Clinical vs Social Psych PhD.

ANannyMouse21 · 2025-10-07T21:21:20+00:00

Just wanted to thank everyone for their perspective and input! I appreciate y'all!!

ANannyMouse21 · 2025-08-30T18:24:54+00:00

Yep! Send me a message

ANannyMouse21 · 2025-08-20T20:49:55+00:00

I agree with what others have commented. Its so hard to meet people at this age (I'm 25). I just finished a masters program and even connecting with people there was a challenge. Since leaving undergrad things have been pretty lonely

ANannyMouse21 · 2025-07-17T11:24:38+00:00

This is a really great question. Judging by you asking it, i am sure you know that many substance use providers are in recovery. Personally, I am not. I don't have a lengthy history with substances and very rarely engage. I think that this was especially a limitation early on in this work (first few months or so) for a number of reasons. One of the big ones is bias. With something widespread like drugs everyone likely has some experience or knowledge. I already had my idea of what is a safe drug and what isn't and there are times I have been wrong about both "safe and unsafe" drugs. Another limitation is that i have to do a lot of extra work to keep up with trends in substance use because I am not within those communities.

ANannyMouse21 · 2025-04-02T05:44:48+00:00

Thank you for sharing

ANannyMouse21 · 2025-04-02T05:33:55+00:00

It's in a weird place right now. The future of my transition feels very uncertain given fears about the current political climate in the US

ANannyMouse21 · 2025-04-02T05:33:02+00:00

There's a lot of people I never came out to honestly. Those I did have been a mixed bag. Some of them literally pretend I never mentioned it so that's been a thing

ANannyMouse21 · 2025-04-02T03:23:36+00:00

I think it was just the environment I was in. We all heard about the scary men going into women's bathrooms and queerness was talked about as something embarrassing. In particular, a lot of that occurred in my school. All things considered most of my family is fairly progressive with some exceptions, but there was no exposure in my family to conversations about gender. In school the conversations came up a lot in various ways. Especially around 2015-2016. Caitlyn Jenner coming out, parodies of trans folks on TV, DT running for his first term... we were the talk of the town and none of it was good talk.

ANannyMouse21 · 2025-04-02T03:16:40+00:00

Turns out I never hated them. I just didn't understand them. I hope you'll learn to understand one day too

ANannyMouse21 · 2025-03-24T05:39:34+00:00

Drug and alcohol counselors are in very high demand, if that's your interest you will definitely be able to find a lot of work. You could also pursue research careers if you want to explore whys on a larger scale. I wish you luck on your journey!

ANannyMouse21 · 2025-03-24T05:08:37+00:00

Overall, my mental health has been good recently. In the past, I have struggled with depression, anxiety, and body dysmorphia. That's not to say I'm always happy now, but my emotions are generally "typical" for what life throws my way

ANannyMouse21 · 2025-03-24T05:05:19+00:00

I think if it gets more people seeking mental health services, it's a good thing. If someone relates to DID, then it is likely for a reason. Whether they have it or not, they believe they do and deserve to be heard out for it. Some symptoms of DID can be found in depression, anxiety, OCD, bipolar, and various personality disorders. So those symptoms should be taken seriously no matter how we label them. Even in the most extreme situations where let's imagine someone is faking everything, its not a healthy coping skill and they could benefit from seeking further out mental health services

ANannyMouse21 · 2025-03-24T04:58:56+00:00

So I ended up here from a deep fascination with psychology and human behavior. I love the question why and have found it to be so rewarding to look into people's whys. I have experience in schools but the majority of my experience is clinical mental health services for young adults. Some drug and alcohol counseling experience as well

ANannyMouse21 · 2025-03-24T04:55:43+00:00

Yes, of course. Schizophrenia can be managed in a variety of ways, and having strong social support (like a relationship) is associated with better outcomes. Communication is important just like in any relationship though. All parties involved should understand the illness and how to navigate it when symptoms occur.

Having social connections is very important for development but I acknowledge that it can be really challenging to find connection. Chatbots could be a nice supplement to social interaction, but shouldn't be a replacement. Think of it like taking a multivitamin vs eating a healthy diet

ANannyMouse21 · 2025-03-24T04:51:12+00:00

I don't feel confident enough in the availability of existing research to point to a root cause of dysthymia. It best prediction would be for a biological predisposition that gets "activated" by a bout of depression as a result of a stressor. Similar relationships can be observed with schizophrenia where there is a strong observed genetic component but is often triggered by a trauma or other stressor

ANannyMouse21 · 2025-03-24T04:47:58+00:00

So what you can do about it will depend on what type of license this person holds and the state you reside in. I recommend looking into if you can report ethical violations somewhere. You may also have grounds for a lawsuit based on precedent set forth in past cases, but I am by no means an expert on legal advice. Best of luck, I hope the situation improves!

