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Psychology! :)

Discussion in 'Chit Chat' started by Who knows, Mar 14, 2014.

  1. Who knows

    Who knows Guest

    Anyone else here interested in the psychology?
    I'm taking it as an A-level and I find the subject both exciting and enlightening.

    What made you interested in psychology and could you recommend any books for me to read?
     
  2. Foxface

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    Hi hi and welcome since I haven't seen you yet. I am Foxface. I have a Bachelors in Psychology and a Masters in Clinical Psychology and am currently licensed as an LPC and work as a crisis therapist. MY specialty is in PTSD and anxiety spectrum disorders.

    I became interested while I was a paramedic on the ambulance. I found I had a soothing touch and realized I liked working with the mind more than the body so here I am today.

    Currently I am working on my 1680 hours to get my clinical license (LCPC) and after I do I will be opening a private practice

    I am sure you love the class. I remember back to my college years learning psychology courses and I loved it all

    I'd be happy to answer any questions you might have

    good luck!
     
  3. brokenpoetry

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    I love psychology, and as a highschool student I have only had the chance to dabble. That having been said, while Ayn Rand's books are very political (and tedious), her book Anthem (only about 150 pages) is a great allegory on human nature. It is brilliant for catalyzing conversations about how and why we act the way we do.
     
  4. SemiCharmedLife

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    #4 SemiCharmedLife, Mar 14, 2014
    Last edited: Mar 14, 2014
  5. Foxface

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    this gives me an idea for a cool thread...off to go make it
     
  6. Argentwing

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    I took intro to psychology in community college. It was because I needed to take a social science for my bachelor's (never happened :/) but I feel the brain is by far our greatest resource in terms of species advancement, and its vagaries are captivating.

    It was particularly interesting learning about what happened to test subjects who had a surgery to sever their corpus callosum, the lump of neural tissue that connects the left and right sides of the brain. When given side-specific tests to do (looking at an image with only one eye, etc.) it was like they were two different people, completely unaware of what the other side of the brain was doing.

    One book I must recommend is The Dragons of Eden, by my main man Carl Sagan. It is fairly dry at times compared to something like Pale Blue Dot, but it's about the evolution of the mind and for those of a scientific slant, it's almost porn. XD
     
  7. Mike92

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    Psychology isn't bad.

    I'm taking a class right now called "political psychology," and it's good (but hard).

    One required book for the class is Blink by Malcolm Gladwell, and it's pretty interesting.
     
  8. Who knows

    Who knows Guest

    Wow, that sounds amazing :slight_smile:
    How satisfying is clinical psychology as an occupation in your opinion?
    What sort of anxiety disorders have you dealt with or identified the most?
    You don't have to answer if that sort of information is private.
     
  9. Z3ni

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    I've always been interested in the human mind.. But I couldn't take Psychology, since my grades weren't good enough.

    I haven't studied, but I rather learn it myself.
     
  10. Foxface

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    oh I am rather an open book...maybe to a fault at times

    It is very satisfying. One of the main differences between a PsyD and a Masters level clinician is that PsyD's can do psychiatric testing for diagnostic purposes. I can still use many psychiatric tests but I cannot allow those tests to influence my diagnosis. Seeing as I am uninterested in testing I chose the Masters route. The nice part is that after two years of working as a master's level you can have a private practice.

    I deal a lot with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (which I personally suffer) and also PTSD and Acute Stress Disorder. I chose to specialize in them because GAD/ASD/PTSD are so prevalent nowadays and being a sufferer of GAD I am definitely capable of feeling a lot of what my clients feel. I know anxiety every day. I know panic and it's a terrible way to live.

    I have a talent for listening to the most vile stories of torture and abuse and I can stomach them without losing it myself so I figured I would use that 'gift' to help sufferers or abuse/assault and so forth
     
  11. Gen

    Gen
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    I love psychology. I've always enjoyed consoling others voluntarily in my free time, but I have never seen myself becoming a working psychologist or psychiatrist in the future. Academically, I tend to be much more interested in the analysis and conceptual aspects of the mind and society than application and practice. Psychologically, sociology, cognitive sciences, anthropology; I love them all.

