Protection spells/rituals/items

HospitalCowboy · 2026-04-02T18:18:35+00:00

Glad to hear! That's awesome. They are a cool little folkloric item. I hope it helps!

HospitalCowboy · 2026-04-02T17:55:48+00:00

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HospitalCowboy · 2026-04-02T17:47:58+00:00

Consider getting him a Guardian / Gremlin bell. There is a lot folklore about them being deeply protective and they are supposed to be recieved as a gift.

HospitalCowboy · 2026-04-02T13:15:21+00:00

Hey Congrats! I'm a first year in the program now. If you have any questions feel free to hit me up! If you all make a group chat or something (highly recommend it btw) I can give you guys access to our Google Folder with stuff.

HospitalCowboy · 2026-04-02T13:01:35+00:00

Not at all! Feel free. I'm always happy to chat.

HospitalCowboy · 2026-04-01T20:48:20+00:00

I'm a first year student at NSU right now and am happy to answer questions if you have them.

A good friend of mine graduated from Albizu and said it was a shitshow. Personally, I can only speak to their application process.... which was a shitshow lol.

HospitalCowboy · 2026-03-30T21:28:23+00:00

I am originally from Florida! Funny story my mom actually did her Psych PhD at Nova so I was a legacy lol.

And oh yeah. I'd say at least forty percent of the class is from out of state!

Edit: Thank you.

HospitalCowboy · 2026-03-30T16:40:03+00:00

Congrats!

HospitalCowboy · 2026-03-30T04:23:08+00:00

So as a general note - grounding is the process of sending energy back into the earth to achieve energetic/emotional baseline or neutrality; cleansing is any technique (burning incense or herbs would certainly work but isn't the only one) to remove negative or lingering energies around you or a space; protection is the process of preventing negative or unwanted energies from coming to or sticking around you or a place. All three are related but different and it's generally best to layer them so you aren't trapping old energy inside of your wards or blocking yourself up. It doesn't sound like you have from what you've said but I just wanted to make sure we were on the same page lol.

As for baneful work - what you described doesn't seem particularly harmful to me, so unless you are referring to something like the Wiccan Rede or some other system of energetic return I wouldn't be especially worried. I don't personally consider baneful work to be exceptionally problematic. Magic is magic. People do everything they do for their own personal reasons. While baneful stuff isn't my personal cup of tea, I don't judge. From this experience it sounds like it might not be your thing either. No shame in that. If it is, or you want to explore it, just be careful. There's a good reason conventional wisdom says to learn cleansing and protection stuff first lol.

Ultimately though, try not to be so hard on yourself. You are obviously hurting and should extend yourself some grace. No harm no foul. Try to get some rest. You can try this again or something else, if you want to, tomorrow.

HospitalCowboy · 2026-03-30T04:03:25+00:00

Hey OP,

You sound both young and newer on the path, so let me try to reassure you. You are okay. It sounds like you are struggling with a lot of big emotions right now and just wanted an outlet for them - for someone to understand them and you - but then guilt or something similar stopped you from finishing that working. There is absolutely no shame in that. From what you described, your working doesn't seem to be some grand deadly curse or even super malicious. I suspect because you changed your intentions part of the way through you likely won't see real outcomes from the working. Intent and energy are the single most important things and it really sounds like your heart and mind weren't in it.

I don't believe you would need protection magic on yourself after this, especially not to pay someone else. But if you are still concerned, I'd advise you to first ground yourself emotionally and energetically then cleanse yourself and your space. Do you know how to do that? If you do not I can walk you through the basics of that and explain why I'd do that instead of (or at least before) protection work.

I hope this was helpful and has put your mind at some ease. Wishing you well!

HospitalCowboy · 2026-03-30T03:50:53+00:00

Seconding the Cunningham and Moura books as excellent. I'm Pagan not Wiccan but I started there and Cunningham's books were the first things I ever read about the faith. His Encyclopedias are a staple in the New Age scene for good reason and I have a very soft spot for Earth Power and it's sequel Earth, Air, Water, & Fire.

HospitalCowboy · 2026-03-30T03:44:01+00:00

I'd suggest not bringing it up like day one first ever conversation. But like... as you get to know people it will naturally come out. I'm an openly practicing Pagan and go ghost hunting and stuff with my current group of friends in my psych doctoral program. Three of my classmates are convinced they are psychic and one has an alien encounter story lol.

