PSYCHOLOGIST MADE A FOOL OUT OF ME

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I don't think it's possible to say whether mw99's psychologist was right or wrong, or whether mw99 has AS or not. We've never met these people. We don't really even know anything about them. We can read a person's posts on a forum, but we don't know how honest that person is or how in touch with reality that person is. This statement applies to Internet forums in general; I don't mean to single out mw99.

I sympathize with him - it sounds like he's dealing with a lot of stress. I don't think that trying to guess who's right and who's wrong will help him.

What can help is to provide information.

Psychologists in particular (as opposed to psychiatrists) are extremely varied in their methodology, ideology, educational background, training, level of experience, ethics, and attitudes towards patients. It can be hard to find one who is a good fit, so it pays to do what it takes to find the right psychologist for you.

Referrals and Recommendations

If possible, ask one or more people to recommend a good psychologist. Recommendations can come from general practice doctors (if you have one you really like), friends who you trust, relatives, psychiatrists, or even websites or people you meet online. When a doctor recommends another doctor, it's technically called a referral.

I found my favorite psychologist through a recommendation. A friend of mine had talked about how he was seeing a psychologist to help him get through depression resulting from his divorce. He said he really liked this psychologist, so I asked for his name and number. He turned out to be really nice and easy to talk to. I saw him for a couple of years, and he was the first to suggest I might have AS.

When I needed to see a psychiatrist, I asked this nice psychologist for a recommendation. He taught at the local medical school, so he knew a lot of psychiatrists. The one he recommended was the best psychiatrist I've ever seen. She was the one who diagnosed me with AS.

When I needed to see a general practice doctor, I asked my psychiatrist for a recommendation. She recommended a friend of hers from med school who turned out to be really, really nice! In fact, I found every doctor I saw routinely in San Antonio through a recommendation from a friend or another doctor.

Assessing a Psychologist's Credentials

As stated earlier, people with different types of credentials and methodologies can call themselves "psychologists". A psychologist's degree can be any of the following:

Masters (M.A. or M.S.) in Psychology - 2 or 3 years of graduate school work in psychology

Masters (M.A. or M.S.) in Counseling - 2 or 3 years of graduate school, focuses more on the practice of counseling but includes psychology courses

PhD in Psychology - about 5 years of grad school + a dissertation, often followed by a practicum or long-term internship

PsyD - almost the same as the PhD in Psychology

M.S.W. (Master of Social Work) - 2 or 3 years of training in social work, a psychologist with an MSW will have taken psychology/therapy courses as part of their social work training

(These are rough descriptions of the differences between these degrees - please research for more detailed and accurate information.)

The specifics of these degrees vary between schools. There are accrediting agencies that make sure the degree program follows certain guidelines. *Some graduate programs are not accredited* and therefore may not meet educational standards recommended by experienced professionals in the field.

Secondly, psychologists have to be licensed in order to practice, but *some may practice without a license* and try not to get caught.

In addition to all of this, there are many different schools of thought in psychology. Psychologists are supposed to reveal their ideological background (ex: psychoanalysis, cognitive-behavioral, mixed, etc.) before you even make an appointment with them. It is helpful to research these schools of thought in psychology and decide which ones you like best before you choose a psychologist.

Psychologists vs. Psychiatrists

The above information is about psychologists, not psychiatrists. Psychiatrists are doctors (M.D.) who specialized in neurology/psychiatry in medical school. Psychiatrists can prescribe drugs, but psychologists cannot. All psychiatrists have similar training (compared to psychologists) and they take a medical approach to diagnosis. Not all psychologists even make diagnoses. When a psychologist does diagnose, their decision may be influenced by ideas unrelated to the DSM criteria, such as psychoanalytical concepts which are more philosophical than scientific in nature.

Ending Note

MW99, it sounds like you might benefit from finding a practitioner with whom you are more compatible.

Great response.


M.

Part of is that 'Hey! I'm the shrink here! I'll tell you what you have, not the other way around' . You're coming to them for expertise, and instead you're trying to give them the answer. So they treat it like 'a man who represents himself in court has a fool for a client'.

The second thing involves liability; if he accepted your 'diagnosis', then he might prescribe drugs (because that's what the insurance companies want), and if he 'guesses wrong', who gets sued? He does.

Now I'm sure you're right; there might be additional complications that would affect the diagnosis, other symptoms (and only you'd know these), so he may need more info to get a better handle on what's actually going on.

I'd say the person who said to not bring it up is right. And a specialist in Autism in general would be a better judge, and know what to look for. good luck.

Doctors and psychiatrists HATE a patient suggesting something. They will often go out of their way to prove you DON'T have it just because you said you might.

If you're ever trying to get a diagnosis, it's much better to list all your symptoms and let them come up with the answer. Very few will allow you to self diagnose.

I don't know anyone here, but if you've been told you don't have Aspergers or any ASD try for a second opinion. But if you still don't get the diagnosis, you might have to consider you're NOT an Aspie. Many other conditions have similar behaviors/symptoms. Borderline Personality Disorder shares a lot of similarities with Aspergers, so can Bipolar. You might be an NT who has experienced things in life that have made you withdraw and pick up Aspergian traits. It's not something to be upset about, just look for another opinion if diagnosis is important to you, and keep an open mind that you may have something other than an ASD.

