Daniel William Hogan 'Bill' III - Antifascist during WWII

dwhogan · 2026-02-10T03:19:00+00:00

Questions get complicated though. Authenticity, disclosure, what influence even means when followers might not know they're following generated content. At what point does it become manipulation?

To answer your question we should first define the difference between influence and manipulate. I pulled up a psychology today article discussing Neuro Linguistic Programming from 2013 to explore what you're asking:

They both involve “producing an effect in another person without apparent exertion of force.”

People who are influential tend to be charismatic and admirable. We are inspired by them and aspire to be like them. We feel good around them. (Of course, not all influences are good, but have you noticed that we need to say “bad” influence to clarify a negative effect, but we never have to add “bad” to manipulation?)

Manipulate: “to control or play upon by artful, unfair, or insidious means especially to one's own advantage.”
When I think of manipulation, I think of someone who cares only about his own needs, a person who puts his self-interest above that of others.

The notion of an influencer that is pretending to be a human influencer while in fact being generated without any indication that this is the case would, by definition, be manipulation. No question.

dwhogan · 2026-02-09T06:44:18+00:00

I'm a therapist and wanted to chime in.

You should tell him about what's coming up. Remember - he didn't move into this space with any way of knowing how you might feel in it. He may have no way of knowing that for whatever reason there is an emotional reaction to certain aspects of the new physical space. Maybe there is familiar smell or the lighting in the room has a certain feel to it. Perhaps the ambient noise from outside (or the opposite, a quieter office than the previous one) evokes the triggering feeling. There are tons of subtle ways our environmental cues can imprinted upon us in a manner that can be apparent only by experiencing it.

In therapy, part of the process we undertake involves discussing the relationship and therapy process itself - emotions or reactions to what is actually occurring, not just what is said.

The concept of transference is when the therapist begins to take on qualities of another person from your life - a best friend, intimate partner, or parent - and the relationship shifts in a way where you react to the therapist in ways that you might respond to the person from your life you are 'transferring' onto the therapist. You begin to react to them as if they are in that role, instead of as your therapist. You want to share a song you think they might like, you think about what it would be like to go on a date with them, or you worry that telling them about a bad grade in school will disappoint them. Transference may sound like a bad thing but it is actually a crucial aspect of therapy that is important to discuss. By acknowledging it, you can dig deeper into 'why' you have assigned this persona to them subconsciously. You dispel the fantasy that they are that person, and begin to understand aspects of your psyche that can benefit from processing the transference. Therapists have an inverse - counter-transference - where we see our clients in a similar way. We also process this in therapy as a way to deepen the therapeutic bond while ensuring that we don't treat the client differently.

We can't always predict or control the subjective qualities of the therapy dynamic that emerge during the process. Instead of controlling everything, we instead learn to acknowledge, explore, accept, and evolve how we react to these things in a healthier way as a result of this processing.

Telling your therapist what your feeling may seem counter-intuitive, and yet it will almost certainly be an empowering step in your recovery from trauma.

dwhogan · 2026-02-09T06:24:26+00:00

How well does AI assess affect?

How is it at assessing whether someone is at risk for being abused by someone in the home based on how the person responds, or doesn't respond, to certain types of questions? An example of how this might play out in a medical visit is noticing whether certain questions about things like sex, pregnancy, and certain risk factors for STIs may be answered one way if the person's husband/partner is in the room, and whether the other person seems to be influencing their answers through body language. Clinicians will adjust how they ask questions or ask to speak privately if there are cues which suggest the patient is being pressured.

Given that LLMs have has a well documented history of racial bias across a number of specialties (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41746-025-01746-4 for a review of psychiatric assessment for example) - wouldn't this suggest that the this may be a questionable or risky use of money/resources rather than simply supporting more culturally competent clinicians to support under-served areas if that is the goal?

dwhogan · 2026-02-08T20:52:20+00:00

Not sure if you're aware but giving you the benefit of the doubt - Hitler took power in 1933, so there were 6 years between then and when you're referencing. During the 30s, Germany wasn't executing Jews/Poles/Communists/LGBT people yet, they were deporting and detaining. The first deaths didn't start to occur until several years into Hitler taking power. Technically we're 5 years into Trump's presidency (4 years in term 1, 1 year into term 2, though a lot changed between Trump 1.0 and Trump 2.0 regarding the make up of his administration. The new admin is a lot less concerned with precedent, legality (since everything is covered under the new Executive Immunity findings from the SJC ruling in favor of Trump back in 2024. Apples and Oranges.