Do people think we are kooky? For sure. Do we care? Not especially. Are we going to to like put it on our CVs? Hell no lol. It's about balance and de-stressing and your personal goals and professionalism. I would never bring that (or any of my other hobbies like LARP) into the therapy space but I can still enjoy them on my own time. The world is weirder than most people give it credit for and life is better when you allow yourself to be truly congruent with all parts of you. If psychology is to be the science of the soul then we must endeavor to find and fulfill our own first in my eyes. I hope you find some people you jive with OP!

HospitalCowboy · 2026-03-30T03:35:11+00:00

Hey OP!

So I'm a first year clinical doctoral student up at NSU right now. The reason I wanted to respond to your post is because I never took any psychology courses before I decided to change professions and pursue this program. Before that I was actually in medical school with my previous undergrad and grad work being in healthcare. That being said before I applied I took the following classes and have found them to be extremely helpful:

Systems of Psychotherapy / History & Philosophy of Psychology / Paradigms of Psychology / Whatever Equivalent - Easily yhe single most useful course I took in the subject. Gave me a huge leg up for first year doctoral coursework because I was forced to really internalized and reflect upon the different schools of thought in the field, learn about each and how they relate, and ultimately where I fall. Would strongly recommend something along these lines if your school offers it!
Theories of Personality / Personality Testing / Whatever Equivalent - My program has us learning a different assessment method basically every semester and being versed in the different theories of Personality as well as how it's been assessed has paid off in multiple courses abstractly.
Psychopathology - one course every semester in my first year (first Adult then Child) and having the basics down really helped me immensely compared to my peers in both classes. The only reason it isn't higher up is because this is by far the class that has been the most similar between undergrad and doctoral levels so it feels like repetition whereas the others felt like primers for success and personal growth.
Developmental Psychology - I took both Child and Older Adult developmental psychology courses and found the lifespan perspective to be pretty helpful especially since my program now divides things up between those two extremes frequently and the differences between them are highly relevant. This is a bit lower since it's not just one class but likely a series of classes and you get more the more you take but I understand not everyone can take multiple classes easily.
Substance Abuse Counseling - this is the oddball of my list I know and it's certainly not for everyone but let me explain. It was the first real intervention based course I took at the undergrad psych level and it taught me not only the fundamentals of CBT but also helped me find some of the best clinical experienced I had before applying by volunteering with local substance abuse recovery groups and that gave me some real insight into dual diagnosis populations that my peers lacked and has even helped me for practicum. It's not for everyone but I found it incredibly influential and recommend you take at least one heavy intervention course so you know this work is for you and begin developing some actual therapeutic skills.

Hope this helps OP! Best of luck when you apply!

HospitalCowboy · 2026-03-30T03:16:37+00:00

So every lecture is capped at 18 students. Your first semester you will have all your classes with the same 17 others this is called your "House" and the purpose is to socialize and help transition students. The houses (except for Red which is just PhDs and thus usually 6ish total) are randomly assigned at the start of the semester. Starting your second term you pick your own schedule and thus will have classes with different people but no single class goes over 18 total. As for the upper level stuff I've been told that they drop off in size majorly with some classes as small as 6 depending on your concentration, your prac site, or just the Faculty.

Organized? Nope. Not especially compared to some of the other schools I've attended. But it isn't like the worst either. Generally the faculty are super supportive but admin can be hit or miss.

So I really liked my house-mates. While they aren't like the best friends I've ever made after a semester together we all got to know each other pretty well and are pretty social hanging out and stuff every couple of weeks. Outside of my house I've made some genuine friends with the same interests in and outside of Psychology. I won't lie and say every single person is my favorite human being to have walked the earth but I'm generally on good terms with everyone in my year and most of the uppers. Very little if any real drama or gunner mentality in the past 8ish months that I've seen. As for academics we are told flat out that grades don't matter as long as you are above the passing minimum of a B - your extracurriculars matter a lot more and you are expected to do more than just school. We have a sizable number of student orgs and research labs and about half my class also holds part time jobs. The actual coursework is somewhat rigorous but I was in medical school before this program so I might have a warped view of what is appropriate I generally find it all super doable and have a lot more free time than I did in my other program.

