A few black moles change the experience of mental health.
One of the way to monitor MHP’s would be to have disguised sessions. A person appointed goes to the MHP as a client. That gives a good perspective on where the MHP stands.
One more way would be to have an exam. Various cases will be give where they would have to answer on how they would approach that particular case. It is important that no theory questions are asked. The exam can be conducted every 2 years. A strict valuation is necessary, there is only ‘pass’ and ‘fail’, nothing in between.
The idea of an exit exam before you can start practicing would be great for this I think. We could have it annually/biannually and the results from each exam will be valid for say 5-10 years. I think 2 years might be too short a turnover time. Christ Uni has really rigorous exams along these lines which is why they often produce high quality professionals.
Makes sense. But validity needs to be low, 4-5 years(as you have mentioned) this keeps MHP’s updated and active. They can’t be passive in their learning with this.
Now how do we get the attention of the government with this?
I really liked the second idea. I remember when I was working with Vandrevala Foundation (crisis intervention helpline), they had skills assessment in which we were given scenarios or we had to roleplay with our mentor every once in a while to check if our empathic responding, prompting, questioning, validating and other such skills are still refined. This approach would really help in classrooms as well as while giving qualifications to MHPs
It is so important for people to read this, especially who are being wronged by their therapist. That first bitter experience kills all your leftover hope and makes you even more vulnerable. The problem is not in the concept of therapy but in an unskilled therapist.
Exactly and I don't blame the people who turn away from therapy due to one bad session. It is not their fault but another attempt may well be worth their time.
The mental health field has so many passionate individuals who are taking initiative to bring change and then there are these unprofessionals. The pain of giving pro bono therapy for sometime after Masters might be a bit uncomfortable for some. But they still do it to gain clients and then there are these who disregard the ethics of the profession. Quite unfortunate.
I am really sorry you had to experience that. That is exactly the kind of therapist I am talking about in this article. They may not be quacks but they lack the basic skills required to be a psychologist.
I think the "assistant psychologist" job should be mandatory for freshers before they go on practicing. 2 years of work experience and then an entry exam would mostly sort the issues out
I am a fresher I work as a lecturer and I want to get into the field of counseling but I don't think I am just ready yet. A therapist's job can also make one's life but at the same time wrong intervention can wreck it too, we need to be very careful.
These are good ideas to ensure this doesn't happen with future psychologists but how do you think we can control the impostors who are practicing already?
I have experienced something similar with my college therapist in India. In the US, I have met so many amazing therapists but still there are cases like you mentioned, albeit less frequent.
I think the US has quite a well-regulated therapy industry. There have been bad actors but they have been punished most of the time from what I know. Is it so?
This newsletter was much needed. I am so disheartened by seeing so many practitioners either being unethical or judgemental or critical about the client behind their backs (and sometimes to ther face). I have personally witnessed this in some settings I had worked. It created a very negative image in my head of those psychologists and the standard or model they are setting for young psychologists. What would you advise we do in such situations when we are students and the power dynamic isn't in our favour?
I know what you're talking about. The best you can do is get your certificates and document your experiences somewhere with each single mistake that was made by the professionals. It may not amount to much right now but could come in handy in the future.
It took my current therapist to know this, and truly feel safe, safe enough for me to actually move in the direction that I am. Prior to this I spent years with 4 other therapists, and now I know why things didn’t work for me then, and not beat myself for being made to feel that it was me who wasn’t doing the work. Some were just outright not skilled, and some even though had the right intentions, didn’t realize when boundaries were crossed. Anytime someone asks for a reference, I make it a point to give a mini orientation of sorts, so that they know about this before they venture out; but it’s anyways so difficult when you are dealing with mental health issues and have to seek out professional help on your own; plus availability and cost and the anxieties that most have around the cost thanks to decades of conditioning. A trained therapist that also indulges in self work, seeks supervision, and regularly indulges in refining their psychoanalytic skills, can be of such great help for someone who feels stuck and overwhelmed and also dealing with Disabilities that come with mental health conditions.
A few black moles change the experience of mental health.