A good eighty percent of psychologists are full of pure s**t, while thinking that their own s**t doesn't stink. They can take ninety percent of their personality, employment and intelligence and profile testing and shove them up their ass. They are an arrogant, know-it-all lot when they know barely anything and have no reason whatsoever to be arrogant. They attempt to quantify everything and refuse to admit that there are some things, and some people, that just cannot be quantified and neatly categorized within the parameters of some stupid generic, standardized test.

You're going to have to supply more information concerning said visit.

If you say that you lack nonverbal cues, understanding and showing of, but you so happen to show them, and understand them when conversing to the psychologist, then said psychologist is correct. But if you lacked said cues, and you lacked the ability to understand his, then you're correct. This is just one example.

I agree with Daniel. What kind of tests did he make you do, what questions did he ask and what did you answer? Did you take one of those Aspie quizzes? It's really hard to answer whether the psychologist is full of crap, or whether you're just not an Aspie because we don't know "how autistic" you actually are. I'm a little curious though why you're so angry about not getting the diagnosis...why is it so important to you? Do you just want a label? Are you trying to get disability and you need a diagnosis? Or are you trying to please some of the "you're not diagnosed you're not an aspie" smart alecs on this site?

Except that most psychologists are idiots.

Heck, I know more about AS than most psychologists.

THAT IS FREAKING SAD.

The same happened to me, a short time ago.

Now I'm convinced that only a professional with a large experience with AS or autism can diagnose me. I strongly suggest that you don't lose you time (and money) with this kind of people again.

Good luck.

Last edited by dr-zero on 25 May 2008, 6:46 am, edited 1 time in total.

Seek a neurologist. If the neurologist says you don't have AS then you don't. Who is paying for all of your visits?

True.

Also, MW99, there could be something up with you but don't try to push for something you are not just because it may seem better than what is actually wrong.

Are you being misdiagnosed? Possibly but my gut instinct tells me that you don't really want to figure out what's going on with you but instead are pushing for a diagnosis that you want and I am glad that people will put their foot down and say no you don't if you really don't.

I'd think you were lying to me if you read the DSM and sounded as if you were repeating what you had read then be insulted that you lied to me.

A neurologist would be able to tell.

BTW 2 things...

1. Daniel IS right! Just saying you have a match doesn't make it so. If it was THAT simple, NOBODY here would suggest a doctor.

You should tell him/her the SYMPTOM and go from there! If you had a bolt tightened on a brake, needed a professional opinion, and couldn't have him/her touch it, WHAT is better? a. I tightened the bolt? b. I tightened the bolt's to x pounds of torque, and HERE is a picture of what the caliper looks like? OBVIOUSLY, 'b' is better because maybe a lock washer was needed, and you forgot it, maybe you missed a bolt, and how could he/she determine how much force you used?

Likewise, you're judgment of social issues is messed up. THAT is a given because you either think it is messed up when it isn't, or it is messed up as you think it is.

2. And this is basically the same as #1 but at a higher level.... If I were going, I wouldn't want to suggest AS. The goal is to get HIM/HER to suggest things. Suggest the SYMPTOMS(as shown above)!

If he/she says AS, GREAT! If you think his/her assessment is wrong, ask "But what about ..."? THEN ask about AS. Maybe that person didn't know about AS or something. Maybe they missed something.

I have two problems that ARE AS related. If I have AS I could be expected to have them, and they could HURT an AS diagnosis!

a. I get NERVOUS and will forget even the most obvious things at time. If I don't write it down(Many here have suggested one SHOULD write things down for this.), I am bound to forget THE most important thing!

b. I tend to ramble, as I have HERE! Some times OTHERS forget the main points and assume something else. I have ACTUALLY known people that, after hearing a thing such as this, might tell me how to fix my brakes!

I don't know if I have AS or not. What I do know is that I have certain personal characteristics and mental capabilities that seem unusual and problems with social relationships that are common with AS people. I don't know why it should be important that these should be officially labeled as being AS. A psychologist friend of mine assured me that I do not have AS with no testing. An online test indicated that I might possibly have AS. I really don't need an official label to tell me that I have problems. I am not looking to change my personal characteristics (if that were possible) and am happy to remain as I am. I can freely speculate to myself as to my condition and am not disturbed either way.

I am not angry at not getting the AS diagnosis. I am angry at the fact that my suggestion that I could have AS was quickly dismissed. No tests were done, nothing.



I am interested in receiving the right diagnosis because I want to receive the type of therapy that might actually work for people with my "problems."



No. You could call my "problem" whatever you want, as long as I get the help I need.



No



No

Your ability to persuade and convince doctor you have it was probably much of the reason he felt you did not have it.

Go somewhere else. Seek a couple different opinions. If they are ALL saying the same thing, then maybe you do have some traits (like many of us) but aren't severe enough to be diagnosed with Aspergers.

equinn