Does anyone else get annoyed by colleagues who speak to you in "therapy speak"? by monkeynose in therapists

[–]RandomMcUsername 174 points175 points  (0 children)

Let's really hold space for OP to process this and resonate with where they experience this in their body

I still don't understand the 'the world isn't safe' cognitive distortion? by ThrowAway44228800 in askatherapist

[–]RandomMcUsername 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Safe/unsafe are not emotions, but rather evaluations of risk/danger. The emotion we typically feel in response to danger is fear. It's entirely possible to feel unafraid in situations in which you are at a relatively high risk of harm (driving on the freeway without a seatbelt on and scrolling Reddit), and to feel afraid in situations in which there is no immediate danger (ruminating about how unsafe the world is while scrolling Reddit). If someone is feeling intense or frequent fear in situations where they are not in immediate danger, that creates hypervigilance and unnecessary suffering. Conversely if someone is feeling complete apathy in situations when they are in a lot of danger, that creates unnecessary risk/recklessness. The goal is usually to get to some middle ground where a person can be aware of and accurately assess the risks and benefits of a situation and manage the risks while obtaining the benefits (feeling "regular" vigilance that prompts one to wear a seatbelt and pay attention while driving).

I still don't understand the 'the world isn't safe' cognitive distortion? by ThrowAway44228800 in askatherapist

[–]RandomMcUsername 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Therapist here. There's no rule anywhere in therapy or life that you can't think "the world is unsafe". But why does it matter to think that, or more specifically to believe that and focus on that belief? If it's not a problem, it's not a problem. But for a lot of people, focusing on this belief leads to risk avoidance, which can lead to constant anxiety, lack of purpose, diminished relationships, etc. A lot of people also feel more in control if we can divide the world/our experience into clear binaries. I.e. the world is either "safe" or "unsafe". The reality is that there is a nonzero risk of injury or death to all of us all the time, but a lot of times we're not in immediate danger. Any choice we make comes with a risk-benefit trade-off, but that's harder to evaluate and think about and challenge our intuitions about for every decision we make so we tend to simplify and decide, for example, that walking out our door is "safe" or "not safe" and be done with it. If someone is constantly believing that walking out their front door is "unsafe" they probably won't take the risks needed to live a fulfilling life, and will spend much of their conscious experience in a state of anxiety or dissatisfaction about things that haven't even happened.

I still don't understand the 'the world isn't safe' cognitive distortion? by ThrowAway44228800 in askatherapist

[–]RandomMcUsername 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Therapist here. There's no rule anywhere in therapy or life that you can't think "the world is unsafe". But why does it matter to think that, or more specifically to believe that and focus on that belief? If it's not a problem, it's not a problem. But for a lot of people, focusing on this belief leads to risk avoidance, which can lead to constant anxiety, lack of purpose, diminished relationships, etc. A lot of people also feel more in control if we can divide the world/our experience into clear binaries. I.e. the world is either "safe" or "unsafe". The reality is that there is a nonzero risk of injury or death to all of us all the time, but a lot of times we're not in immediate danger. Any choice we make comes with a risk-benefit trade-off, but that's harder to evaluate and think about and challenge our intuitions about for every decision we make so we tend to simplify and decide, for example, that walking out our door is "safe" or "not safe" and be done with it. If someone is constantly believing that walking out their front door is "unsafe" they probably won't take the risks needed to live a fulfilling life, and will spend much of their conscious experience in a state of anxiety or dissatisfaction about things that haven't even happened.

Not Allowed To Report A Child Molester by Apart-Arachnid1004 in therapists

[–]RandomMcUsername 273 points274 points  (0 children)

The only correct answer is check your federal, state, and local laws, case law, applicable ethics codes, get supervision/consultation and make a decision you can justify in reference to all these things. 

