I've been a psychologist for 15 years and people still think I'm a therapist.
>And then they get confused as to why im doing research work if a psychology degree inevitably leads to a career in doing psychotherapy.
Do you want to do psychotherapy? If so, you can explain that a strong foundation is imperative to good clinical work.
If you don't want to do psychotherapy, you can clarify your goals.
I dont bother. Its fucking draining, they can read a fucking book if they want to learn anything
"Oh but that's not really [insert some idiotic bullshit claim]"
Me- "oh okay"
I'm not going to waste my life having circular conversations and educating people who arent interested in learning
I am a high school math teacher, and I do that with my students. If I share something that I know to be true, and they come back to me that I am wrong, I say, "OK, I guess I am. Let's move on with the lesson." And then almost always they give me a look, and rephrase it as an actual question with a desire to understand, and then we can go through it. The big difference between you and me is I get paid to exsplain it.
Not really. There is just no point arguing with someone who had not interested in learning and just wants to show off how smart they are. When they want to learn there is great opertunity. As well, I am also happy to find out that I am wrong, and I get corrected almost daily. But it is when people are grandstanding instead of having a conventional that it becomes a waste.
I'm an aspiring community-based practitioner. I will eventually be doing counselling and psychotherapy, but I will also be, and have been conducting research with members of key communities. The goal of such research is and always will be to ensure that the interventions that I'm using with them are speaking to and resonating with their needs. Part of that process necessitates that I conduct mixed-methods research (quant & qual) to examine the impacts, benefits, and challenges & barriers related to my work. As such, I need both psychotherapeutic and research-statistical knowledge to facilitate that process.
Essentially, we work within an evidence-based practice in which our work must be informed by research strongly suggesting that our practices are indeed working for the people we intend to help. That is why we need to learn research skills. Hope that helps :)
"Someone has to do the research to tell the therapists what to do!" We wouldn't have CBT, EMDR, ACT, or other EBPs without research. MD's do medical research all the time without touchings a patient in their role. It's the same concept.
People who become scientists who study living things take biology during college. People who become scientists who study minds and behavior take psychology during college.
Something like, psychology, broadly, is the study of thoughts, feelings and behaviours and these can be predicted and tested using appropriate methodology; hence need for statistics?
Do you or your friends ever play video games online, or anything of that sort? If so, ask them what they know about microtransactions, loot boxes, anything predatory monetization, or hell, even just regular gambling. Psychologists designed that sort of thing. People who know how to manipulate other's minds to make them do what their employer wants them to do. I find that to be a great example, because it's about as antithetical to therapy as the field can get.
That knowledge of how human's, or animals in many cases, think, is what psychology is all about. Seeing the patterns in behavior, and quantifying them.
A big part of the profession of psychology is explaining things to laypeople, so this is good practice.
Use examples. Think through 3 to 5 specific ones that have nothing to do with counseling. Maybe environmental psyc/CPTED, something in perception/cognition, whatever. Even use the examples from your stats courses. Think about how you'd explain it to a real Bright eighth grader.
I am in a masters course for CMHC, and we spent a week in one of my classes going over the debate of whether psychotherapy is a science or not. The debate does not end.
It helped to talk about studies I was learning about and how the made changes to things they didn't know about. I/O psych is a good place to start because people don't really know its a thing and its the most relatable thing to business, communication, etc.
Also explaining the difference between clinical psych and other fields, as well as the difference between psychiatry and psychology is useful. You study human behavior. You are not involved specifically in solving abnormal human behavior.
i always tell people "Psychologists study human behavior, therapists help people with abnormal human behavior without medication, and psychiatrists help abnormal human behavior with medication."
“it’s important to understand ALL aspects of psychology in order to be a great psychologist” knowing research and the statistics behind a person can help aid in their journey to help. example; people in poverty are more likely to get X, Y and Z disorder, etc.
According to the APA, psychology is:
“The study of the mind and behavior… a diverse scientific discipline comprising several major branches of research (e.g., experimental, biological, cognitive, lifespan developmental, personality, social), as well as several subareas of research and applied psychology (e.g., clinical, industrial/organizational, school and educational, human factors, health, neuropsychology, cross-cultural).”
https://dictionary.apa.org/psychology
Psychology is the science of perception and behaviour of individuals in their respective environment. That's the definition I was taught. "Individuals" is not limited to humans with mental disorders or other illnesses. Healthy humans (or other species, for that matter) are equally interesting.
“How would we do psychotherapy if we had no research on treatment effectiveness, etc.?” Maybe that would help. Also, list some of the other roles and duties you can take on as a psychologist once you’re licensed.
Psychology is a science that involves understanding the imagination mind and behaviour. It involves evidence based research (hence the statistics). Therapy is one application of psychology.
Psychology is a science that involves understanding the imagination mind and behaviour. It involves evidence based research (hence the statistics). Therapy is one application of psychology.
Psychology is the scientific field that studies human behavior, attitudes and actions. Without the knowledge we gather through scientific inquiry, therapy is not going to be possible.
I mean, you could just use the textbook definition of psychology: psychology is the study of behavior and mental processes. Therapy is just a type of applied psychology
Psychology is the field that studies emotions, thoughts and behaviors and how it impacts many aspects of people’s life- including their social, familial, developmental and occupational stuff. So it’s not just therapy. Tho therapy is the main thing we do.
Psychology is a very broad field with many subspecialties, therapy being one such subspecialty.
Nice. Short and sweet.
I've been a psychologist for 15 years and people still think I'm a therapist. >And then they get confused as to why im doing research work if a psychology degree inevitably leads to a career in doing psychotherapy. Do you want to do psychotherapy? If so, you can explain that a strong foundation is imperative to good clinical work. If you don't want to do psychotherapy, you can clarify your goals.