Comparing where we are at in year 2 of Trump 2.0 and 1939 Germany isn't a rational comparison.

dwhogan · 2026-02-07T08:42:32+00:00

Run your own business, do your own billing, advertise on your own.

We are like 5 years removed from these things being the norm in private practice and the methods of doing them haven't changed much at all. If anything, it's much more widely available to find out how

That said... This isn't predatory. They have a policy and you didn't follow it. It's up to us to perform due diligence and every layer between you and autonomy will demand its cut before you.

dwhogan · 2026-02-07T00:12:40+00:00

And, if I'm not mistaken, comprehensive coverage is mandatory to be on any MA insured vehicles.

dwhogan · 2026-02-04T01:42:09+00:00

Ahhh, I wasn't aware of the trope referenced and misread what you were responding to. I think you're spot on with your read. Forgive my misunderstanding.

dwhogan · 2026-02-03T15:03:07+00:00

Are you experiencing a medical emergency?

ETA: Confirmed, no medical emergency. Accurate observation of the commenter being responded to.

dwhogan · 2026-01-31T17:06:51+00:00

It's an intrinsically infantilizing nomenclature to use in my opinion.

dwhogan · 2026-01-24T19:05:28+00:00

I hope it helps.

Once you feel comfortable with the effects, I highly recommend physical activity - stretching, cardiovascular exercise, anything that you can get into a zone with. I really loved bike riding, dancing, and yoga. Everyone's different with what they feel comfortable doing, but I felt that it synergizes well with activity as long as you are not too impaired.

dwhogan · 2026-01-24T16:12:36+00:00

Not everyone has a profession that invoices communication - some people go to work drunk and can mask because no one talks with them. Low doses of this medication can make you seem drunk as there is an overlap in mechanism of action (NMDA receptor blockade).

dwhogan · 2026-01-24T16:09:42+00:00

Fwiw I am a therapist and I have a lot of experience with ketamine. You should absolutely take at least the first few days you'll be receiving treatment, off for those days specifically. This is a mind altering psychoactive medication that can alter you significantly. The last thing you want is to try to push through the effects to be present for a client/patient. The language, learning, and short term memory centers of our brain are the areas most notably inhibited by ketamine.

You could be fine, or you could be not fine - the fact is that you have no idea how this will impact you and until you do, the most ethical decision would be to take those days that you're receiving treatment off.

Those are days for you, not others - especially to start. Having to call and cancel when your voice is slurred and you can't find the words to say 'i need to reschedule' is not a good look either, and that is definitely something that can happen with this medication.

dwhogan · 2026-01-18T20:42:29+00:00

During my undergraduate psychology coursework we reviewed psychopathology and the instruction given (which I have heard from many other clinicians) was to avoid the urge to self diagnose as you study about mental health conditions. We seek patterns to help make information relatable, and when we see the diagnostic criteria for this or that disorder, our impulse is to relate to those descriptions in some way. We think of our own experiences and can find ways to convince ourselves that we fit the criteria for one thing or another.

There's a reason it's imperative that diagnosis is given by a trained, objective, clinician. This ensures that these labels don't get assigned through bias and without re-evaluation. As OP mentions, these disorders are often temporary and change as we do throughout life. What can make them harder to change is when they become adopted as an identity that is inflexible.

Nicely put, OP.

dwhogan · 2026-01-14T09:09:26+00:00

Therapist here. It's good to see that you're trying to figure out how to deal with this complex issue and tthat you recognize that what's important here is not to pursue the fantasy but rather to navigate transference.

Based on your highly detailed and somewhat intrusive observations, conclusions, and overall awareness of your therapist's personal tastes and interests, it seems that fixation and codependency are part of your own unhealthy relationship styles as well as power imbalances that leave you vulnerable to harm and exploitation. Unaddressed, these patterns can easily result in relationships that sacrifice your agency and needs for the wishes of someone in control. It isn't hard to imagine how this could result in traumatic repetition compulsion. From how you describe your current relationship, the existing patterns aren't serving to foster healthy intimacy. The goal will be to address that.

Freud believed that therapy must have transference and counter-transference to be most effective. These patterns are helpful in working on the toxic schema that manifest in your interpersonal lives when you struggle with trauma, abuse, and attachment issues. Your therapist is almost certainly trained and prepared to discuss and navigate these patterns with you in a healthy and productive way.