    I have plans to complete my bachelors in Psychobiology and Anthropolo-Neuroscien-Socio-Osophy. (I still can't decided for the life of me and should have a while ago. If I could just shove them all together, my life would be complete); and a PhD in Behavioral Neurosciences in the years after. Though it is all entirely out of interest. They would certainly be something to fall back on once achieved, but I'm seeing quite a bit of promise in my writing career and that maintains the heart of my focus.
     
  12. Abbra

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    I thought I had an interest in Psychology until I took the 101 class at my college. Turns out, I'm terrible at it. Which is actually pretty surprising. I always liked studying people, I had an obsession with serial killers in my early days.

    Hell, I love doing media/literary analysis because I like figuring out why pop culture trends tend to lean certain ways. Though, that's more sociology based, I suppose.

    That's the ropes, I guess. Sometimes you find out your interests lie somewhere else.
     
  13. Owl333

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    It sounds pretty interesting, I've never really learned about it though.
     
  14. Foxface

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    Trust me when I say 101 does not make an accurate judgement of what sort of therapist or psychologist you will be
     
  15. Renge

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    I know psychology is something like consoling people for their problem, but what do you study in Psychology? Like people's personality and such? Or broader? Sorry I have no idea..
     
  16. magic

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    i love psychology i done an online course last year and now im doing it at school
     
  17. Foxface

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    It's a very deep subject. And It is a lot more than consoling a subject. Therapists help guide clients to find meaning in their life and find healthier ways to live. We help our clients move past patterns of behavior that are not helpful to them and we treat and diagnosis mental illness. We can also give treatment options such as "homework" and exercises. We can (if trained) help manage medications. Though I have to distinguish that we cannot prescribe medication.

    So there is a lot to it
     
  18. Who knows

    Who knows Guest

    So far I've studied theories on attachment, techniques to improve memory and to reduce stress and the effect of social influence.

    Fom what I've learnt psychology is studying cognitive process and behaviours and the different explainations to them (much of which are backed by studies).

    Btw guys, thank you for all the book recomendations and for sharing your experiences. :slight_smile:

    I also suggest to you all the book "The Happiness Hypothesis" by Jonathan Haidt.
     
  19. Hiems

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    I took AP Psych in high school. Reading the textbook and doing the assignments was all you had to do. One of my favorite things we did was look up Youtube videos, presenting them to the class, and explaining how they are pertinent to concepts we learned in class. That was a fun way to apply what we learned.

    It's been almost 4 years since then, so I forgot a lot of the material. However, I got a 5 on the exam. So yay for college credits :thumbsup:
     
  20. Foxface

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    I realize I didn't actually answer this question

    In undergrad I studied personality theory, socializing, lower level psychopathology and some general psychology courses such as motivation and organization and cognition.

    I will say that psychology and clinical psychology can have a world of difference between them. In undergrad you get rounded theories and learn how people think. In grad school you learn to apply theories, diagnose, treat and manage medications.

    In graduate school I learned a ton. Psychopathology and how to actually diagnose it using testing (such as the SCID IV and such) and directed questioning. I also learned psychopharmacology (medications). I learned several theories and treatment modalities including CBT, humanism, existentialism, analytic psychology (which is one of the two I use), feminist psychology (the second one I use), and so forth. In year two I learned all of my specialty which was the anxiety spectrum disorders such as PTSD, ASD and GAD. I learned career counseling (which I hated) and more. So yeah there is definitely a world of difference between psych and clinical psych

    In second year I did my internship which involved 24 hours a week doing group and individual therapy in a private practice and 7 hours a week at a Chicago emergency room performing rapid diagnostics and admissions to psychiatric units. It was a great time

    I support anyone's decisions who want to enter clinical psych..I just always caution that it is a huge decision and takes a certain empathic and nonjudgmental nature to be able to listen to painfully traumatizing stories and not take it home with you at night.