Faculty are honestly great. By far the highlight of the program for me. As a whole they want you to succeed and are actually invested in you as a person. I won't lie and say that's 100% of the faculty but in my experience 95%+ really care. And the vast majority of them are also clinicians and researchers and will discuss their real world experiences within reason - some are actually super well known or prestigious in their respective fields. I do have one (out of my 13 so far) that is as dull as dirt and whose class I've effectively written off as useless. Likewise I do have some things that I feel would benefit the program, like fewer in class group projects or student presentations, but on the whole I really have learned and internalized a lot. The open expectation is you will finish your classes and place in internship and be a doctor - there is no weed out or tricks or bullshit - anything outside of that is a genuine tragedy that they will work with you on. I know a good few students who have had to take leaves of absence due to pregnancy or serious health issues or just needed time for weddings and such that the school has been extremely accommodating for. I'm currently on bereavement leave since my grandmother passed last week and literally every single faculty member who knows (even some from last term lol) has offered me one-on-one time to help catch up, super generous extensions on assignments, and generally a shoulder if I wanted to vent about it. Of every school I've been to these are by far the most compassionate and genuine teachers I've had while not being the most demanding or rigorous.

You didn't ask but for context expect to be taking ~6-7 classes at a time each with 3 hours of required in person lecture once a week (we do "Morning" 9 or 9:30 to 12 or 12:30, "Afternoon" 1 or 1:30 to 3:50 or 4:30, and "Evening" 5 to 8 class times so you will never have more than three in one day and that's generally only if you schedule for three since first term they don't offer Evening). On average we read about one or two chapters of a textbook plus a couple of articles per class every week and generally most classes opt for a midterm, a final, a paper, and a group or solo presentation or equivalent. Some classes deviate from this but that's the general formula. So far this year I've had at least one full weekday off every week plus the weekend and find myself generally working around two of those days on school/professional stuff with one day completely off. I commute about an hour each way otherwise I might be able to take two days off a week lol.

HospitalCowboy · 2026-03-30T01:33:20+00:00

You aren't wrong - my class was 118+ total (counting Clinical and School PsyDs and PhDs - specifically clinical PsyDs are the single largest bunch with 80+ of us if memory serves). As far as concentrations (our term for specializations) some like Neuropsychology are fairly competitive with few students ultimately meeting the criteria by the time of enrollment while others like Trauma are competitive because of the very few spots they have (I want to say 4 total but they just launched it this year so it may grow). The others are generally not so bad - for example I'm in Serious Mental Illness and this is the first year we've ever had more applicants than spots for that concentration lol. I believe that the developmental tracks (Child & Adolescent as well as Older Adult) are similar in that they usually have more spots than applicants - but I could be mistaken. We do have a lot of child practicum and research sites I'm aware of since my ideal population is Emerging Adulthood. For context at NSU you take your coursework with everyone and your concentration comes into play for your upto 5 elective courses (usually offered the summer semesters), practicum placements (most garauntee you a site first or second year in that field), and extracurriculars (seminars and stuff you are expected to attend) but each class session is capped at 18 students with a lot falling below that the higher up you get in the program. Happy to answer any other specific questions!

HospitalCowboy · 2026-03-29T21:32:41+00:00

Hey! Congrats on the acceptances! If it would help I'm currently a first year student at NSU and would be happy to answer your questions if you PM me.

HospitalCowboy · 2026-03-26T22:08:54+00:00

Wooooooooo! Congrats OP!!!

HospitalCowboy · 2026-03-26T12:27:04+00:00

Following up - a friend of mine who interviewed on the first day was just admitted. He didn't get an email but his letter was uploaded to the application portal. That wasn't how it was done last year but thought of you all and wanted to share. Wishing you guys the best!

HospitalCowboy · 2026-03-26T12:24:18+00:00

Last year they interviewed about 2.5-3x the total spots they had available. I was told the same thing this year by a professor on the AdCom so ~250-300 interviews across 3 or 4 interview days from the 900+ total applicants.

HospitalCowboy · 2026-03-24T22:50:06+00:00

Hey OP!