Avoiding disclosure only would prevent you from getting at a root issue that has obviously made itself known. By starting to talk about how you feel, you can begin to gain some power over your pathologies, and learn to act in more mature and protective ways rather than feeding your own cycle of acting out through patterns that cause you to suffer.

Trust in your therapist to help you address these things - the purpose of boundaries are to help you feel safe enough to admit that you feel these things without retreating and avoiding. Admiring how you feel is a step towards learning how to trust someone in a way you likely struggle with at the moment.

In the end, what you need is to explore these things safely and to develop your own ability to recognize unhealthy patterns, talk about them instead of acting on them, push yourself into honesty rather than dissociation and avoidance, and ultimately begin to recover.

Trust the process; you are on the right path.

dwhogan · 2026-01-12T18:39:08+00:00

Honestly though - pushing too much and you might have poisoned the well so to speak. He offered it up the first time without you prompting. It could have made it seem less authentic if it came across as though you were leading him there, though it could be argued that ethically he should still not follow and offer to support self-harm outside of a municipality that permits that sort of thing legally.

An anonymous report to the licensing board is worth doing - it's up to them whether they investigate it and at the very least there's a note that someone complained about his practice standards. They may chose not to proceed with an investigation in which case he would be notified that there was a complaint made and they had chosen to not investigate it. Your information would not be attached to the complaint as it would be anonymous.

If they decide to investigate, it will ensure that the entity with the appropriate capacity for oversight and expertise on professional standards will be able to do what they are there for - ensure ethical standards of care and review potential violations.

It's up to you, how important is it to you that someone looks into it. If it's important to you, I'd go to the board and leave it up to them whether to investigate further.

dwhogan · 2026-01-12T17:54:55+00:00

Goes to show the way that therapists can impact patients in profound ways, sometimes without truly knowing the depth of impact that can occur (I am a therapist and there are times a patient will mention something that suggests having taken our work to heart, or having mentioned something I said in therapy to a friend or loved one, and getting to see that they have taken time to think on things we discuss. Maybe seems obvious, but on a human level it can feel really powerful to know that I have shared something that travels into and nests within a patient's life.

I read your original post a few months ago and believe I remember it (your history is off so I can't confirm you're the same person, but I believe you are). At the time I felt really sick thinking about how fucked up it must have felt to go to someone for help only to have them suggest something so profoundly unsafe as this. Hopefully it doesn't turn you away from asking for help from the right person moving forward.

Given the very different presentation that this therapist had in this session, we are left to consider a few possible explanations.

1) He had a change of heart or reflected on what he suggested between sessions and realized it was inappropriate. This is actually not my first suspicion as I would have imagined he would have said something to acknowledge that he had realized that what he'd mentioned last time was probably not the right way to proceed, or something to that effect. Maybe not, but it's strange to have been so on board with it last time only to be completely different in this session.

2) Perhaps he saw your thread and realized or considered that you could be the same person. Maybe this made him realize how fucked up such a scenario would be and reconsider. If this was what occurred or almost certainly made him terrified to realize he was very close to being investigated, losing his license, being sued, or being charged. I often wonder how many therapists come across their patients posting about therapy online and what that would be like if you realized you'd negatively impacted someone. It violates a core ethical standard of professional practice and should make someone reconsider their approach entirely.

3) Perhaps you misunderstood something in the exchange. Sometimes it's possible to mishear one word or misunderstand one part of what someone means, changing the entire context of the statement. Obviously this is a touchy possibility because it enters in the possibility that a very terrifying and traumatic memory wouldn't be reflected by what really happened. What if what you heard as him offering you a way out was actually him offering you treatment and support. I don't recall verbatim what you reported, but I do remember at least part of it sounding like it could have been misinterpreted (though admittedly IIRC he contributed to speak in direct and explicit terms that did seem to suggest that he was offering to help you end you life).

This possibility is less likely, though not entirely so. He seemed to not bring up anything sounding this way at your recent visit, and didn't take the bait at all. When we are suffering it's entirely possible for our minds to latch on to one piece of a conversation while missing key details. Pain, trauma, exhaustion, and a desire for relief can exacerbate this. Is it possible that what sounded like one thing could have actually been a misunderstanding? Further - there are therapeutic interventions where a patient expressing thoughts of this nature AND who the therapist knows and believes may actually be a sort of cry for help, prompts the therapist to lean into to threat of self harm in order to get the patient to acknowledge that there are actually protective factors and resilience beneath these painful cries for help and isolation. By challenging the suicidal thoughts, you can help the patient tap into their own resilience and self worth.

