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

[chicandtoughness]

What about the trauma of not having trauma and therefore not fitting in with everyone else who has trauma, but then now fitting in with them because of that trauma, which means I no longer have the trauma of not fitting in, which then means I do have a trauma, etc.?

Bro this is just pure O OCD, don’t you know?

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[oliversacks4thewin]

It is so ubiquitous, that jokes are being made about how frequently it occurs, which I also personally find hilarious.

 

[cara susanna]

Are there other fields that have subreddits dedicated to asking professionals/experts questions about their field (like Ask a Historian or Ask a lawyer) and they have people with zero actual professional or academic expertise posting because they think their personal experience makes them experts?

 

[WisNeuro]

Are there other fields that have subreddits dedicated to asking professionals/experts questions about their field (like Ask a Historian or Ask a lawyer) and they have people with zero actual professional or academic expertise posting because they think their personal experience makes them experts?

I ventured into the Cognitive Testing sub a ways back. Hoo boy. Pretty much a bunch of incels bragging about their online IQ test scores and a lot of misunderstanding of the field in general. As for others, I woudln't be surprised if an AskALawyer sub were filled with people saying "well when my brother went to court for his DUI (insert incorrect "legal" advice here)." I stay fairly selective with my reddit usage as it's 99.99% pure garbage.

 

[thebalmofhurtminds]

Tried to figure out good places to live in our upcoming move and the relevant subreddits wouldn't even allow real discussion, as most of the users argued that anything other than the (small) inter-city public school system neighborhood was "white flight."

 

[EnPsychlopedia]

Are there other fields that have subreddits dedicated to asking professionals/experts questions about their field (like Ask a Historian or Ask a lawyer) and they have people with zero actual professional or academic expertise posting because they think their personal experience makes them experts?

Also, are there any other fields wherein people routinely post things like “I’m a chemistry master’s student playing around with the idea of becoming a psychologist…I have no psychology background whatsoever but I’m passionate about the idea of helping people! How long will it take me to do this? 4 years for a PhD, right?”

I don’t know why these posts annoy me but it’s slightly offensive that folks routinely think getting a PhD in clinical psychology is no big deal and something they can just casually decide to do with no background or experience. No, sir, it will not take you 4 years. Try 10+, since you need prerequisite coursework, 2-3 years of research experience, programs are 5+1, throw in a postdoc…

 

[chicandtoughness]

Equally upsetting are the “I love giving my friends advice so I want to be a clinical psychologist!” folks :/

 

[EnPsychlopedia]

Equally upsetting are the “I love giving my friends advice so I want to be a clinical psychologist!” folks

“I’m the therapist friend of the group!”

 

[EnPsychlopedia]

Also, are there any other fields wherein people routinely post things like “I’m a chemistry master’s student playing around with the idea of becoming a psychologist…I have no psychology background whatsoever but I’m passionate about the idea of helping people! How long will it take me to do this? 4 years for a PhD, right?”

I don’t know why these posts annoy me but it’s slightly offensive that folks routinely think getting a PhD in clinical psychology is no big deal and something they can just casually decide to do with no background or experience. No, sir, it will not take you 4 years. Try 10+, since you need prerequisite coursework, 2-3 years of research experience, programs are 5+1, throw in a postdoc…

To add: imagine if the tables were turned and a general psychology master’s student posted in a chemistry sub and said “I’ve always been passionate about chemistry and I’m looking for a career change. Given I have no background whatsoever in the field, can I just transition into a chemistry PhD program and become an organic chemistry professor within the next 5 years? PhD and postdoc, right?” That person would be rightly mocked.

 

[R. Matey]

To add: imagine if the tables were turned and a general psychology master’s student posted in a chemistry sub and said “I’ve always been passionate about chemistry and I’m looking for a career change. Given I have no background whatsoever in the field, can I just transition into a chemistry PhD program and become an organic chemistry professor within the next 5 years? PhD and postdoc, right?” That person would be rightly mocked.

My guess is that these folks have a hard time separating their experiences of psychotherapy from clinical science. Also, Ph.D. programs vary. I mean, anyone can get into Fielding.

 

[psycho1391]

I just got an ad on instagram about a training course for Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy.....

