I was at a dinner party a while ago where I met a fellow licensed psychologist who told me that that successful therapists must have psychic abilities in order to be successful (I'm not making this up). My immediate response was "how do I teach that?". She told me "you don't. You either have it or you don't". It makes me want to turn in my license and take up another business, maybe selling insurance. The insurance business is definitely more actuarial than clinical psychology. And, by the way, most health insurance is unlikely to cover your psychotherapy. Ironically, or perhaps characteristically, we psychologists (as carried out by our lobbying groups such as APA) object to that.
Bill Scott >>> "Shearon, Tim" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 03/13/08 5:03 PM >>> Marc Carter said: > Not every student, but the > majority in every class, thought that he or she'd be a good > therapist because of some personal characteristic he or she > possessed, not because of knowledge of what worked and what didn't. David E. added the note about the Phoenix rising from the ashes. I think you are both right. Our department actively and often discourages the "I'm special" or "I have gifts" mentality in our undergraduates. But it is a difficult idea to suppress. Many psychology majors choose the discipline because it interests them but equally because, "All my friends come to me with their problems". Perhaps more disturbing is the belief, so prevalent and even encouraged in some masters programs I'm familiar with, in "clinical judgment" when the literature is so clear in what it says about such notions. Sigh. (speaking of Phoenixs, I'm going to get it now!) Tim _______________________________ Timothy O. Shearon, PhD Professor and Chair Department of Psychology The College of Idaho Caldwell, ID 83605 email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] teaching: intro to neuropsychology; psychopharmacology; general; history and systems "You can't teach an old dogma new tricks." Dorothy Parker --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