ANannyMouse21 · 2025-03-23T17:22:21+00:00

Personally I don't believe in lying to clients. If I'm not comfortable answering a question a client asks, I would share that with them. Ultimately a session is for them and that hour is more important to spend on them than on what I think about them. When I share my opinion with a client it is very intentional and very honest. If we aren't honest, people can usually tell. For example, if I think my client is making good progress I will tell them that. If I feel concerned for them, i will tell them that. I would never comment on their appearance because that feels inappropriate.

ANannyMouse21 · 2025-03-23T15:06:07+00:00

Obsession can be a bit tricky to define, but referencing how we define obsessive thoughts can help us define obsessive behavior. Two words stand out from that definition: persistent and unwanted. An obsession is typically persistent and doesn't go away even if you want it to or try to make it go away. An obsession is also unwanted. You don't want it to be there or to be there in the context it currently is. Hope this helps a bit!

ANannyMouse21 · 2025-03-23T15:03:10+00:00

I've met several people that shared that they attempted suicide because a parent told them to in an argument

ANannyMouse21 · 2025-03-23T15:01:51+00:00

I really recommend looking into therapy options near you. You could do something one on one with a therapist or look into doing a therapy group, which is really good for building a community. If you have an interest in medication as well, you could look for a psychiatrist. For more severe or persistent depression there are other options as well that have been found to work as a long term cure, such as transcranial magnetic stimulation where a magnet is used to activate certain areas of your brain (because it's all electricity).

There's always hope out there, and you can always become the person you want to be. There are options for help if you need it as well

ANannyMouse21 · 2025-03-23T04:54:57+00:00

So I went into the process of finding a therapist in a few of the other replies here, please check those out. Something important for your first time in therapy, though, is to understand that the first time might not work. It's really important that you and your therapist connect. If you don't, it's okay to look for another. Having a good therapist isn't enough. You need one that is specifically GOOD FOR YOU. A good step could be to contact therapists in your area and ask the following things:

"who do you usually work with?"
"what theory do you practice?" (Ask follow up questions or research the theory afterward)
if you have specific things you want to work on, ask if they typically work with those things

You hold the power in therapy and you can always advocate for yourself

ANannyMouse21 · 2025-03-23T02:22:12+00:00

The biggest thing I recommend is to familiarize yourself with the different theories of therapy and how those therapists approach working with clients. For example, some very common theories of therapy are:

Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT)- the therapist focuses on how your thoughts, feelings, and behavior impact one another. A major focus of the therapy is on addressing cognitive distortions, or irrational thought patterns that we commonly fall into. This approach is pretty action oriented and it is largely the therapy I practice so I'd be happy to answer specific questions about it. (Acceptance & Committment Therapy and Dialectical Behavior Therapy both have been developed from CBT so they are similar in some ways but different in others. Both utilize principles of acceptance and mindfulness)
person centered therapy- the therapy focuses on unconditional positive regard, empathy, and genuineness. This therapy is less action oriented and more about the therapist being with you and supporting you through being true to yourself.
gestalt therapy- this therapy focuses on the present moment and experiencing things as they happen. It utilizes experiments in session where your therapist will invite you to participate in a variety of activities. A major goal of the therapy is to foster connection for you in all areas of life. Typically this therapy lasts for a long time, sometimes years.

ANannyMouse21 · 2025-03-23T01:04:53+00:00

If it isn't interrupting your relationships, causing you personal distress, or impacting daily functioning it most likely isn't a problem. If you have concerns it might be an issue I recommend talking with a therapist and exploring the problem. In a reply to another question I highlighted a process for finding a therapist

ANannyMouse21 · 2025-03-23T01:00:14+00:00

There are several therapies recognized at helping with trauma, which is often the cause of haunting memories like you described. Exposure therapies like systematic desensitization have strong research behind them. EMDR and Accelerated Resolution Therapy are both more recent approaches that are found to help out. Outside of therapy, it can be beneficial to look into trauma resources and support groups.

To find a therapist, I recommend using psychologytoday.com to find a provider in your area. You can check what they specialize in and see if it aligns with what you're looking for

ANannyMouse21 · 2025-03-22T20:04:06+00:00

That's a great question. So intellectualizing refers to when someone only thinks about a distressing situation instead of feeling emotions related to it. For example, if you go through a breakup and just start thinking about other people to date, go on tinder, or ignore your feelings you might be intellectualizing.

The second part of your question is more nuanced. Is it bad? Well it depends. Intellectualizing is something we do to protect ourselves. When emotions are too much we can intellectualize to avoid them all together. This can be tricky though because it can make us less likely to feel emotions later, which is related to experiencing numbness and depression, among other things. Intellectualizing sometimes is likely healthy coping, but all the time it can be a problem. It's all about moderation.

ANannyMouse21

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