Why yes, I knew you were going to say that!

I just realized I blasted through the last post. My b. I should probably introduce myself.

I'm Shawn. I'm a first year doctoral student in Clinical Psychology. I love helping people figure life out, and feel okay doing it. It's why I decided to go into this field. It's also why I'm starting this blog. I wanted to do a YouTube channel, but I can't make sense of that, so here we are! Good, old fashioned (digital) print! I want to use this blog to help make psychology less mysterious to people I interact with on the interwebs. I also want to help clear up some confusion people experience with the rumors and misunderstandings people hear about psychologists and what we do.

Today's topic is about what psychology isn't. It isn't a lot of things, but I'm mostly going to stick with some of the things I hear most often.
When I tell someone what I'm studying, I invariably hear a lot of the following:
"Oh no! He's going to analyze me!"
"If you need a case study, I'm here!"
"Oh no! You're diagnosing me right now, aren't you!"
"Analyze me!"
"What am I thinking?"
"Don't therapize me!"
"So what's wrong with me?"

This is not an exhaustive list, and many of these things are often said in jest, but it is often the first response I get when I tell people what I'm studying.

Upon further conversation, however, there are some things that come out that are less in jest that people more truly think about psychology:
"I should be able to work through things on my own. I don't need a therapist."
"People who need drugs aren't trying hard enough. That or they're weak-minded."
"If it really is a chemical imbalance, then drugs should fix it. Therapy shouldn't be necessary."
"Therapists are just robbing people of their money. They don't actually help."
"They're paid to care. They don't actually care about me."
"I don't want to take drugs. They'll mess me up. I won't be me anymore."

Again, not an exhaustive list, but I have heard these things before.

So why am I mentioning all of these negative beliefs about psychology? I want to clear some things up, and taking the ideas that people already have - because if one person thinks it, there are bound to be more who do too - seems like a good place to start.

For example: we're not mind-readers, and we're not the BAU of Criminal Minds. You are your own expert, and we are not. We can't have a five minute conversation with you and know all of your problems and the demons you're trying to ignore, nor can we "analyze" you the way the BAU does and know what you're going to do next. We're humans, and we are limited. We also have a specific way of getting to the heart of most issues, and it's not a good idea to go into all that in a hallway conversation - it's not beneficial for you, it's not ethical for us, and it takes more time than a passing conversation may allow. Not to mention we're not your therapist. Most of the time we're your friend or your acquaintance. We want to be your friend or acquaintance. It's a different kind of relationship. We don't want to use our "powers" on you (set in quotations because, contrary to half-joking popular belief, we don't actually have special abilities no one else has. We've just learned how to ask questions and be curious).

On a more serious note, drugs aren't all bad. I'm not a psychiatrist, and I'm tiptoeing a little into Psychiatryland, but psychologists interact with psychiatrists a lot, so we've been known to run into this from time to time.* Many times, people will be prescribed a drug for depression, anxiety, bipolar, PTSD, or some other psychological malady. Sometimes they'll just take the drug, sometimes they'll take the drug while they're in therapy; most of the time, it's better to do both. These drugs help the brain make enough of the right kind of chemical so a person can function closer to the normal that they want to be. However, drugs are not a cure-all. They help a person's brain stop screaming at them so loudly, but they are not meant to cure.
That's why therapy is a good partner for the drugs. It's easier to work on helping yourself figure things out if you aren't being pulled in 20 different directions by emotions and thoughts that scream at you.

Which brings me to the third misconception I will address: therapy. A good chunk of therapists out there went into this field because they naturally care a great deal about everyone they encounter, and it's easier to just get paid to do what you love every day than to try to fit it into the crevices that work. Now, there are some out there that have a hero complex, or thrive on problems, but that's not the majority. I personally do not appreciate those people, because they can easily have an adverse effect on someone truly seeking help, and that's not fair. Or nice.
Likewise, there has been research done that shows that therapy works. There are tons of different types of therapy out there, and they each have their strong suits. So if your therapist is a good therapist, they'll know the best kind of therapy to help you with what ails you. And they'll use said evidence-based approach to help you get your feet under you again. This is such an important topic, I am probably going to go through a study at some point to show exactly how it shows that therapy works.

I could talk for days on this topic, but in the interest of not making you read a book, I'll stop here. I'll pick it back up if I get feedback that tells me I should.

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* A lot of people actually have trouble parsing out the difference between a psychologist and a psychiatrist. For the sake of continuity of thought, I'm footnoting this freebie: psychologists get PhD's (doctorate of Philosophy) or PsyD's (doctorate of Psychology) in Clinical, Counseling, School, or other Psychology, and personalize in therapy and psychological assessment (cognitive tests, IQ tests, personality tests, etc). Psychiatrists, on the other hand, are doctors. They go to medical school, get their MD, and do a 3-ish year residency in Psychiatry, where they also learn some therapy, but focus a lot on the drug side of it. A lot of times their role will be to manage the psychopharmacological drug they're taking while they see a psychologist or counselor for therapy.

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Disclaimer: I am a graduate student of psychology, and therefore am not a licensed psychologist yet. I am here to offer helpful tidbits about this field I am dedicating my life to, but I should not replace formal education or therapy. If you disagree with something I say, please tell me. Science is a good way to show me I am sharing something inaccurate.
If you need help, please consider speaking to someone. There are many great resources out there, and they genuinely want to help.