asperger disorder / Tired

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

rmbsstock

Full Member
10+ Year Member
Joined
Nov 4, 2009
Messages
369
Reaction score
0
I have two questions and I need help please.
Question 1. Do you know of any CEUs lectures on the computer that discuss asperger disorder?
2) This is my first year working on my PhD in Psychology, but I am not happy..My BA was Literature and Political Science and my MA was Counseling Psych. I want my PhD to be something different. I do not want to be under the mercy of managed care all my life. Also, this field is stressing me out so much for so many reasons. I need to get out but for something-else. Please give me some ideas.
Thanks in advance
 
I have two questions and I need help please.
Question 1. Do you know of any CEUs lectures on the computer that discuss asperger disorder?
2) This is my first year working on my PhD in Psychology, but I am not happy..My BA was Literature and Political Science and my MA was Counseling Psych. I want my PhD to be something different. I do not want to be under the mercy of managed care all my life. Also, this field is stressing me out so much for so many reasons. I need to get out but for something-else. Please give me some ideas.
Thanks in advance


Not sure about Question 1??

For Question 2, all I can say is that I understand where your coming from. The process from application to degree can be exhausting and often feel like its not really worth it. However, no one can really tell you what you should get your degree in unless you know where your own interests and passions lie. So, I would suggest you start from that point. Do you love psychology, but just don't like the managed care element of it? If so, then maybe an academic or research path will work for you. If you are in your first year, you may even be able to switch into another area of psychology that is less clinically oriented. Or do you think spending another minute in any field of psychology is the worst possible outcome ever? If so, you should really look at what you are passionate about. Is there anything that you have been involved with that makes you genuinely excited to get out bed in the morning. For example, I recently realized that the ONLY days I was really happy were the days I was volunteering at a hospital- this helped shaped some of my long term goals. Maybe there is something similar for you?

If things are really bad, maybe you can take a Leave of Absence from your program and do some soul searching and truly figure out if this is the right path for you. If things are just kind of bad, and you are just really frustrated right now, it may pass, stick it out and see where it takes you unless you REALLY truly know whatever else it is that you want to do. The worst choice you could make is to drop out of your program prematurely and then realize you wished you had stayed. Good luck!
 
Not sure about Question 1??

For Question 2, all I can say is that I understand where your coming from. The process from application to degree can be exhausting and often feel like its not really worth it. However, no one can really tell you what you should get your degree in unless you know where your own interests and passions lie. So, I would suggest you start from that point. Do you love psychology, but just don't like the managed care element of it? If so, then maybe an academic or research path will work for you. If you are in your first year, you may even be able to switch into another area of psychology that is less clinically oriented. Or do you think spending another minute in any field of psychology is the worst possible outcome ever? If so, you should really look at what you are passionate about. Is there anything that you have been involved with that makes you genuinely excited to get out bed in the morning. For example, I recently realized that the ONLY days I was really happy were the days I was volunteering at a hospital- this helped shaped some of my long term goals. Maybe there is something similar for you?

If things are really bad, maybe you can take a Leave of Absence from your program and do some soul searching and truly figure out if this is the right path for you. If things are just kind of bad, and you are just really frustrated right now, it may pass, stick it out and see where it takes you unless you REALLY truly know whatever else it is that you want to do. The worst choice you could make is to drop out of your program prematurely and then realize you wished you had stayed. Good luck!

Sorry for not being clear on question 1.
Here it goes again: I want to see if anyone knows of a site where I can attend an on line lecture regarding asperger disorder. Also, hopefully at the end I can do a test so I can use it as some CEU hours.

2) "For example, I recently realized that the ONLY days I was really happy were the days I was volunteering at a hospital- this helped shaped some of my long term goals. " Can you please give me an idea on how you shaped your long term goals based on this experience. I worked in the past in a MASH hospital and I loved it. So what do you study/modify your studying plans to be able to work full time at the hospital?
Thanks for your help
 
Sorry for not being clear on question 1.
Here it goes again: I want to see if anyone knows of a site where I can attend an on line lecture regarding asperger disorder. Also, hopefully at the end I can do a test so I can use it as some CEU hours.

I still don't know, as a current student CEU credits are really a non-issue for me... not sure where you could get this info either. Maybe a google search?

