Just Really Just No Just Stop
If I hear one more psychologist ask me what it is in me that makes me feel this way I'm going to scream.
I'm just sayin'.
Cardinal Rule of Psychology That I Have Learned: Sometimes the question belies the problem, and sometimes the problem is the asshat asking the question.
Just sayin'.
posted by Teodoro Callate @ 10:16 PM
9 comments
9 Comments:
Teo: Can you unpack that idea a bit? I'm curious about your take on the whole thing from a professional viewpoint.
Without getting too terribly confessional, I've done my rounds with various sorts of counselors and mental health professionals of differing credentials and viewpoints. In one case, I'd say that the personal interaction didn't do too much for me but the prescription kept me alive. In another, I basically came in with my self diagnosis that had been confirmed by the earlier doc and got a rubber stamp for more pharmacology without a whole lot of questions being asked. In the third case, I received and desired no pharmacological assistance but made the most headway in getting down to the root of things. In that case, there were some pretty great questions asked and, honestly, a few suggestions made that probably were plainly obvious to any reasonably qualified counselor. In retrospect, it seems that a few things had to be said in just the right way after just the right questions had been asked.
Unrelated: Picked up "Creativity" by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi last night. I haven't started it yet because I have to finish "A Million Little Pieces" by James Frey first (and don't get me started on that topic - that's a post unto itself.) Anyway, I bought it upon your recommendation of the author and am very much looking forward to it.
Also: Taking the weekdays off this week. Family in town. I'll probably post a bit more than my usual not-very-much.
Kevlar, you have insight.
Indeed and clearly, my post was reactionary to a situation of which the blog has not been enlightened. Plain English: I didn't give you details on something that pissed me off.
I travel in the world of psychology. I give therapy, I get supervised on the therapy I give, I participate in my own therapy, I take classes with therapists, I file paperwork with administrators who are therapists. I write about psychology. I fucking eat breathe and shit psychology, which is good because I like it.
But this weekend I spent 18 hours in a weekend class intensively processing the inner racist that lives in all of us. Not very fun. Nor comfortable, nor a very safe thing to do unless the environment is structured properly. And even if everything is perfect, it's an exhausting and depressing process that tweaks just about every button a person has.
So I'm pretty burnt on processing. Because that's all I'm doing (as I sit in a coffee shop waiting for my own therapy).
And I BELIEVE in processing. I'm a processing guy. I hope I fall into the category of the third situation you described.
The post was a reaction to an asshat on the teaching team over the weekend who was trying to be the processing guy, but he was full of pretention and bad timing. The theory of processing says that if I'm uncomfortable with something, then that means I'm "blocking" or "resisting" or something like that. And I believe in that, almost all of the time. But this guy pissed me off enough that I don't think I was blocking, I just think he was an asshat.
Either that or I'm resisting. Aack!
Which is why I'm batshit crazy because there is no end to that circle of discussion.
I'm just tired, that's all. Tired of processing, but processing doesn't take a day off when that's all you do.
Looking forward to your posts, Kev, 'cause I'm not sure how much I have in me right now. Toooo muuuuchh proooooccessssing.
The really great counseling situation I had worked in large part because he asked the right questions and then let me wrestle with them. I mean really had me wrestle with them. I sat there in a great deal of silence and he was wise and/or experienced enough to not try to fill the void with more questions.
I never felt that he was stomping all over the process by inflicting this or that technique on our interaction, and I really appreciated that. To this day, I think about a few of the obvservations he made - and some of the conclusions that came out of my own mouth after just the right question had been posted - and realize just how spot on the whole thing was.
If I were there, I'd buy the coffee for both of us.
BTW, "asshat" is new to me. I like it.
He had excellent technique and knowledge of the use of silence. Sounds like a good guy. If a therapist does all the talking (all the work) then it won't do much good, will it?
Asshat is a Betsy term by way of another blogger friend of hers. It's good. I had a worse word in there and resisted posting because it sounded vulgar and mean. Asshat gives you the right idea and lets me laugh about the asshat rather than, you know, staying, um, resentful. Switching the word to asshat let me let it go a bit.
Asshat.
Coffee.
Processing.
On my way.
Love love love!!!!!
I look forward to the day when I see "asshat" as the randomly selected word verification for my post.
Megan will be glad to know asshat is catching on. My 2 cents - T, I think you are entirely capable of knowing the difference between resistance and asshats.
lovely. i got asshat from my blogger friend, swirly. and IMMEDIATELY stole it. i love the internet.
yeah. i echo betsy. some people are just fuckshaws (my word), teo.
fuckshaw. right on.
yes indeed, i hope these minor lessons in asshattery are the real lessons that i'm learning these days.
Teodoro Callate, M.A., L.P.C.
Specializing in Asshat Restraint
(oh no! but there is no restraint!)
I need to consult someone special on this.
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