Seriously what do psychologists do?
Well is there a reason you decided to go to a psychologist this time for your sleep medication instead of your family doctor? If you usually get them from your GP and that's all you wanted, then why not just go where it's reliable for you. A psychologists job is to help a person learn to cope with problems from the past and learning to better deal with ones that come up in the future as well. They work hard, stressful jobs dealing with people and their problems every day. They are also great support for people who turn to them for advice and don't have anyone else. It takes a of strength and caring in a person to be able to do the job they do.
Does talking with a psychologist really help?
When it hurts more when you talk to them it's actually a GOOD sign.You have to get all these out of your system,and by hiding and not talknig about it,it makes it worse.As time passes by,you will trust them more and more,so you will tell them eventually.They do help and keep on visiting your therapist. Just be patient and determined that you WILL get over this and that you will ever ever give up.That's the key. good luck
School psychologist wants to talk with me? Help please?
It's not suprising that schools are now becoming "headhunters" for the mental health system. Often, "headhunters" collect a fee for "labeling" their victims and directing the victim to a corporate barbarian quack psychiatrist. In a weak depressed ecomony, the corporate mercenary quacks are always looking for new customers, or "victims." to experiment on with their toxic, poisonous, mind altering, brain damaging chemical prescription drugs. Don't let 'em intimidate you, you have rights. Most school systems must get written permission from parents before you can be subjected to a psychiatric evaluation. If you find yourself in that situation, politely advise them that they can't pick your brain without permission from your family.
Does talk therapy with a psychologist really work????
First off, congratulations on taking a positive step for yourself. I am a psychologist, and I have been to psychologists. I've seen it work with my patients, and it was certainly helpful for me as well. There are many forms of talk therapy--some of which work very well, some of which are less effective. But all forms are dependent upon how honest YOU are about what's occurring for you, and about following through and really trying to do some of the things that the therapist suggests outside of your sessions. What usually happens is that the psychologist or psychotherapist does an assessment and diagnosis during the first session with you. Then s/he will develop a treatment plan to help you understand the issues that you are going to work on together. Part of that treatment plan may include referrals to various resources, for example, to a psych MD for an evaluation for medication. Usually, fairly early on in your treatment, the therapist will give you a referral to a psych MD for medication evaluation if that is appropriate. As an alternate, if it seems that you may not need meds at first, the therapist may treat you without meds. If it seems as if you are not making much progress, s/he may refer you later for a medication evaluation. It sounds to me, just from the little that you've told me, that you would do well with an evaluation for medication right at the start because you are describing many symptoms of depression. The most effective treatment for depressive disorders is a combination of medications and "talk therapy". Good luck!
How do psychologists treat patients who barely or don't talk during a session?
If a patient cannot or will not speak at all during sessions, any clinical psychologist worth his or her PhD would have to eventually admit that progress in therapy is impossible. There is not much that can be accomplished if a client will not speak. If the patient speaks at least occasionally, there is hope for progress. Sometimes a reticent talker can reveal great personal insights and important information when he or she does finally speak, even if the speech is terse. In addition, much successful psychotherapy does not rely on the actual content of what is said by the patient or psychologist nearly as much as it relies on the process of the dialog itself. This process may, for certain clients, take quite a number of sessions to begin to develop, as trust and familiarity slowly build. At no point do I ever have an expectation that any given therapy session should be full of constant chatter, from either myself or the patient. Sometimes silences are useful and even therapeutically necessary. However, if, after a number of sessions, there is literally no communication from the patient or only a few dismissive utterances, I must eventually conclude that I am not a person who will be able to help the patient. As a psychologist therapist, it is important to know one's limits and to recognize that not every single patient will benefit from talking with you. In my experience, however, it is extremely rare to encounter a client who will not, after a few sessions, begin to open up and take an active role in the talk therapy.
First time seeing a psychologist - what to expect?
I've been having a lot of problems lately (social anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts, etc.) so my mom wants to take me to a psychologist tomorrow... It's going to be my first time and I don't know what to expect... What is the psychologist going to do to me? What's she going to ask me? And how can I keep calm at the her office (I know I'm going to be very scared cuz it's my first time but I don't want to look childish :/)??
Should a sociopath talk with a therapist, psychologist or a psychiatrist?
Ideally they should see Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny.Simply because, like the above, they don’t exist. Sociopaths and Psychopaths are inventions of legal systems and a long, long, abandoned simplification (remember, that’s the same era that coined the term “moron” and “imbecile” or that believed that feeble-mindedness was inherited).Today, being a lot further than they were back then, when Psychiatry and clinical Psychology were in their infancy, we know that there are both somatic (neurological) and psychosocial causes for a host of mental disorders that present, among other things, with psychopathic or sociopathic traits.We also know, that there is no such thing as a “Psychopath” or “Sociopath” but people suffering from antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) and dissocial personality disorder (DPD). See also: The Hannibal Lecter Myth: Psychopathy and Verbal Intelligence in the MacArthur Violence Risk Assessment Study.Psychopathy and Sociopathy exist as traits along a scale (the PCL-R and Hare Scale), are therefore symptoms of a deeper issue. You wouldn’t call someone “Redarm” when, in fact, they have a broken ulna, right? You’d say “that’s Mark, he broke his arm/ulna, we can tell because the arm is swollen, at a weird angle, and turning red.”Those underlying illnesses, ASPD and DPD, however, have as one of their further symptoms also an unwillingness to confront the issue.