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Today I went to a psychologist for the first time in my life

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River
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24 Nov 2010, 12:59 am

(which, by the way, was really huge for me...so...yay me!)

HOWEVER, in the 45-ish minutes that I rambled to her, she:
a) recommended that I should seek out anxiety medication (and I guess, implied that she could refer me to someone who could get those kinds of meds)
b) strongly hinted that I have ADHD
c) subtly hinted (like, it was the kind of hint that a well-read-and-self-suspected "aspergian" would recognize) that I have Asperger's (and by the way, I feel like I explained my issues in the least autism-framed way that I could; I feel that I was being pretty honest and genuine, especially because I was so incredibly nervous and could barely think about how I was saying things. EDIT: what I mean is that I've been so absorbed in autism stuff for like a year now, and I didn't want to show a bias because maybe I'm not really on the spectrum)

Do you think this is a sign of a bad psychologist? I'm a little freaked out. That was so...fast. We barely even know each other.



Last edited by River on 24 Nov 2010, 8:56 am, edited 1 time in total.

Morph500
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24 Nov 2010, 1:04 am

my phsycologist diagnosed me with thought disorder.



Ariela
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24 Nov 2010, 1:09 am

Psychologists are useless. They are either out to get your money and completely a waste of time, or in the case with me, they derive pleasure from other's pain-it just makes them feel better about themselves.



River
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24 Nov 2010, 1:10 am

Morph500 wrote:
my phsycologist diagnosed me with thought disorder.

Are you implying that he or she diagnosed you with Thought Disorder on your first visit? If so, how did you feel about being diagnosed with something so quickly? What was your reaction to that diagnosis? Were you surprised? Overwhelmed? Annoyed? Relieved?

Or if not those feelings, something else? Or did you feel nothing at all?



Morph500
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24 Nov 2010, 1:13 am

River wrote:
Morph500 wrote:
my phsycologist diagnosed me with thought disorder.

Are you implying that he or she diagnosed you with Thought Disorder on your first visit? If so, how did you feel about being diagnosed with something so quickly? What was your reaction to that diagnosis? Were you surprised? Overwhelmed? Annoyed? Relieved?

Or if not those feelings, something else? Or did you feel nothing at all?


She my my phsycologist in prison.

Ummmmm uuuhhhhh, I didnt find out about this diagnosis until 5 months later, she kept it to herself, when another phsycologist/social worker told me, I FLIPT.

I was very hurt, i would share stuff with her I thought she was my friend, but in reality she thought I was a total QWAK. :evil:



River
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24 Nov 2010, 1:19 am

Morph500 wrote:
River wrote:
Morph500 wrote:
my phsycologist diagnosed me with thought disorder.

Are you implying that he or she diagnosed you with Thought Disorder on your first visit? If so, how did you feel about being diagnosed with something so quickly? What was your reaction to that diagnosis? Were you surprised? Overwhelmed? Annoyed? Relieved?

Or if not those feelings, something else? Or did you feel nothing at all?


She my my phsycologist in prison.

Ummmmm uuuhhhhh, I didnt find out about this diagnosis until 5 months later, she kept it to herself, when another phsycologist/social worker told me, I FLIPT.

I was very hurt, i would share stuff with her I thought she was my friend, but in reality she thought I was a total QWAK. :evil:


If this is at all comforting, I don't think that an official diagnosis of ANY brain disorder means that your psychologist or psychiatrist thinks that you're a "qwak." I think it just means that they think you need extra help in ways that most other don't think you need help. But everyone needs help in some sort of way, to some magnitude, at any point in his/her life.



Morph500
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24 Nov 2010, 1:21 am

thank u but no comfort was felt.



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24 Nov 2010, 1:26 am

River wrote:
(which, by the way, was really huge for me...so...yay me!)

HOWEVER, in the 45-ish minutes that I rambled to her, she:
a) recommended that I should seek out anxiety medication (and I guess, implied that she could refer me to someone who could get those kinds of meds)
b) strongly hinted that I have ADHD
c) subtly hinted (like, it was the kind of hint that a well-read-and-self-suspected "aspergian" would recognize) that I have Asperger's (and by the way, I feel like I explained my issues in the least autism-framed way that I could; I feel that I was being pretty honest and genuine, especially because I was so incredibly nervous and could barely think about how I was saying things)

Do you think this is a sign of a bad psychologist? I'm a little freaked out. That was so...fast. We barely even know each other.


OK, so she thinks you need meds for anxiety (which she can't prescribe, so it's pretty unlikely that she's looking for kickbacks or something), and she has picked up on a couple possible conditions which she wants to explore further, because she thinks they may explain your issues. She did not jump to a diagnosis, but knows what she wants to look at first. Considering that a visit to a shrink usually runs anywhere from $200 - 400, how many visits do you want to have before she figures that out? Your insurance may be paying for it, but they may also limit it to 10 visits in a 12 month period, or something similar.



River
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24 Nov 2010, 1:38 am

another_1 wrote:
River wrote:
(which, by the way, was really huge for me...so...yay me!)