I worked in the past in a MASH hospital and I loved it. So what do you study/modify your studying plans to be able to work full time at the hospital?
Thanks for your help

So, one thing I did was change my minor/concentration to include both statistics and health. This gives me a little bit more flexibility than having a strictly clinical psych background. I have also tried to shape my current volunteer and practicum experiences around working in a hospital environment and I will look for an internship in a hospital. Hopefully a job will take shape in the same way. If at the end of all this, I feel happy and satisfied in the field by working and doing clinical psych in a health/hospital setting, awesome. If I don't, I haven't ruled out the possibility of going back to get my medical degree (this would be the more expensive and lengthy of the two options, but I'm willing to do whatever it takes to find my place in the health care setting). If managed care is really your issue, however, this is not going to be the route for you. Psychology and medicine are both notorious for having to jump over this hurdle.
 
I still don't know, as a current student CEU credits are really a non-issue for me... not sure where you could get this info either. Maybe a google search?
Well, I have my state and national Licenses since I am working with my master degree. But yes, I have been looking. I have a very hard case of asperger and I was hoping to watch some treatment methods discussed and modeled.

If managed care is really your issue, however, this is not going to be the route for you. Psychology and medicine are both notorious for having to jump over this hurdle.

Managed care is part of the issue. The other issue is that I have advanced so much and busted my behind to become a very successful director. After this economy went down the drain, all my directors and I lost our jobs. I am working now seeing some clients by referral. Managed care will not let us bill their insurance, so they have to pay cash!!
Also, I feel that we are so dispensable in this field. I was on call for three years day and night. I made one of the hardest blue print programs succeed in the state in PA after it failed three other times. My reward? I lost my job, and the person that took over with a huge cut in pay, destroyed the program and now it is going to close!
I just feel that we are not taken seriously by anyone. Any lay person who reads a book think they know everything about psych. and it diagnosis and treatment.
I do not know how much things change after we get our PhD, but I am afraid to get in so much debt, not find a good job and drown in bills!
 

Also, I feel that we are so dispensable in this field. I was on call for three years day and night. I made one of the hardest blue print programs succeed in the state in PA after it failed three other times. My reward?

This has not been my experience, although the places have trained and practicumed thus far have been academically affiliated sites where psychologists are either integral parts of interdisciplinary teams or heads of large research labs. In my experience, as long are you're bringing in NIH dollars, doesn't matter if you're MD, Ph.D. or, Psy.D.


I do not know how much things change after we get our PhD, but I am afraid to get in so much debt, not find a good job and drown in bills!

I don't think you have to worry about starving, but earning a salary that is truly commiserate with our level expertise has been a subject of much debate on here. This is part of the reason why many of us on here try to dissuade newbies from attending unfunded (often "professional school") programs, as making payments on a 150k loan debt when your making a 60k/year salary is a huge financial burden.
 
Last edited:
Managed care is part of the issue. The other issue is that I have advanced so much and busted my behind to become a very successful director. After this economy went down the drain, all my directors and I lost our jobs. I am working now seeing some clients by referral. Managed care will not let us bill their insurance, so they have to pay cash!!
Also, I feel that we are so dispensable in this field. I was on call for three years day and night. I made one of the hardest blue print programs succeed in the state in PA after it failed three other times. My reward? I lost my job, and the person that took over with a huge cut in pay, destroyed the program and now it is going to close!
I just feel that we are not taken seriously by anyone. Any lay person who reads a book think they know everything about psych. and it diagnosis and treatment.
I do not know how much things change after we get our PhD, but I am afraid to get in so much debt, not find a good job and drown in bills!

That's such a disheartening story.
 
This has not been my experience, although the places have trained and practicumed thus far have been academically affiliated sites where psychologists are either integral parts of interdisciplinary teams or heads of large research labs. In my experience, as long are you're bringing in NIH dollars, doesn't matter if you're MD, Ph.D. or, Psy.D.

You know at the time of my previous experience, I was (still is) with an MA degree. The agency thought that my pay check was very high for the amount of work that I was putting in. So, they replaced me with another employee who accepted to get payed quarter my pay check. The end result: The company now lost the million dollar grant that they got from the PCCD penncelvania commision on crime and delinquency, the program was shut down because the new director could not manege it and our country stopped sending referrals. So now it is being shut down.
🙁🙁🙁🙁🙁🙁🙁🙁🙁
 
I actually recently realized that I was happiest during my undergrad clinical work, so I switched my current clinical interest to that same area. Happily it works out better because my program has better opportunities for training and geting experience in this area.
 
Top