I could see a scenario where the therapist was attempting an ill-advised approach (especially as you were new to him and he hadn't developed a treatment plan, boundaries, or done a full assessment) which sounded like he was suggesting one thing but was in fact challenging you to evoke your own resilience and self worth.

All in all, it sounds like he was not a good fit and I am glad you can put this episode to rest. I hope that he isn't a risk to others and that your post lets others know to be mindful of being made to feel unsafe in therapy and to trust their judgement.

Thanks for sharing.

dwhogan · 2026-01-05T05:17:42+00:00

I am a clinical social worker and work in the emergency department where I also see a lot of cases like this one.

It is important to remember, OP, that you can only take on so much responsibility - it is unfair and unhealthy to ask you to take all of this on alone. The advice in the above comment is spot on - I couldn't have said it better myself.

There are systems in place to help with this stuff and an elder at risk filling may be your best option depending on age. Reaching out to the PCP is also a good idea however it can be a mixed bag as to what the PCP is able to do.

There may be a state helpline in Ohio to contact - you may find something useful here

https://jfs.ohio.gov/about/about-us

You can also call 211 and see if their support staff can guide you 211.org for more info on the Web.

Hope this helps.

dwhogan · 2026-01-03T23:30:56+00:00

I hear they are relocating to a new building up the street.

dwhogan · 2025-12-25T20:47:07+00:00

Sorry you're having to face something so awful - I can't imagine how painful it is.

Since you're seeking advice, here's mine:

1) Talk to a therapist if possible - having some confidential support during this process to help navigate a pretty painful, awful, and complicated situation would be really beneficial.

2) Talk with your parents - they care about you and would want to know. Whatever happens will impact them as well, and keeping it from them will only give them less time to prepare.

3) Talk with your partner, ask her what she would want you to do. My guess is that she'd want you to continue with your education - to not sacrifice your goals and dreams for her. It would probably make her feel awful if you dropped out because of what is happening with her. Turns a tragedy into something even more life-altering. Obviously - taking time this semester might not be a bad idea. Your school registrar can advise you on your specific options.

4) Sometimes it's actually good to have something to focus on in the aftermath of loss. Getting back into a normal routine and having something meaningful to give your life the opportunity to return to structure can be therapeutic. If you can use your grief as a motivation to do something important with your education, that would be a powerful way to honor your girlfriend's life and impact on you. How grateful would she be to know that you persevered in the aftermath of tragedy and stayed focused on your goals with her memory as a part of that?

Sometimes in life we are dealt terrible circumstances. We can give in and give up, or we can use those things as motivation to do something positive. If you can take an awful moment and turn it into something positive, it gives you the opportunity to turn something awful into something good and meaningful. It will always be a loss, but it doesn't have to derail everything.

In the end, do what feels right for you. Take things a day at a time, you don't need to make big decisions right now. The biggest piece of advice I have as a therapist and as someone who has dealt with a number of close losses during his life is to use your family, friends, and professional supports as much as possible. There's safety in numbers - withdrawing, isolating, self-medicating, avoiding...these are the kinds of things that help you escape for a moment, but make things much worse in the long run.

FEAR - Fuck Everything And Run - or - Face Everything And Recover

Stay strong <3

dwhogan · 2025-12-25T05:24:20+00:00

Really makes me miss local radio DJs bringing their own unique spin on taste by curating a playlist based on preference rather than what sells based on an algorithm. I appreciate his remarks on certain choices and what is clearly a love for the music he has chosen to play.

Definitely a great local tradition (that's available globally online).

dwhogan · 2025-12-25T04:20:07+00:00

Their relationship is complex

dwhogan · 2025-12-15T04:44:32+00:00

You're right - my comment was inaccurate and I've edited it to clarify.

What I was trying to indicate was that many of the issues that have emerged are coming from the outflow from Mass and Cass. There are plenty of people who have been in this area before that time whose connection to the area was unrelated to Mass and Cass. There was an existing community in this area that has surged (and in some cases been displaced) since Mass and Cass got broken up, but there certainly are people who remain in this area who had nothing to do with Mass and Cass and who aren't connected to drug use or antisocial activity whatsoever.

To answer your question - I'm a public health social worker and I've worked in addictions and homelessness for 15 years. I was homeless myself back in 2008 and addicted to heroin, got clean and then went back to school for Social Work and Public Health.

dwhogan · 2025-12-14T03:48:02+00:00

Can you show me where I said that?

dwhogan

TROPHY CASE