Posted by alexandra_k on July 3, 2005, at 16:48:38
In reply to How does one help people if we are not therapists?, posted by pinkeye on July 3, 2005, at 0:50:32
Don't underestimate Babble.
Really.
I used to think quite a bit about trying to get into the clinical program to train as a clinical psychologist. Going back to undergrad level to study to be a psychiatrist, even! But... My mood goes up and down a fair bit. When I am in a good place I like to think I can help other people especially when they are going through issues similar to ones I have struggled with. When I am having a hard time of it I usually find that those same people have something helpful to say to me.I think that what makes it hard is that there are a lot of unqualified charlitans out there. Especially in the psychology / self help field. Don't get me wrong, a lot of people without formal training have a lot of helpful things to say. But the danger can be in the serious errors or omissions.
It is arguable how much personal experience works to your advantage with respect to helping others. In drug and alchohol services they tend to put high value in the therapist having 'been there'. But I have seen that work to the detriment of the theraputic relationship when one therapist used to assume she knew how I was feeling and she knew what was going on for me because she had been there so my experience should be the same as hers.
Because it is such a popular field there tend to be little islands or clicks of professionals who try and dissociate themselves from the general helpers. I think thats why psychologists are so anal about APA formatting... Because it shows that one has been trained as an 'insider'. And they get too many papers to want to spend time on everything.
poster:alexandra_k
thread:522803
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20050628/msgs/523024.html