 

[futureapppsy2]

I just saw this on a website for managing pain related to my chronic health condition

"I would not be too worried about addiction when taking opiates for pain. Addiction is rare when taking them for pain relief, although not unheard of, however if you were to become addicted then detox is a lot easier to deal when you don’t have all the psychosocial problems that illegal users have"

Uhhhhhh

Wow, this person just completely missed the entire, massive prescription opiate addiction crisis didn’t they?

 

[futureapppsy2]

Are there other fields that have subreddits dedicated to asking professionals/experts questions about their field (like Ask a Historian or Ask a lawyer) and they have people with zero actual professional or academic expertise posting because they think their personal experience makes them experts?

This is a lot of the legal advice sub, imo, so… yes, but we are some of the hardest hit.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

Wow, this person just completely missed the entire, massive prescription opiate addiction crisis didn’t they?

I mean, obviously the only people who got addicted to them were misusing them.

 

[megamaramon]

I ventured into the Cognitive Testing sub a ways back. Hoo boy. Pretty much a bunch of incels bragging about their online IQ test scores and a lot of misunderstanding of the field in general. As for others, I woudln't be surprised if an AskALawyer sub were filled with people saying "well when my brother went to court for his DUI (insert incorrect "legal" advice here)." I stay fairly selective with my reddit usage as it's 99.99% pure garbage.

I have reported that sub multiple times for publishing images/whole tests. Reached out to test publishers and everything. It's so annoying.

They hosted one AMA with a psych technician. "I administer the WAIS-IV hundreds of times, ask me anything."

 

[WPMO]

Also, I have realized that many therapists get very upset if someone mentions that social work and/or counseling are not branches of psychology. Some folks really want to be able to say they “understand psychology” just because they are licensed as a therapist.

I would actually push back against this from the opposite point of view - I think we should (re)claim Counseling as a part of Psychology. I understand you don't want people thinking that Masters-level LPCs are the same as Doctoral-level Clinical Psychologists, and fair enough. However, my point is that everything in Counseling comes from Psychology. The theories, the techniques, the original licensure/ethics rules, and most of the original professors all came from Psychology. I think Counseling just had to exist as a separate field because the APA would not budge on some type of Master's-level clinical practice.

Counseling being a legally separate discipline has led to scope of practice battles that have been very harmful to Psychology, and many Counseling programs no longer allowing Psychologists (or Social Workers) to teach means that our job prospects are more limited and that these Master's students are now being taught only by people with Counselor Education degrees, such as the one you mentioned who wants to replace the entire DSM with trauma. I've known great, intelligent people with CES degrees. I've also known other people with CES degrees. You can get them entirely online in about two-three years. The further Counseling drifts from Psychology the worse it gets, and the lower the average quality of teaching gets. I know, I got my Master's in Counseling!

Right now most people who say that Counseling is not a part of Psychology are partisan Counselors saying that they are a separate and equal discipline that just happens to only require a Master's degree to do all of the same things that Psychologists do. For example, in Virginia they can do any kind of Psychological testing they want, and some of their lobbying organizations advocate for them to be able to do so with only a Master's degree. Psychologists and Social Workers are also not considered qualified to supervise towards Counselor licensure here, based on the idea that we are "separate disciplines". Apparently a Psychologist could never offer the type of supervision that an LPC can. The more Counselors are their own discipline, the less influence Psychologists have, the worse their quality of teaching gets, and the more justification they have to disallow Psychologists from teaching or supervising them.

 

[R. Matey]

would actually push back against this from the opposite point of view - I think we should (re)claim Counseling as a part of Psychology. I understand you don't want people thinking that Masters-level LPCs are the same as Doctoral-level Clinical Psychologists, and fair enough. However, my point is that everything in Counseling comes from Psychology. The theories, the techniques, the original licensure/ethics rules, and most of the original professors all came from Psychology. I think Counseling just had to exist as a separate field because the APA would not budge on some type of Master's-level clinical practice.

We could call it 'counseling psychology.'

 

[EnPsychlopedia]

I would actually push back against this from the opposite point of view - I think we should (re)claim Counseling as a part of Psychology. I understand you don't want people thinking that Masters-level LPCs are the same as Doctoral-level Clinical Psychologists, and fair enough. However, my point is that everything in Counseling comes from Psychology. The theories, the techniques, the original licensure/ethics rules, and most of the original professors all came from Psychology. I think Counseling just had to exist as a separate field because the APA would not budge on some type of Master's-level clinical practice.