HOWEVER, in the 45-ish minutes that I rambled to her, she:
a) recommended that I should seek out anxiety medication (and I guess, implied that she could refer me to someone who could get those kinds of meds)
b) strongly hinted that I have ADHD
c) subtly hinted (like, it was the kind of hint that a well-read-and-self-suspected "aspergian" would recognize) that I have Asperger's (and by the way, I feel like I explained my issues in the least autism-framed way that I could; I feel that I was being pretty honest and genuine, especially because I was so incredibly nervous and could barely think about how I was saying things)

Do you think this is a sign of a bad psychologist? I'm a little freaked out. That was so...fast. We barely even know each other.


OK, so she thinks you need meds for anxiety (which she can't prescribe, so it's pretty unlikely that she's looking for kickbacks or something), and she has picked up on a couple possible conditions which she wants to explore further, because she thinks they may explain your issues. She did not jump to a diagnosis, but knows what she wants to look at first. Considering that a visit to a shrink usually runs anywhere from $200 - 400, how many visits do you want to have before she figures that out? Your insurance may be paying for it, but they may also limit it to 10 visits in a 12 month period, or something similar.


When you put it that way (what you said in the first two sentences), that makes everything seem a lot less scary. I guess I shouldn't have jumped to the implication of her possibly being a bad psychologist.

And I should have clarified that she is a psychologist at my university, so it's free (I'm assuming that this service is funded by the state of Pennsylvania, because I go to a PA state school), or, it's at least included in my tuition costs.



Ariela
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24 Nov 2010, 1:55 am

Don't give them the satifaction.



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24 Nov 2010, 1:58 am

River wrote:
another_1 wrote:
OK, so she thinks you need meds for anxiety (which she can't prescribe, so it's pretty unlikely that she's looking for kickbacks or something), and she has picked up on a couple possible conditions which she wants to explore further, because she thinks they may explain your issues. She did not jump to a diagnosis, but knows what she wants to look at first.


When you put it that way (what you said in the first two sentences), that makes everything seem a lot less scary. I guess I shouldn't have jumped to the implication of her possibly being a bad psychologist.

And I should have clarified that she is a psychologist at my university, so it's free (I'm assuming that this service is funded by the state of Pennsylvania, because I go to a PA state school), or, it's at least included in my tuition costs.


Wow. I actually said something somebody found useful? Cool! :D

Actually, I'd say that the fact she's figured out a direction to start in is a good sign. It might be the right direction or it might not, but it doesn't make sense to spend weeks pussyfooting around before picking somewhere to start. She may turn out to be crap - I don't know. But a bit of decisiveness isn't a bad thing. Have you googled her? With so many people on here who've had a hard time finding a shrink that even knows what Asperger's is, it's possible you've found somebody competent on your first turn up to bat.



River
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24 Nov 2010, 2:12 am

another_1 wrote:
Wow. I actually said something somebody found useful? Cool! :D

Actually, I'd say that the fact she's figured out a direction to start in is a good sign. It might be the right direction or it might not, but it doesn't make sense to spend weeks pussyfooting around before picking somewhere to start. She may turn out to be crap - I don't know. But a bit of decisiveness isn't a bad thing. Have you googled her? With so many people on here who've had a hard time finding a shrink that even knows what Asperger's is, it's possible you've found somebody competent on your first turn up to bat.


Haha, yeah, that definitely set up a new perspective for me.

And yeah, I can see what you're saying in that it might me a good or bad sign.

And no, I haven't googled her, though I've read the short blurb about her on my school's website--basically saying where she went to school and what her special areas of interest are (which doesn't mention autism). But, my school is becoming really proactive in increasing autism awareness (last semester a Special Ed. professor did a special lecture series on "reframing autism," and Temple Grandin came here and did two presentations), which leads me to believe (or hope) that some sort of effort has been taken amongst the psychologists-on-staff to understand autism on a more-than-very-basic level.



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24 Nov 2010, 3:19 am

I got lucky I have a good psychologist who just happens to have Aspergers. 8)


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24 Nov 2010, 3:28 am

Quote:
I got lucky I have a good psychologist who just happens to have Aspergers.


Cool! I think my psychologist has narcissistic personality disorder! I went through a list of symptoms and diagnosed him! He deserves such treatment though because he is mean and won't listen to me. He keeps saying that I know and understand things that I don't... WHATS THE POINT Of ME TELLING HIM IF HE DOESN'T LISTEN!! ! (woops... angry caps lock moment...)

Keep working with your psychologist. She's obviously got good intentions. You can't really decide whether a psychologist is good or bad until a couple of months because by that point you'll know.


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24 Nov 2010, 11:14 am

HA! This sounds like my first experience. I went in for grief counselling and got nailed with AS almost right away. I also got offered meds for anxiety. LOL! Guess our AS is pretty "out there" :D :D :D My shrink actually almost giggles at me every time I go in it is so strong..



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24 Nov 2010, 11:25 am

Seems to me she is being open minded more than some. I would be more concerned if she said No Way! You Can't be <insert diagnosis>. 45 minutes is not much time and she left the door open to explore some possibilities.

Not all psychologists are useless. When you find a good one they can be a valuable resource. Sadly, there are enough bas ones that you must fully engage in caveat emptor.


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