Psychology students seeing psychologists

Post Reply New Topic

I know a few of you out there study psychology. I have done a degree plus honours, so while I'm not a qualified psychologist, I feel like I know a bit about the world of psych. This makes seeing a psychologist rather weird. I know what they are trying to do when they ask certain questions, because I've learnt the techniques. When they empathise I see it as a learnt rapport-building skill, and it feels awkward. I finish their sentences sometimes, and argue with them more than most, I imagine.

I feel uncomfortable talking about AS symptoms with psychologists who don't specialise in the field, because I'm not sure who knows more about it - me or them? So I stick with the boring topics of depression/anxiety, all the while feeling that this isn't really getting to the main issue. (I am as yet not diagnosed with an ASD.)

Anyone else had experiences like these? How do you handle them? How much do you trust your own judgement, when it's a common belief that if you study psychology you will incorrectly diagnose yourself with some disorder you learnt about at uni (similar to the layman googling general health problems)?

I'm a psychology student, intent on specializing in Autism research following my master's,
and I'm currently in the process of searching for a qualified psychiatrist for other issues.

I have a lot of the same questions you do, as they've come up before when trying to find someone who's the right "fit".

I'll be interested in the answers you get.

I self diagnosed AS until I got it confirmed. I was very pissed off that the psychologist who diagnosed me said she didn't know a lot about AS only enough to make a diagnosis. I actually had a meltdown in her office because she was untactful while prodding me about my anxiety issues. I had to have a trained autism support worker come in to help me feel more comfortable. The support service workers I use do know more than me about AS and I rely on them a lot. Now I will not talk to a mental health professional without a support worker present. It makes all the difference. I highly suggest seeking a diagnosis if there's a way you can benefit from those services. I rely on the people at Kerry's Place in my city/country. My little sister was already DXed and using the services at Kerry's place before I got mine. So I had them help me get my diagnosis.

I think that you should go ahead and correct the psychologist whenever the psychologist is in error about autism in general or you in particular.

For autistic people, I think that therapy for depression and anxiety would be more effective if placed within the context of autism.

I have a dgree in cognitive science with a near second major in psych. I was originally going for psych, but wasn't qualified when I transferred. By the time I was qualified, I had graduated.

My Dr. sent me to a psychiatric nurse for the Dx. He was an ass. Kept saying there was nothing to be done about it, if true, and kept dismissing me the entire time. Saw my Dr. again, decided to give the psych nurse a second chance. He avoided the subject the entire time. As he was sending out I asked 'What about Asperger's?' He said, 'You qualify.' That was all he said. 'What an ass,' I thought. Not much of a Dx, and it didn't qualify as one anyway. Back to my Dr. for another referral.

My first counselor didn't see it and argued with me for 2 sessions. (I thought he was just an intake counselor.) He just kept saying "severe!" when describing social difficulties necessary for the diagnosis. I asked him to tell me what severe meant. He just kept saying it over and over.

The next psychologist wrote a report that made me sound like a malingerer or a scammer. The next one actually did some testing, and though she was leaning against the Dx at first, (I looked too "normal") the testing showed Asperger's as the right Dx. The looks on her face were priceless as she went over the testing with me.

I am now seeing a specialist in Aspies who is married to a specialist in Aspies and they have an Aspie son. She says I am a lot like him and that I have helped her give voice to many difficulties he has. That is so cool! I need to feel useful.

Keep looking. Your helper is out there.

Last edited by jackmt on 26 Dec 2011, 12:51 am, edited 1 time in total.

This is why I am not bothering with diagnosis or anything. I do what I can to help myself most of the time. Having studied psychology in the past I know that the psychiatrist does not know first hand what's happening in my brain/body so I usually go to a counsellor and talk out all the issues and feelings bothering me. It helps a lot to moderate the co-morbid conditions that come with Bipolar or Aspergers or anything else. When a situation gets outta hand I go to my counsellor.

Thanks for your input guys. I'm on a waiting list for a proper assessment, but it seemed important to see someone in the meantime. I'm just finding it a bizarre experience. I think I will just try to trust my judgement more, and be more assertive.

That reminds me a bit of what a psychiatrist said to me recently. He knows I have studied psychology so I know about CBT and other therapies. He asked me "so you feel you have optimised these areas?", I asked what he meant, and he repeated the exact same sentence so I had to ask him explicitly "what do you mean by 'optimised'??". He seemed surprised that he had to explain his psychobabble to me. *sigh*

I found the Dx extremely helpful. It gave me a paradigm that helped me understand my life and stop kicking myself. And methods to alleviate, avoid, or handle situations that have been difficult. You know when you are fooling yourself. We Aspies are notoriously honest.

And anyone who goes to see a psychiatrist ought to have his head examined.

I mean the pyschologist/Counsellor has been helping me understand my troubles and limitations or anything else that comes with my conditions but when I said I wanted official Dx for AS they told me it was a huge process and involved a lot of psychologists so I didn't go for it. I feel that a Dx won't make any difference in my case. But yes finding the right psychologist can be very helpful.

EDIT - ooh jackmt I get what you mean now -- psychiatrist. haha.

Not a huge deal for me, once I got to the right place. I saw a diagnosing psychologist for one session of talking, a second session of testing (IQ and MMPI) and a third for going over the results. Getting to the right place was the difficulty.