If you are considering a caree in mental health as a counselor, therapist, psychologist or even psychiatrist -
Please always remember that the patients are people first. Never allow yourself to be overcome by the job to forget that.
If you end up treating or counseling, remember that before you know what to diagnose them as, they could suffer from paranoia. Paranoia will cause them to come to one appointment with you and not return. Don’t accept this. They came, they were making an effort to get help. Follow up when a patient cancels an appointment or doesn’t show up for one - even if they only came once. Make a point to take an hour out of your day to call and talk to those who didn’t show up.
Paranoia keeps many patients from following through with the needed services you can offer. I know I have tried many times to go to therapy only to never come back because I was fighting my own paranoia and voices. If even one therapist would have followed up with me, maybe I could have been saved a long time ago.
Use today’s technology to help other patients. Video appts where you can see them and they can choose to see you, would open up a whole world for paranoid patients. Phone calls even better to alleviate the paranoia.
Always be patient with the patients. For a first appointment I would have much rathered had a half hour session of either the therapist talking about himself so I could know him or just silence. Asking questions right off the get go, scares me and scares many patients that suffer from paranoia. They will be the ones who don’t come back without coaxing.
Following my advice, could help you save a life that no one else took the time to try. When they show up in your office they are there for a reason, and it may have taken all of their strength just to get there.
That is such a good idea…that I haven’t read in psych books. They generally teach to first ask “how did you get here?” for a dual action of checking a thought disorder as well as what they want from therapy.
Thanks for the tip! I have an open tip jar, by the way, feel free to leave me tips like these
That piece is very important for those with severe paranoia and sz’s… I had voices telling me he was questioning me to ruin my life, to use my answers against me, all kinds of bs. So I don’t go to therapy anymore because I can’t get through the first session.
If anyone of the therapists would have called me later to check on me on to make a rapport, I may have came back. Also now their is video conferences, so if a therapist would use that where I don’t have to see him on the screen but he can see me - that would be Great! I could talk like I was talking to my mom and get help.
A big part of a patient taking meds, getting therapy, being on disability,
and not getting better according to the patient, all kinds of problems still,
tells the clinician this person doesn’t have solid relationships, is drinking or doing drugs,
isn’t working or doing anything fulfilling, and it might be a broken life and not a broken mind.
But all they can do is hope the meds psychologically convince you of something.
well, there is a predication of e-counseling and even remote surgeries are already a thing…I sort of do informal e-counseling half of the time on here…at least half of the time. I clarified by username, it says “unlicensed amateur” which means graduate student.
Yeah this here works great! Because their is no face to see and that helps keep paranoia and voices down. For me for some reasons faces are a trigger in person - I see different than reality and my paranoia overreacts.
well, faces can trigger exaggerated responses in depressed people and socially anxious people’s brains. It is pretty interesting to me. I look a bit intimidating in person when I am not conscious of my facial expression, some men have that certain look by default- it has been loosely associated with dangerous men’s personalities in some newer research, but I read the article and found it to have been made up crap. It said “oh refer to this” and “this” said nothing to support the original claim.