Understanding my psychologist

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Just wanting your alls opinion on this- I'm being sent to a psychologist for brain injury and PTSD. On my first visit with her she really freaked me out. She started talking to me about dowsing otherwise known as water-witching. I have no clue how the subject came up other than one of her other patients does dowsing. Then she said she had another lightning strike patient besides me and that this guy saw auras around people.

Is this typical psychologist questions? Is she checking me for schizophrenia? Or are psychologists into New Age these days? (i've only seen a psych once before 20 years ago in high school) Or is this related to my living in the Southwest and they think they can connect to patients here by talking New Agey things?

This gal is totally freaking me out. Despite her weirdness though something about her is very likable which makes me mad that I like her. She's very NT which normally turns me off, but I have to admit she was relaxing to be around and I liked talking to her.

The neuropsychologist that works with her is the one that evaluated me first. Now she's a piece of work -- I could tell she hated Aspies by the way she spoke of us, yet she exhibits so many signs of a high functioning Aspie its not even funny. You know pot calling the kettle black.

Anyway can someone tell me what is "normal" questions and behavior for a psychologist these days? I tried checking this woman out because she has a very unique name so I thought it would be easy. But nothing comes up online about her other than I can verify she has had a valid psychology license since 1993. Damn she's good being able to cover her tracks online. I was entirely expecting to uncover that she was president of the local dowsing society or something, but no such luck.

I've come across a few strange ones myself in the past...one I think needed the sessions more than I did.

Just remember...just because they have a license in psychology hanging on the wall...that doesn't mean they don't have issues.

It just occurred to me that I took a psychology course in high school. Geez its been so long ago I nearly forgot. I remember our instructor was even nicknamed Psycho Sam. Yeah now I remember he used to talk to us about all sorts of stuff some people would label "weird". He talked about police psychics, astral projections, telepathy & Nostrodamas's predictions in addition to the basics of different psychological problems.

So maybe psychocologists are just on the weird side?? Or maybe they don't believe all that stuff, but are fascinated by it all the same. I've always heard some of the craziest people around are psychologists.

I'm pretty open to a lot of things and being part Native American I've been exposed to a lot more strangeness than possibly the average person has. But I don't want to admit nothing to this dr that sounds like schizophrenia or some other psycho problem when I just have run of the mill anxiety, possibly a little depressed and have memory problems.

My psychiatrist just starts alot of random conversations..

Could be the same for yours.

Hi,

Can you give some specifics like what kinda strange ones have you run into? Like what did they do or say that was off?

my psychologist doesn't talk about weird stuff, she makes me do all the talking...

our sessions have a lot of long pauses in them.

Are you sure you saw a psychologist?? Or was she a PARApsychologist???

If I had an option I'd want to see a psychiatrist rather than a psychologist. For one thing psychiatrists can prescribe better drugs in most states... and everywhere, a psychiatrist was trained first as a medical doctor. A psychologist could have gotten a bachelor's degree in almost anything and moved on to a PhD in Psychology later....

I see a psychologist for talk therapy and a psychiatrist for prescriptions. I think a psychologist is a good thing, but you have to find a good one.

They don't teach you counseling in in a psychology major anyway My brother is about to graduate with a degree in psychology, he took one class in counseling, and that was an elective.

I have only seen psychiatrists....I saw a really weird general practicioner once though...in my quest for help with ADD...he got flushed and excited and kept asking me all kinds of strange personal questions. It was a pretty surreal experience...I am sure glad there was a med student with him at the time.

The psychiatrists were both very frosty....sometimes I wonder if it was the same person 10 years apart.

One I went to when I was 12 or 13...I can't remember really what occurred but I remember her talking "at" me like I was about 4... I didn't say much and then I guess I said something that totally pi$$ed her off without knowing it. She left the room and my parents told me later she had come out to see them...and I guess she was losing it big time in the reception area.

My dad used to laugh about it years later, I never did figure out what I said that sent her over the edge. She was heavily into meditation and positive thinking which she believed could cure just about anything...including my IBS at the time.

The other one I only went to for a short time...back in my 30's...she was a nervous wreck...either the woman drank 4 pots of coffee before she came in to work, or she needed a vacation very badly.

Her business card says "psychologist" and she has the initials Ed.D. after her name. My Voc counselor told me she was sending me to this woman because she is the only psych in the area that has special experience in dealing with brain injury. The woman did say previously she had worked in an audiology clinic. Apparently that was a long time ago though because she was astounded by my hearing aids becuase they contain a microprocessor and are nearly invisible despite being BTE's (behind the ears) aids. So she must have worked in audiology in the days of the huge analog clunker hearing aids. However she only looked in her early 40's. She also told me she has hearing loss and has never done anything about it-- and I am diagnosing her with "hearing aid envy" because she was very jealous of my HA's. Just wait till she sees the new ones I have on order!

In my work as an EEG tech, I come across a few psychologists, not many psychiatrists. I definitely think psychologists usually get into psychology because of their own issues.

It seems they all have difficulty understanding their own emotions, and sometimes difficulty with interpersonal skills, but tell everyone they "understand other emotions" perfectly.

I realize this is a generalization but it seems few psychologists are really NT.

Some psychologists are into new age stuff (well, I mean, any sort of group may have new age thinkers; though I'd suspect you'd be less likely to find New Agers in, say, the field of scientific research or mathematics or something). I've thankfully not had one who is into New Age, heh. Well, at least not so they brought such suggestions into the therapy room.

Psychologists vary greatly in approach. In your first session she might have brought it up to check if you have irrational beliefs associated with schizophrenia.

If you do not, and she continues to bring it up in future sessions then its more likely that she's just some sort of weird new age person.

I certainly don't think that its normal for a psychologist to talk about religious stuff if their patient is not bringing up religious issues in session.

That said, there's a church near where I live that runs a psychology clinic that offers among other things, "spiritual counseling", so I assume that you might get a different experience in a clinic like that than a normal one. Psychologists vary in approach.

The psychologist should not be talking about other clients with you. Or if she does not tell you theirs names. As for the weird subject matter maybe she thought sharing some weird stuff would allow you to share any weird effects happening to you ? If so she sounds clueless, Tell her to ask directly. For example do you sleep too long vs telling you a story about someone who does. Maybe she does not understand how you do not read humans very well ?