Counseling being a legally separate discipline has led to scope of practice battles that have been very harmful to Psychology, and many Counseling programs no longer allowing Psychologists (or Social Workers) to teach means that our job prospects are more limited and that these Master's students are now being taught only by people with Counselor Education degrees, such as the one you mentioned who wants to replace the entire DSM with trauma. I've known great, intelligent people with CES degrees. I've also known other people with CES degrees. You can get them entirely online in about two-three years. The further Counseling drifts from Psychology the worse it gets, and the lower the average quality of teaching gets. I know, I got my Master's in Counseling!

Right now most people who say that Counseling is not a part of Psychology are partisan Counselors saying that they are a separate and equal discipline that just happens to only require a Master's degree to do all of the same things that Psychologists do. For example, in Virginia they can do any kind of Psychological testing they want, and some of their lobbying organizations advocate for them to be able to do so with only a Master's degree. Psychologists and Social Workers are also not considered qualified to supervise towards Counselor licensure here, based on the idea that we are "separate disciplines". Apparently a Psychologist could never offer the type of supervision that an LPC can. The more Counselors are their own discipline, the less influence Psychologists have, the worse their quality of teaching gets, and the more justification they have to disallow Psychologists from teaching or supervising them.

Counseling has sort of intentionally made the choice to divorce themselves from psychology. I agree it’s harmful to have them separated, and I think counseling psychology is certainly a place where the two continue to meet and coexist…but given the current state of the profession, it is in my opinion very clear that counseling (as opposed to counseling psychology) degrees don’t broadly impart the same base knowledge that psychology degrees generally impart. They seem to be explicitly focused on clinical application (which I’m not saying is wrong/bad), whereas in my mind a counseling psychology degree would further incorporate the broader knowledge of psychological sciences beyond applied counseling knowledge. That said, I will admit to that maybe being an arbitrary distinction of my own making and emphatically agree with you that counseling should never have gotten sequestered in the first place.

 

[chicandtoughness]

I would actually push back against this from the opposite point of view - I think we should (re)claim Counseling as a part of Psychology. …

Yes yes yes this and more. The psych/counseling split is largely just politicking that started back in the post-Freudian days and has been perpetuated by APA and CACREP being in turf wars. (Don’t get me started on CACREP and its stupid PhD in Counselor Education shenanigans….)

 

[The Cinnabon]

Counseling has sort of intentionally made the choice to divorce themselves from psychology. I agree it’s harmful to have them separated, and I think counseling psychology is certainly a place where the two continue to meet and coexist…but given the current state of the profession, it is in my opinion very clear that counseling (as opposed to counseling psychology) degrees don’t broadly impart the same base knowledge that psychology degrees generally impart. They seem to be explicitly focused on clinical application (which I’m not saying is wrong/bad), whereas in my mind a counseling psychology degree would further incorporate the broader knowledge of psychological sciences beyond applied counseling knowledge. That said, I will admit to that maybe being an arbitrary distinction of my own making and emphatically agree with you that counseling should never have gotten sequestered in the first place.

As someone in a counseling psych program that also has a clinical at our university, I often question as to why our programs never bothered to consider merging or one absorbing another? It truly doesn't seem like there's any practical difference and I wonder if merging would lead to a more rounded and busy department.

 

[cara susanna]

My grad school also had a clinical and counseling program, and I know that clinical students viewed the counseling program as less rigorous. I'm not saying it was true, just our perception.

 

[R. Matey]

As someone in a counseling psych program that also has a clinical at our university, I often question as to why our programs never bothered to consider merging or one absorbing another? It truly doesn't seem like there's any practical difference and I wonder if merging would lead to a more rounded and busy department.

It has a lot to do with politics and academic egos. Combining would potentially mean fewer students for both programs with fewer faculty in said programs so it might be a net loss in the number of psychologists overall. Also, there are still strong academic differences between the two departments. Clinical psychologists tend to study psychopathology and neuroscience whereas counseling psychologists are more likely to study contextual factors, counseling process (i.e., common factors), and prevention. These are generalities, of course.

There's also a persistent myth among some clinical psychologists in powerful positions that counseling psychologists are (1) poorly trained in evidenced based practice, (2) poorly trained in assessment, and (3) don't emphasize statistics in their training. I think these would probably contribute to resistance from clinical programs to combining with counseling programs. I can't prove it, but I think that's partially what's behind the decision to exclude counseling and school programs.