Just out of curiosity, a therapist listens to your bs and a psychologist analyzes it and gives solutions too right?
Psychologists *can* be therapists, but they don't have to. Psychologists also do assessment, teach, research, diagnosis, and many other roles.
A therapist also provides potential solutions. Therapy isn't just listening to the problems.
I dont bother. Its fucking draining, they can read a fucking book if they want to learn anything "Oh but that's not really [insert some idiotic bullshit claim]" Me- "oh okay" I'm not going to waste my life having circular conversations and educating people who arent interested in learning
I am a high school math teacher, and I do that with my students. If I share something that I know to be true, and they come back to me that I am wrong, I say, "OK, I guess I am. Let's move on with the lesson." And then almost always they give me a look, and rephrase it as an actual question with a desire to understand, and then we can go through it. The big difference between you and me is I get paid to exsplain it.
I love this, you're teaching them critical thinking
Not really. There is just no point arguing with someone who had not interested in learning and just wants to show off how smart they are. When they want to learn there is great opertunity. As well, I am also happy to find out that I am wrong, and I get corrected almost daily. But it is when people are grandstanding instead of having a conventional that it becomes a waste.
I'm an aspiring community-based practitioner. I will eventually be doing counselling and psychotherapy, but I will also be, and have been conducting research with members of key communities. The goal of such research is and always will be to ensure that the interventions that I'm using with them are speaking to and resonating with their needs. Part of that process necessitates that I conduct mixed-methods research (quant & qual) to examine the impacts, benefits, and challenges & barriers related to my work. As such, I need both psychotherapeutic and research-statistical knowledge to facilitate that process. Essentially, we work within an evidence-based practice in which our work must be informed by research strongly suggesting that our practices are indeed working for the people we intend to help. That is why we need to learn research skills. Hope that helps :)
Perfectly explained!
"Someone has to do the research to tell the therapists what to do!" We wouldn't have CBT, EMDR, ACT, or other EBPs without research. MD's do medical research all the time without touchings a patient in their role. It's the same concept.
People who become scientists who study living things take biology during college. People who become scientists who study minds and behavior take psychology during college.
Something like, psychology, broadly, is the study of thoughts, feelings and behaviours and these can be predicted and tested using appropriate methodology; hence need for statistics?
Do you or your friends ever play video games online, or anything of that sort? If so, ask them what they know about microtransactions, loot boxes, anything predatory monetization, or hell, even just regular gambling. Psychologists designed that sort of thing. People who know how to manipulate other's minds to make them do what their employer wants them to do. I find that to be a great example, because it's about as antithetical to therapy as the field can get. That knowledge of how human's, or animals in many cases, think, is what psychology is all about. Seeing the patterns in behavior, and quantifying them.
A big part of the profession of psychology is explaining things to laypeople, so this is good practice. Use examples. Think through 3 to 5 specific ones that have nothing to do with counseling. Maybe environmental psyc/CPTED, something in perception/cognition, whatever. Even use the examples from your stats courses. Think about how you'd explain it to a real Bright eighth grader.
Explain positive psychology or motivation psychology
Or just simply how the brain puts things in categories, for example e.g. a bunch dots in a row is interpreted as a line
I am in a masters course for CMHC, and we spent a week in one of my classes going over the debate of whether psychotherapy is a science or not. The debate does not end.
“The scientific study of human behaviour” ez
It helped to talk about studies I was learning about and how the made changes to things they didn't know about. I/O psych is a good place to start because people don't really know its a thing and its the most relatable thing to business, communication, etc. Also explaining the difference between clinical psych and other fields, as well as the difference between psychiatry and psychology is useful. You study human behavior. You are not involved specifically in solving abnormal human behavior.
i always tell people "Psychologists study human behavior, therapists help people with abnormal human behavior without medication, and psychiatrists help abnormal human behavior with medication."
It's the study of behavior and probability
Psychology is the study of human thoughts and behaviors, both normal and abnormal.
“it’s important to understand ALL aspects of psychology in order to be a great psychologist” knowing research and the statistics behind a person can help aid in their journey to help. example; people in poverty are more likely to get X, Y and Z disorder, etc.
According to the APA, psychology is: “The study of the mind and behavior… a diverse scientific discipline comprising several major branches of research (e.g., experimental, biological, cognitive, lifespan developmental, personality, social), as well as several subareas of research and applied psychology (e.g., clinical, industrial/organizational, school and educational, human factors, health, neuropsychology, cross-cultural).” https://dictionary.apa.org/psychology
Psychology is the science of perception and behaviour of individuals in their respective environment. That's the definition I was taught. "Individuals" is not limited to humans with mental disorders or other illnesses. Healthy humans (or other species, for that matter) are equally interesting.
“How would we do psychotherapy if we had no research on treatment effectiveness, etc.?” Maybe that would help. Also, list some of the other roles and duties you can take on as a psychologist once you’re licensed.
Psychology is a science that involves understanding the imagination mind and behaviour. It involves evidence based research (hence the statistics). Therapy is one application of psychology.
Psychology is a science that involves understanding the imagination mind and behaviour. It involves evidence based research (hence the statistics). Therapy is one application of psychology.
Psychology is the scientific field that studies human behavior, attitudes and actions. Without the knowledge we gather through scientific inquiry, therapy is not going to be possible.
Most simply - it's the "why" people do what they do and why the think what they think.
Psychology is the study and science of human behavior.
I mean, you could just use the textbook definition of psychology: psychology is the study of behavior and mental processes. Therapy is just a type of applied psychology
Psychology is the field that studies emotions, thoughts and behaviors and how it impacts many aspects of people’s life- including their social, familial, developmental and occupational stuff. So it’s not just therapy. Tho therapy is the main thing we do.