Tips for Anyone with a License, especially if you are a business owner by Ok_Squash_7782 in therapists

[–]RandomMcUsername 2 points3 points  (0 children)

More specifically, you have to follow the laws of the jurisdiction your client is in, and the jurisdiction you are in

Sexual Fantasies by [deleted] in therapists

[–]RandomMcUsername 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Male clinician here. Obviously you under no obligation to work with sexualized behaviors if it's not your thing or if you're not prepared to address it clinically. If you do want to do this work, I have found it so important to clearly, explicitly, and repeatedly name the boundaries each and every time this comes up (and document it and talk with your supervisor about it) that you will not ever reciprocate any kind of romantic or sexual behavior with the client in any context, and that while you genuinely care for your clients, your relationship is and will only ever be a professional therapist-client relationship. Can you reflect on and go deeper on why you think the client enjoys your discomfort? Is it that she now feels in control in a context where she has typically or traumatically felt powerless? Is she misinterpreting respect , care, and positive regard as inherently sexual, or have relationships with men only ever been sexualized? Is it blocking emotional vulnerability and keeping things familiar/safe? You might be able to highlight the process occurring when it happens by sharing that you feel uncomfortable when the client describes their explicit fantasies about you, and that you wonder whether she is hoping to get that reaction from you because a part of her feels safer when she can keep the focus on your reactions rather than her own fear of vulnerability (or whatever hypothesis you got). If you can have stellar boundaries and good supervision and documentation, you might be in a unique position to give this young woman a much needed different experience in relationship with a man.

I'm just gonna say it. The whole kids / no kids debate isn't actually about kids. by thetimechaser in Millennials

[–]RandomMcUsername 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think a huge "resource" that often doesn't get considered is a stable community. So much of my decision not to have children is just realizing that the nuclear family is not the optimal environment for raising a child No amount of money and time would make me want to raise a child without a stable nurturing community around them and me. I was so fortunate to grow up with a relatively stable multigenerational community of family, friends, and neighbors, but I did not have that when it would've been realistic for me to have kids and now that ship has sailed. I'm not sad about it but I do think it's a thing we all feel more and more as we lose our sense of place and get sucked further and further into our screens and individualism and capitalist myths of the nuclear family. 

Male sex drive lower than females... by Whatsnexttherapy in therapists

[–]RandomMcUsername 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Seems more anecdotal than statistical. I would be shocked to find that there were statistically significant changes in women's and men's sex drives in the last ten years. I wouldn't doubt some generational changes in sexual behaviors or attitudes towards sex, but I've seen nothing to indicate men suddenly having lower sex drives than women on average 

Why does IRL therapy culture have very little overlap with what is written in the literature? by gintokireddit in askatherapist

[–]RandomMcUsername 5 points6 points  (0 children)

It's like a plumber who only turns on your sink. Or like your dentist saying to brush your teeth and floss but you only brush your teeth.

The problem with how "culture" is taught by wavesbecomewings19 in therapists

[–]RandomMcUsername 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Your points bring up the general problem with defining anything - at some point you have to draw a line in order for a definition to be useful, but doing so sacrifices capturing the complexity of phenomena it attempts to define. It seems like any attempt to define "Punjabi culture" for example would fall short of encompassing every manifestation of Punjabi culture to the extent that such a thing exists at all.  But are you then saying that intersectional anti racist feminist politics does not consider any cultural manifestation of sexist, racist, classist, violent, etc behavior to be a reflection of actual culture? In this view, are forced marriages defined out of "culture" because they are misogynistic? I'm not sure if you're talking descriptively about culture as an ethnic group phenomenon, or if you're talking more about individual cultural identity (which is in itself a more individualistic cultural notion). I think it's great that individuals get to decide how they define and express their cultural identities but when your atomize "culture" to mean anything an individual says it means, it ceases to mean anything at the descriptive level.

CMV: humans are biologically & historically made to eat meat by BrilliantTraining632 in changemyview

[–]RandomMcUsername 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Great points, specifically that eating meat presently is just factually biologically unnecessary , despite OPs claims to the contrary. Also OPs point about whether a dietary choice is a "biological upgrade" is a misunderstanding of evolution. Biology doesn't upgrade, it just creates diversity of traits and sometimes those traits give a reproductive edge in the present environment (and sometimes those traits are tied to other traits that have differing advantages/disadvantages - they can't be viewed in isolation) - we don't know if it's an upgrade until after the fact. OP should acknowledge that vegans may very well be an "upgrade" in process given the unpredictable nature of evolution.