As far as whether any of that is true, I can only speak to my experience. I personally deeply value EPBs, but I will admit that some of colleagues did not. I beat out clinical students for a generalist assessment prac at the local AMC, which included supervision from rehab and neuropsychologists. I beat out clinical students for a research postdoc at another AMC because I had more stats training than the vast majority of the applicants. I also passed the EPPP on the first try after studying for 2-3 months. Could I have made it in a clinical program? Probably. Do I regret being a counseling psychologist? Nope.

 

[EnPsychlopedia]

As someone in a counseling psych program that also has a clinical at our university, I often question as to why our programs never bothered to consider merging or one absorbing another? It truly doesn't seem like there's any practical difference and I wonder if merging would lead to a more rounded and busy department.

I do definitely think it is to the benefit of mental health if "counseling" remains under/goes back to being under "counseling psychology." I get the sense that many master's in counseling programs are simply not interested in this outcome, and @WPMO and @R. Matey seem to be confirming that (and would definitely know better than me, since they have both done counseling degrees). I'm not sure to what extent most counseling master's programs are currently teaching curricula which would be properly considered "counseling psychology" as opposed to just "counseling" (whatever the difference is, with my working POV being that the difference is in whether the curricula are, like doctoral programs, somewhat more integrated into broader psychological science as opposed to simply being degrees for learning about applied theory, specifically). It's an unfortunate state of affairs and I wish all of mental healthcare was simply more integrated and involved far less turf warring. Fwiw, I absolutely do not believe counseling psychologists are more poorly trained than clinical psychologists, but I do get the sense that master's counseling training is extremely variable and highly dependent on both the specific program and the individual trainee's personal supervision experience.

 

[chicandtoughness]

I'm not sure to what extent most counseling master's programs are currently teaching curricula which would be properly considered "counseling psychology" as opposed to just "counseling" (whatever the difference is, with my working POV being that the difference is in whether the curricula are, like doctoral programs, somewhat more integrated into broader psychological science as opposed to simply being degrees for learning about applied theory, specifically).

You're got it for the most part. Masters level counseling programs are the "counseling" part of "counseling psychology". You broadly learn the techniques and how to apply them. You don't really learn about the research and theory that informs the development of those techniques and the responses of the patient. It's like playing chess and knowing "okay yes, move pawns to end of the board, defeat king" (and maybe knowing a trick or two about castling or whatever), but not fully understanding the broad strategy you should be using or how to respond to your opponent.

Yes we usually have 1 "theory" class but it's largely a broad scoping review of all the major theoretical orientations, and the 1-2 "research" classes are more so how to consume research than the process of generating and evaluating it. To no one's surprise, the well-regarded counseling masters programs that are in departments of counseling psychology (e.g. Boston College, University of Houston) have much better emphasis on the theory/research than those in free-standing programs or in departments of "counseling" or "human services". The programs in that former designation are also the ones that have chosen to not pursue CACREP accreditation because it would require them to fire half of their professors who don't have PhD's in Counselor Ed.....

 

[The Cinnabon]

It has a lot to do with politics and academic egos. Combining would potentially mean fewer students for both programs with fewer faculty in said programs so it might be a net loss in the number of psychologists overall. Also, there are still strong academic differences between the two departments. Clinical psychologists tend to study psychopathology and neuroscience whereas counseling psychologists are more likely to study contextual factors, counseling process (i.e., common factors), and prevention. These are generalities, of course.

There's also a persistent myth among some clinical psychologists in powerful positions that counseling psychologists are (1) poorly trained in evidenced based practice, (2) poorly trained in assessment, and (3) don't emphasize statistics in their training. I think these would probably contribute to resistance from clinical programs to combining with counseling programs. I can't prove it, but I think that's partially what's behind the decision to exclude counseling and school programs.

As far as whether any of that is true, I can only speak to my experience. I personally deeply value EPBs, but I will admit that some of colleagues did not. I beat out clinical students for a generalist assessment prac at the local AMC, which included supervision from rehab and neuropsychologists. I beat out clinical students for a research postdoc at another AMC because I had more stats training than the vast majority of the applicants. I also passed the EPPP on the first try after studying for 2-3 months. Could I have made it in a clinical program? Probably. Do I regret being a counseling psychologist? Nope.

I think you may have been the one to state this in a previous thread, but it definitely feels like some Counseling Psychology programs are so focused on critiquing psychology that they forget to actually learn psychology. I do wonder if this issue is more present in Counseling Psychology programs housed in colleges of education and not psychology departments?

