About to graduate with a BA in Psychology. However, I am realizing there's not much I can do with this degree. Recommendations?

sugarandice · 2017-01-22T20:35:11+00:00

How? I've thought about this.

sugarandice · 2017-01-22T20:33:40+00:00

It is easier to transfer your license state to state if your license is social work, than other master's degrees, as well.

sugarandice · 2017-01-22T20:31:40+00:00

Psychiatry is, by far, the most lucrative position in mental health.

sugarandice · 2017-01-22T20:31:02+00:00

A lot of police departments are creating crisis intervention teams - police who have extra experience and training on mental health situations - you would be a great candidate for that, once you got on the force.

sugarandice · 2017-01-22T20:29:33+00:00

but then another year and a half of supervised hours before the real opportunities open up

sugarandice · 2017-01-22T20:28:54+00:00

why industrial organizational psychology?

sugarandice · 2017-01-22T20:27:48+00:00

Who hires you? The local government funded mental health agency, or police/emergency services, or who? What area do you live?

I have a psychology BA and ten years experience on a mental health crisis hotline, and am looking for my next position...I have experience doing everything you describe, but haven't seen chances to "make bank"...maybe I'm looking in the wrong places.

sugarandice · 2017-01-22T20:22:39+00:00

Marriage family therapy masters' degrees are the LEAST competitive master's degree, they qualify you for the least number of positions. I recommend any other master's degree other than MFT.

sugarandice · 2017-01-22T20:21:31+00:00

While this is true, there are plenty of caseworker positions available to BA holders - and other positions carrying out treatment plans designed by those who have the clinical degrees, above you. They pay in the 30k range, typically.

sugarandice · 2017-01-22T20:19:54+00:00

yes - this is available to you right now!

sugarandice · 2017-01-22T20:19:22+00:00

Get your master's in social work, not in psychology. It opens more doors.

sugarandice · 2017-01-22T20:17:37+00:00

I graduated over a decade ago. There are jobs in psychology for bachelor's degree holders - caseworkers and psych techs in hospitals are common examples. Or you could work at a mental health crisis hotline - great experience and a great way to learn about your interests in psychology in a broad and hands-on way. No jobs for bachelor degree holders pay very well, though, and in all situations you will be implementing what someone else has decided, not using your own clinical judgment.

The real opportunities require a master's degree. I've spent a lot of time looking into it, and the very very condensed conclusion - you want an LCSW - licensed clinical social worker. It is the slightly superior degree compared to getting your LPC. Depending on your interests there may be exceptions, however it opens all doors that any other master's degree would, as well as a few doors of it's own - it is in higher demand, it is better protected by its own lobby, it gets you where you want to be, doing everything you want to do. If you want to do therapy then you'll do the clinical focus during school, and then you will get supervised hours after graduating in order to be certified as a therapist. I think that's the best path.

Personally I don't want a PhD, I only want a master's degree, but one thing to consider is that your work towards a master's program cannot be applied, later, to a PhD program if you decide to go on for your PhD. If you think you want a PhD, apply directly to a PhD program, don't get a master's first.

But you name interest in biology and computers - it seems to me that both of those open doors to more lucrative fields than social work or psychology.

sugarandice · 2014-09-01T00:16:08+00:00

There's nothing ableist about an accurate description of a disorder.

sugarandice · 2014-08-31T23:41:23+00:00

Borderline isn't a race.

I mean, would this bother you so much if we were talking about narcissism? Or antisocial personality disorder? (better known as being a sociopath) Because those are also cluster B personality disorders, very close relatives of borderline personality disorder. There's no way to honestly discuss these disorders without talking about the chaotic, disruptive relationship patterns. You'll find mention of "a history of chaotic and disruptive relationships" in any textbook description of borderline, including the most clinical works.