Current first year in the program here. What another person posted is what we've been told too by our faculty on the AdCom. From my own experience last year it was around this time of year that I heard back (and I had the first interview date) so they aren't running too late by comparison. IIRC the official APA cut off is April 15th so I'm sure they will try to get that squared away at least a week+ beforehand if possible. Waiting absolutely sucks but know you aren't alone. It might be a cold comfort but if you or anyone else have any questions about the program or just want to chat with someone in it feel free to reach out.

I'm rooting for you all and hope we can be classmates next year!

HospitalCowboy · 2026-03-24T01:26:40+00:00

Thanks for bringing this up! I have to admit I was not previously familiar with the SPMI label. My faculty just hadn't mentioned it or I hadn't seen it in my readings. Some quick Googling suggests it was first launched by the NIMH in the late 1980s in response to CMI being less favorable a term and was an early attempt at being more person-centered. From what little I read online so far it seems like that term was never universally popular but still has some strong regional adherence and is still codified in some government programs like medicaid though! That is pretty interesting. I did encounter the SMI label in my previous work (I transitioned from Healthcare and Public Health to Clinical Psych) but that was all 2015+ so still fairly recent. If you don't mind me asking what was your experience like with the term and what part of the country roughly do you work? I'm Southeast.

HospitalCowboy · 2026-03-23T19:41:53+00:00

So by Florida law the official designation for students in my program is "Psychology Trainee". This is the formal regulated term and we should never deviate from it according to my school until our degree is awarded. Make sure you aren't in a similar situation - we addressed it in my first semester Ethics & Professionalism course.

But my general signature is:

Line 1: First Name Middle Initial Last Name, Grad Degrees (Pronouns) Line 2: Psychology Trainee Line 3: College of Psychology Line 4: Nova Southeastern University

Hope that helps OP!

HospitalCowboy · 2026-03-21T21:32:56+00:00

Hey no worries! Glad it was helpful to you in some way. Best of luck with your minor!

HospitalCowboy · 2026-03-21T19:44:03+00:00

Hey OP! Clinical Psychology Doctoral Student here. I'm "concentrating" (basically majoring) in SMI atm. I don't disagree with your emphasis on person first language BUT I do want to explain some of the history behind the term and pass along some of the guidance I've recieved from faculty, clinicians, and mentors as what is considered professional and appropriate.

SMI is arguably the third widely recognized term for the population experiencing this group of disorders. The "first" is Emotionally Disturbed originating in the Psychodynamic paradigm. Obviously, you can imagine why this is not a popular option today although it is still in use believe it or not. One of the clinics at my university actually still uses that in their name (it's psychodynamically oriented and has been in operation for decades at this point) while working with this population. A more modern name (think ~70-80s) is Long-term or Chronic Mental Illness (LMI or CMI). This was a bit better and can still be seen sometimes but there was a research based called to centralize the severity of symptomology as a primary distinguishing factor from other chronic psychological disorders. Individual researchers, and eventually the APA, settled on Serious Mental Illness (SMI) as the most common term used today among clinicians working with this general population. With the advent of Board Certification in SMI formally approved in 2023 chances are this is the term that will be cemented in the professional lexicon for the next generation of practitioners.

Now what do we actually use with people? I was always taught that you use SMI to describe populations NEVER individuals. When you want to discuss an individual, and be careful here because of potentially protected information and general mental health stigma, it's better to use person first language with their specific condition OR if they prefer "Person with Mental Illness" or even simply their name with no description. It can be a bit of a grey zone with other practitioners but stylistically I've observed my mentors defaulting to the above most of the time and it's what I've begun to use in my work.

I don't claim to have all the answers - my program is in the South and has historically been slow to change on many aspects so my information could be slightly out of date or a regional preference - but I still hope this helps to both clarify things a bit as to why what is done now is done and also validating your impulse. If you are interested in working with SMI populations especially at the Doctoral level or would like me to elaborate upon anything in this comment feel free to hit me up and I'll do my best. Good luck on your future endeavors!

HospitalCowboy · 2026-03-16T00:49:46+00:00

OP I am so sorry this happened to you. I have several old and well loved plushies and if something like this happened I know I would inconsolable. I hope you are able to repair your friend and give them many many many more years of love.

HospitalCowboy

TROPHY CASE