I do have a suspicion that my new cohort, while I would say everyone has an extremely solid grasp on multiculturalism and other factors that counseling psychology really looks for, may not have nearly as strong of a grasp on basic psychopathology and EBP's as our adjacent clinical cohort. Ultimately, I do feel the resources are still plentiful in my program to build that grasp e.g. advanced stats courses/faculty that focus heavily on quant methods, solid VA pracs that really focus on EBP's, plentiful funds for sophisticated research projects, etc. Of course, whether or not someone chooses to fully integrate said resources is another matter entirely and I can, unfortunately, only speak for myself on that matter.

 

[Dr_Bee]

In grad school my university had both Counseling (housed in Education) and Clinical Psych (housed in A&S). We shared roughly 50% of the coursework with the clinical folks, meaning classes were comprised of both clinical and counseling psych students. Although there were some strong philosophical differences between the programs, practically, our training was very similar; had similar coursework, prac sites, internship placements etc. Fundamental differences included counseling psych folks being required to do prac at a UCC and being required to take career development coursework. It seemed weird to me that although much of the coursework was shared, the two programs were in separate departments. Perhaps not surprisingly, the Counseling Psych department has since been absorbed into the Clinical Psyc program.

 

[R. Matey]

I think you may have been the one to state this in a previous thread, but it definitely feels like some Counseling Psychology programs are so focused on critiquing psychology that they forget to actually learn psychology. I do wonder if this issue is more present in Counseling Psychology programs housed in colleges of education and not psychology departments?

I do have a suspicion that my new cohort, while I would say everyone has an extremely solid grasp on multiculturalism and other factors that counseling psychology really looks for, may not have nearly as strong of a grasp on basic psychopathology and EBP's as our adjacent clinical cohort. Ultimately, I do feel the resources are still plentiful in my program to build that grasp e.g. advanced stats courses/faculty that focus heavily on quant methods, solid VA pracs that really focus on EBP's, plentiful funds for sophisticated research projects, etc. Of course, whether or not someone chooses to fully integrate said resources is another matter entirely and I can, unfortunately, only speak for myself on that matter.

This does jive with my experience as well. Part of it is that counseling psych is defining itself more and more as a multicultural specialty within psych, which is fine in principle, but I think this might lead some to lose sight of the fact that the vast majority of their graduates will end up in clinical positions where they will be seen as experts in psychopathology. We spent a lot of time in my program having circuitous critical discussions in response to someone's whataboutism rather than rigorously discussing the material, which was frustrating. That said, I've taken enough classes on the clinical psych side to know that this problem wasn't just restricted to counseling psychology.

 

[WPMO]

Yes yes yes this and more. The psych/counseling split is largely just politicking that started back in the post-Freudian days and has been perpetuated by APA and CACREP being in turf wars. (Don’t get me started on CACREP and its stupid PhD in Counselor Education shenanigans….)

I'm afraid I may get you started, as I tend to get myself started about this topic!

I think if APA did Master's-level practice of some meaningful kind a decade earlier most of this all could have been avoided. I've been thinking about how Psychology might go about influencing, and even absorbing, Counseling as much as possible. I know the Alliance for Professional Counselors advocates for both professions to work closely, and the MPCAC is helping a lot. I think legislatively we should pay attention to attempts at CACREP mandates and spread the word to oppose them, as well as limitations on who can supervise Counselors. I think we probably need to work with Social Workers as much as possible on this issue simply due to their numbers and their ability to lobby. The first target should probably be the CACREP mandates in North Carolina and Kentucky - the only two states with such laws. The Counseling Compact has already rejected a CACREP mandate, and if those two state mandates fall there is little reason for students to be concerned with CACREP accreditation. I believe there may be requirements within Tricare for a CACREP degree to get reimbursement, which should also be expanded to include the MPCAC. I think APA should do as much as possible to support the MPCAC, and start making sure that MPCAC programs can lead to licensure in every state. That would at least still leave the option for Clinical/Counseling/Applied Psychology master's programs to become accredited and produce LPC candidates. If MPCAC becomes as accepted as CACREP, then CACREP basically becomes just a group of strangely angry Counselors who make programs limit the faculty they can hire. I guess some people will still like that, but as long as another option exists who cares?