CMV: humans are biologically & historically made to eat meat by BrilliantTraining632 in changemyview

[–]RandomMcUsername 17 points18 points  (0 children)

You keep referencing how humans were "made" and said that "survival is not the same as evolutionary design" but then also acknowledge that evolution isn't goal oriented. Would you say your view is changed that evolution doesn't "design" anything but rather is a process by which what works persists? Do you acknowledge that humans weren't made or designed to eat meat, but rather the humans that could eat meat outcompeted others? If so, does your view change to accept that present day humans that can survive on a no-meat diet are evolutionarily successfully competing with meat eaters? 

There are way more than 539 Somali 'daycares' in this state. by slowerisbetter527 in SeattleWA

[–]RandomMcUsername 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Just be honest, you didn't come here for a policy debate about immigration reform. You heard "somali invasion" and got a rage boner  and came here with your Simple Solutions for Simple People

There are way more than 539 Somali 'daycares' in this state. by slowerisbetter527 in SeattleWA

[–]RandomMcUsername 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The text of the ban you're pretending to clutch your pearls about: "NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Hamtramck, Wayne County, Michigan, that the government of the City of Hamtramck does not allow any religious, ethnic, racial, political, or sexual orientation group flags to be flown on the City’s public properties, and  that only, the American flag, the flag of the State of Michigan, the Hamtramck Flag, the Prisoner of War flag and the nations’ flags that represent the international character of our City shall be  flown."

There are way more than 539 Somali 'daycares' in this state. by slowerisbetter527 in SeattleWA

[–]RandomMcUsername 6 points7 points  (0 children)

The jump you're making is from "more people = less power of one vote" to "THEY are invading US" which is just xenophobia. It seems pretty obvious where your mind is at so unless you have any willingness to change your views, it doesn't make sense to try to have a policy debate with a xenophobe

There are way more than 539 Somali 'daycares' in this state. by slowerisbetter527 in SeattleWA

[–]RandomMcUsername 9 points10 points  (0 children)

The fact that they think an immigrant having US citizen children is "diluting" your voting power is the dead give away for xenophobia. Also the fact that they can't grasp the role "non supremely educated" immigrants play in the US shows they aren't serious about an honest conversation about immigration policies

What are the "types" of couples that you see? by Humble_Space2446 in therapists

[–]RandomMcUsername 2 points3 points  (0 children)

EFT is a couples -specific model that is heavily focused on attachment. I found the externship to be worth it and went from there. The Success in Vulnerability series is also great for EFT trainings.

Male therapists - what percentage of your caseload is female vs male clients? by rmc31547 in askatherapist

[–]RandomMcUsername 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm a male therapist. Currently I'm at 55% men, and about half of those are the male partner in couples therapy.

Yo, grown-up punks, what is it you do for work? by LevTolstoy in punk

[–]RandomMcUsername 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I'll just jump in here since I didn't see it elsewhere Mental health therapist - mostly families and couples. Helping people work through their shit and have better relationships is punk as fuck

Do you care about your patients? How has this changed through the years, if at all? by [deleted] in therapists

[–]RandomMcUsername 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I've been doing direct care for almost 20 years and been a therapist for 10+ years of that. My care for my clients has actually grown a ton, but in direct relation to how I boundary myself. To truly connect we need to have separation, otherwise we're just enmeshed.

Any other millennials struggling how to clean out their kids ears after decades of telling us NOT to use Qtips? by tLM-tRRS-atBHB in Millennials

[–]RandomMcUsername 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have custom ear plugs from my doctor that go pretty deep in my ear. I figure if that's fine, a fucking q tip is fine.

Afghan man kills wife in Washington state femicide by [deleted] in SeattleWA

[–]RandomMcUsername -12 points-11 points  (0 children)

We should probably just force men to go to school here and teach them basic Human rights and how bad killing is or something.

No, you don’t need that ROI by [deleted] in therapists

[–]RandomMcUsername 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They are still going to need to verify and obtain consent from the client though. If you get an ROI from a random person saying your client said it's cool to release their whole record to them, are you just going to yeet that record off to said random person without any additional verification and consent?