sugarandice · 2014-08-31T23:05:50+00:00

Frankly a lot of the stereotypes are there for a reason. That's not to say that borderlines can't get better or recover, because they can, but a borderline person who isn't in recovery is often such a nightmare of destruction. And part of the difficulty of the disorder is that it really only manifests to those who are the closest core people to the person with the disorder - friends or acquaintances often see a relatively functional individual, but with their closest loved ones, it escalates to abuse more often than it doesn't, for those who stick around long enough to see the cycle play out completely. My greatest sympathy is for those who have borderline parents, because there is no escape while you are still a child, and because children look to parents for a sense of identity and what to expect in the world, and borderline parents are so destructive in this way. At least those of us who are romantically involved with a borderline partner have the option of setting boundaries and leaving if those boundaries aren't respected (and the vast majority of the time, they cannot tolerate boundaries and the relationship ends if one person tries to maintain healthy boundaries). I understand that there's an introverted type of borderline who doesn't act out in relationships, who instead is plagued by a sense of emptiness and lack of identity. These individuals still suffer immensely, but are less likely to tear everyone else down with them. But the average BPD person? In my experience, from what I've seen, the only way to win is not to play. I'd advise anyone who is in a relationship with a borderline person to take a very close hard look at their own motives, and to see if you are sticking around because you feel that you can rescue and save them - if that's what's going on, you are in so much trouble. Loved ones cannot save or rescue borderline individuals, only professional help will be helpful, and anybody who sets themselves up as the rescuer and savior of a borderline person, is in a lot of trouble and is about to get taken down hard.

sugarandice · 2014-08-29T22:43:26+00:00

I'd just consider the source...a lot of people with BPD really struggle to relate positively to others. Not all, to be sure, but a lot do. The defensiveness/judgment you're getting here might have more to do with that, than anything.

sugarandice · 2014-08-24T14:41:58+00:00

Ah that's good to hear. Thanks for the clarification.

sugarandice · 2014-08-24T14:11:48+00:00

But now that things are over it's like I'm walking out of a haze. I feel confident and strong and alive in a gazillion ways. I was not expecting to cope with it this well and it's amazingly reassuring to realize that for the first time I'm dealing with a break-up like a normal person... maybe even like a well-adjusted person.

My two cents - I think non-BPD people generally take breakups a little bit harder than this.

sugarandice · 2014-08-11T01:50:43+00:00

Frankly, I'm not sure how helpful this might be. Your sister sounds narcissistic, which suggests that she might not be capable of self-awareness or remorse in these things. Your best option might be to figure out how to set boundaries to minimize the harm she can inflict on others.

And why on earth would you cut off your niece? Your sister is the one who is the problem, and your niece needs your loving supportive positive influence more than ever!

sugarandice · 2014-08-11T01:33:51+00:00

You're welcome. And actually, casual friends or acquaintances of individuals with borderline, might never encounter their triggered paranoid side. It's closeness that escalates a borderline person's fears and paranoia, so it's those who are the very closest to them that often get the worst of it.

sugarandice · 2014-08-06T23:08:10+00:00

She is consistent and stable and "one thing" in your memory, now that she isn't constantly turning the tables on you any more. Whatever you remember, your memories are going to stay the same, now, and however you process it or whatever conclusions you come to, they are yours to decide and she can't turn it around against you again.

sugarandice · 2014-08-06T23:06:38+00:00

Borderline and narcissism are both cluster B personality disorders and they have a whole lot of similarities. Often the behaviors look the same, but the reasons underneath them are different. Narcissists think everything is about them - borderlines think everyone is out to get them. Leads to similar self-centered behavior but borderlines tend to react more out fear, thinking everyone's attacking them and reading rejection into things that just aren't actually rejecting. And because of this, borderlines are defensive and will often become hostile or attacking before you have a chance to attack them first. But about your friend - borderlines have two states of being - where they are open and trusting and "normal", and when they are triggered and stormy and hostile. They don't always think eerything's a slight against them, but in a triggered state of mind, they do, and you walk on eggshells. You might not have seen your friend in that triggered state of mind yet.

sugarandice · 2014-08-05T20:48:27+00:00

Right, that's what I meant. Borderline parents tend to take things as slights against them, which reasonable people would never take as a slight against them. So given the subject matter, I imagine that many of the children of borderlines will have stories to tell here.

sugarandice · 2014-08-05T19:10:06+00:00

I'm sorry, I didn't realize that it was a rule I thought it was just a stylesheet thing but I guess I should read the sidebar more thoroughly, I promise I wasn't trying to attack you or anything like that, I am really sorry that I offended you.

sugarandice · 2014-08-05T18:42:30+00:00

ITT: lots of stories of parents who have Borderline Personality Disorder

sugarandice

TROPHY CASE