My ideas are certainly still coming together, but I do think Psychology can "go for it all" by continuing to be able to produce LPC licensure candidates, teach in many Counseling programs, and have it's own APA Master's-level accreditation. We have to pay attention, care, and inform each other about these issues if that's going to happen. Those of you who teach Bachelor's-level students might also consider encouraging the best of them, as appropriate of course, to go to MPCAC programs if they are available. We should want to hold on to our best students as they go to grad school. I've known some Counselor Education and Supervision students who would have been great Psychologists and a boon to our profession, but just did not go down that path because they wanted to become an LPC, and you can't do that with a Master's in Psychology in many states.

 

[EnPsychlopedia]

Earlier this week on r/therapists, I saw a post where a counselor was asking for support on how to best work with an individual with a very specific, clear, and distressing delusion since (a) psychosis was not an area of experience and (b) this was a CMHC setting where referral was not really on the table. Someone unironically suggested the OP look into psychoanalytic interpretations of delusions and how they can represent inner conflicts which need to be resolved. I wish I was kidding. I wish I was kidding.

 

[futureapppsy2]

Are there other fields that have subreddits dedicated to asking professionals/experts questions about their field (like Ask a Historian or Ask a lawyer) and they have people with zero actual professional or academic expertise posting because they think their personal experience makes them experts?

Ooo, I just saw one where a person said that research has "clearly shown" that psychotherapy, especially CBT, doesn't work, and after being asked for citations several times, they admitted their "evidence" was the experience of being a patient and having a mental illness that hasn't been completely cured in 8 years of treatment. If you're going to toss out fields of medicine for not completely curing everything in their specialty, I have bad news about every medical specialty...

 

[ccpsych16]

Ooo, I just say one where a person said that research has "clearly shown" that psychotherapy, especially CBT, doesn't work, and after being asked for citations several times, they admitted their "evidence" was the experience of being a patient and having a mental illness that hasn't been completely cured in 8 years.

I had someone tell me CBTi doesn’t work because they couldn’t get through it. Same complaints about sleep restriction and “that’s going to affect my job”. I’m like, dude, you already are not getting enough sleep!

 

[smalltownpsych]

I had someone tell me CBTi doesn’t work because they couldn’t get through it. Same complaints about sleep restriction and “that’s going to affect my job”. I’m like, dude, you already are not getting enough sleep!

Many of my patients often tell me everything doesn’t work. 😏
Regardless of what the problem or behavior is that needs to shift, overcoming resistance and denial seems to be the biggest part of the work because once they actually start doing it, they actually start to make progress.

 

[ccpsych16]

Many of my patients often tell me everything doesn’t work. 😏
Regardless of what the problem or behavior is that needs to shift, overcoming resistance and denial seems to be the biggest part of the work because once they actually start doing it, they actually start to make progress.

I definitely did not expect to come up against so much denial and resistance on a day to day basis. I deal with it much more now than any time during grad training.

 

[WisNeuro]

I definitely did not expect to come up against so much denial and resistance on a day to day basis. I deal with it much more now than any time during grad training.

That's the VA for you. I've never been in a setting where patients put that much effort into not wanting to get better.

 

[cara susanna]

If a patient says that to you in the VA, then you can just say that they declined the intervention and document it like "well, I tried, but they're declining care."

 

[clausewitz2]

Many of my patients often tell me everything doesn’t work. 😏
Regardless of what the problem or behavior is that needs to shift, overcoming resistance and denial seems to be the biggest part of the work because once they actually start doing it, they actually start to make progress.

To paraphrase Chesterton, so often our interventions have not been tried and found wanting, but found difficult and not tried.

 

[EnPsychlopedia]

Apparently, belief in the mythical lunar effect is widespread among Reddit therapists...

https://www.reddit.com/r/therapists/comments/1fln42a/the_vibes_are_off_this_week/

 

[chicandtoughness]

Do people genuinely believe in the full moon thing? I mean we always joked about it on the units but I always thought it was a cute inside joke thing to blow off steam, like the Q word.

 

[The Cinnabon]

Apparently, belief in the mythical lunar effect is widespread among Reddit therapists...

I feel like this is more of an off hand comment, right?

I mean I've heard some crazy **** before, don't get me started on the die hard adlerian who really, truly, believed that birth order was the end all be all, but my naive optimistic side is telling me such beliefs are still in the minority ... I hope.

 

[WisNeuro]

I feel like this is more of an off hand comment, right?