One of the way to monitor MHP’s would be to have disguised sessions. A person appointed goes to the MHP as a client. That gives a good perspective on where the MHP stands.
One more way would be to have an exam. Various cases will be give where they would have to answer on how they would approach that particular case. It is important that no theory questions are asked. The exam can be conducted every 2 years. A strict valuation is necessary, there is only ‘pass’ and ‘fail’, nothing in between.
The idea of an exit exam before you can start practicing would be great for this I think. We could have it annually/biannually and the results from each exam will be valid for say 5-10 years. I think 2 years might be too short a turnover time. Christ Uni has really rigorous exams along these lines which is why they often produce high quality professionals.
Makes sense. But validity needs to be low, 4-5 years(as you have mentioned) this keeps MHP’s updated and active. They can’t be passive in their learning with this.
Now how do we get the attention of the government with this?
I really liked the second idea. I remember when I was working with Vandrevala Foundation (crisis intervention helpline), they had skills assessment in which we were given scenarios or we had to roleplay with our mentor every once in a while to check if our empathic responding, prompting, questioning, validating and other such skills are still refined. This approach would really help in classrooms as well as while giving qualifications to MHPs
It’s great that at least some MH institutions are doing that!
It is so important for people to read this, especially who are being wronged by their therapist. That first bitter experience kills all your leftover hope and makes you even more vulnerable. The problem is not in the concept of therapy but in an unskilled therapist.
Exactly and I don't blame the people who turn away from therapy due to one bad session. It is not their fault but another attempt may well be worth their time.
The mental health field has so many passionate individuals who are taking initiative to bring change and then there are these unprofessionals. The pain of giving pro bono therapy for sometime after Masters might be a bit uncomfortable for some. But they still do it to gain clients and then there are these who disregard the ethics of the profession. Quite unfortunate.
Well said
I was questioning myself if I am being too judgemental when it comes to therapists. This blog was so important for me. Thank you for writing this.
I am really sorry you had to experience that. That is exactly the kind of therapist I am talking about in this article. They may not be quacks but they lack the basic skills required to be a psychologist.
I think the "assistant psychologist" job should be mandatory for freshers before they go on practicing. 2 years of work experience and then an entry exam would mostly sort the issues out
I am a fresher I work as a lecturer and I want to get into the field of counseling but I don't think I am just ready yet. A therapist's job can also make one's life but at the same time wrong intervention can wreck it too, we need to be very careful.
These are good ideas to ensure this doesn't happen with future psychologists but how do you think we can control the impostors who are practicing already?
I have experienced something similar with my college therapist in India. In the US, I have met so many amazing therapists but still there are cases like you mentioned, albeit less frequent.
I think the US has quite a well-regulated therapy industry. There have been bad actors but they have been punished most of the time from what I know. Is it so?
That is correct but still there are one-off cases, quite less frequent.
This newsletter was much needed. I am so disheartened by seeing so many practitioners either being unethical or judgemental or critical about the client behind their backs (and sometimes to ther face). I have personally witnessed this in some settings I had worked. It created a very negative image in my head of those psychologists and the standard or model they are setting for young psychologists. What would you advise we do in such situations when we are students and the power dynamic isn't in our favour?
I know what you're talking about. The best you can do is get your certificates and document your experiences somewhere with each single mistake that was made by the professionals. It may not amount to much right now but could come in handy in the future.
It took my current therapist to know this, and truly feel safe, safe enough for me to actually move in the direction that I am. Prior to this I spent years with 4 other therapists, and now I know why things didn’t work for me then, and not beat myself for being made to feel that it was me who wasn’t doing the work. Some were just outright not skilled, and some even though had the right intentions, didn’t realize when boundaries were crossed. Anytime someone asks for a reference, I make it a point to give a mini orientation of sorts, so that they know about this before they venture out; but it’s anyways so difficult when you are dealing with mental health issues and have to seek out professional help on your own; plus availability and cost and the anxieties that most have around the cost thanks to decades of conditioning. A trained therapist that also indulges in self work, seeks supervision, and regularly indulges in refining their psychoanalytic skills, can be of such great help for someone who feels stuck and overwhelmed and also dealing with Disabilities that come with mental health conditions.