the chart have that diagnosis stand up to some basic follow-up questioning that any competent provider could do, or pass validity testing.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

I've still never had anyone with DID in the chart have that diagnosis stand up to some basic follow-up questioning that any competent provider could do, or pass validity testing.

I’ve had one case where I thought maybe, but I didn’t do the intake or formal assessment bc I was just coverage. She had a *severe* abuse history of being chained up and she was SA’d by her dad and his “friends” for years. She’d decompensate and behave like a small child (going by a different name) in response to stressors. They were being treated for an eating disorder, as food was also part of the abuse. 15+ years later and the case still creeps me out.

 

[WisNeuro]

I’ve had one case where I thought maybe, but I didn’t do the intake or formal assessment bc I was just coverage. She had a *severe* abuse history of being chained up and she was SA’d by her dad and his “friends” for years. She’d decompensate and behave like a small child (going by a different name) in response to stressors. They were being treated for an eating disorder, as food was also part of the abuse. 15+ years later and the case still creeps me out.

None of the cases I saw had this brutal of a history. I've seen some people with histories of severe and significant CSA histories, usually with some mild dissociation with their PTSD, but never any "alters."

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

None of the cases I saw had this brutal of a history. I've seen some people with histories of severe and significant CSA histories, usually with some mild dissociation with their PTSD, but never any "alters."

Yeah, the disassociation and regression to speaking like a child coming from a late 20-something female was unnerving. I worked with the nursing staff to only have female staff with her bc of her visceral reactions around men, it could derail her day. It was a truly disturbing case of abuse that made the eating disorder part even more ingrained. I still don't believe in DID as a clinical diagnosis, but I can see how disassociation and trauma can cause strong behavioral changes that can mimic the presentation.

 

[futureapppsy2]

There's an interesting popular press article on a prominent psychiatrist with a hx of DID that is really much more like other dissociation than the Tiktok portrayals of course: What It’s Like to Live With One of Psychiatry’s Most Misunderstood Diagnoses