I mean I've heard some crazy **** before, don't get me started on the die hard adlerian who really, truly, believed that birth order was the end all be all, but my naive optimistic side is telling me such beliefs are still in the minority ... I hope.

I think it really depends on which specific profession and region. For many of the midlevel professions, seems to me the IFS/EMDR/Brainspotting diehards are more the rule than the exception.

 

[EnPsychlopedia]

I feel like this is more of an off hand comment, right?

I mean I've heard some crazy **** before, don't get me started on the die hard adlerian who really, truly, believed that birth order was the end all be all, but my naive optimistic side is telling me such beliefs are still in the minority ... I hope.

You can read the comments...it's not offhand.

 

[futureapppsy2]

Do people genuinely believe in the full moon thing? I mean we always joked about it on the units but I always thought it was a cute inside joke thing to blow off steam, like the Q word.

I joked about it at my first practicum placement years ago, only to realize that some of the staff didn't think it was a joke and agreed with it.

 

[MCParent]

I joked about it at my first practicum placement years only, only to realize that some of the staff didn't think it was a joke and agreed with it.

People absolutely believe the full moon thing. Heard it multiple places. And husband who is a physician gets asked if the hospital is busier and weirder on full moons often.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

People absolutely believe the full moon thing. Heard it multiple places. And husband who is a physician gets asked if the hospital is busier and weirder on full moons often.

My parent was an ED nurse and has always said it's busier, and weirder, on full moons (half joking, half not). I worked on the (lowly) administrative side in the ED for a year or so before grad school; not sure I ever noticed or paid attention to the moon phase.

No clue if there's actually any data backing that up, although I'm sure it's been looked at.

 

[MCParent]

My parent was an ED nurse and has always said it's busier, and weirder, on full moons (half joking, half not). I worked on the (lowly) administrative side in the ED for a year or so before grad school; not sure I ever noticed or paid attention to the moon phase.

No clue if there's actually any data backing that up, although I'm sure it's been looked at.

Of course people have papers on it

Google Scholar

scholar.google.com

Google Scholar

scholar.google.com

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0735675796901242

Despite a pretty surprising number of papers going back decades, I only found one meta analysis from the 80s (in my three minute search)

Google Scholar

scholar.google.com

 

[smalltownpsych]

I joked about it at my first practicum placement years ago, only to realize that some of the staff didn't think it was a joke and agreed with it.

Similar here. Learned pretty early on that susperstition still trumps science for a lot of folk and it’s better to just play along most of the time. Fortunately, when I talk to psychologists and MDs my experience has been that I don’t have to worry too much about that as most us seem to understand and utilize critical thought processes grounded in empirical methods. Not so much the case for the “I hate research/science/math crowd.”

 

[RxPsych]

Similar here. Learned pretty early on that susperstition still trumps science for a lot of folk and it’s better to just play along most of the time. Fortunately, when I talk to psychologists and MDs my experience has been that I don’t have to worry too much about that as most us seem to understand and utilize critical thought processes grounded in empirical methods. Not so much the case for the “I hate research/science/math crowd.”

This has mostly been my experience as well, except when a geriatrician at my external practicum AMC said that she would like all her patients to complete an enneagram before she meets with them so she can understand them better. In her words, it "perfectly describes people's personalities."

 

[smalltownpsych]

This has mostly been my experience as well, except when a geriatrician at my external practicum AMC said that she would like all her patients to complete an enneagram before she meets with them so she can understand them better. In her words, it "perfectly describes people's personalities."

Last place I worked, the enneagram was used extensively by all the folk. In my mind it was something like a horoscope in that anyone could see aspects of themselves in the different types. I was less concerned about the use of that specific instrument or similar stuff than the other correlated errors in thinking that led to poor clinical outcomes. In other words, we have a lot of good research that points to what is effective and what can be harmful for patients and why these are so and the ability to discriminate and apply that information is essential.

 

[chicandtoughness]

One facility I worked at, there were several therapists who were VERY into the enneagram. I'm talking like, forked over the money to be trained by the OG creators of it or something. It was kind of scary because I originally really respected those therapists and the work they had done :/

 

[R. Matey]

One facility I worked at, there were several therapists who were VERY into the enneagram. I'm talking like, forked over the money to be trained by the OG creators of it or something. It was kind of scary because I originally really respected those therapists and the work they had done :/

When people (not patients) ask me my ennegram type I usually just name a random Hogwart's house. It's a good conversation starter.