Call For Ideas: Fanish PA Shrink looking to Grow.

POSTED BY: Noocyte
UPDATED: Thursday, March 2, 2006 03:49
VIEWED: 7724
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HIXIE129

Monday, February 27, 2006 5:38 AM

Thats good, I didn't mean to offend either.

NOOCYTE

Monday, February 27, 2006 10:27 PM

Oh, blast! The Classified ad on myspace has been taken down for some reason. I've put a note in to find out what happened (since it's not like there was any objectionable content on it or anything!).

Just in case any of you tried to click on it and got the "no longer available" message. I'll update the link when/if I get an ad back up (cos I just know you were all on the edges of your seats ).

Thanks again for your shiny comments!

EDIT: Link fixed: ad back up.

Department of Redundancy Department

NINAH148

Tuesday, February 28, 2006 2:58 AM

I'm a pediatric neuropsychologist at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. We're always looking for good places to refer our patients for individual therapy. Biggest needs I see include social skills training for adolescents, and someone familiar with trauma / chronic illness / cognitive sequelae of central nervous system dysfunction (e.g., family therapy after a car accident, coping with dialysis). Get on some insurance lists and advertise a specialization in adolescent issues and you should be fine. The fan stuff, sorry to say, comes across as flaky no matter how you spin it. To work with adolescents these days, you have to be pretty computer savvy (know about instant messaging, myspace, etc.) and kids in need of social skills training are particularly prone to making their social connections online. If you get up to speed on that stuff, I'm sure they'll appreciate it. Whatever your personality is, it will allow you to connect with clients, I don't think you need to gear your practice specifically to fandom. JMHO.

NCBROWNCOAT

Tuesday, February 28, 2006 4:30 AM

My 16 year old daughter has mild Asparager's Syndrome and has an excellent adolescent psychologist.(For you that don't know the jargon-she has a collection of symptoms-ADHD, depression, major social problems, some autistic tendancies,among lots of other things and add a dash of obsessive compulsivity-for the best description read "The Curious Case of the Dog in the Night" it's fiction but it's great).

She has had several obsessions-the latest and longest lasting is Japanese Anime-you might find that most kids with Asparger's go through this and you could build your practice on this.

They need lots of guidance on gettting along with others and not exclusively talking about their passion and avoiding other subjects- much like us Browncoats.

In fact, she was the one that dragged me not quite kicking to see Serenity and she gave me the best piece of advice that I've passed on before to all Browncoasts-She said "Mom, embrace your geekiness." She has embraced hers and now is trying to turn it into an asset.

NOOCYTE

Tuesday, February 28, 2006 4:37 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Ninah148:
I'm a pediatric neuropsychologist at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

Great gig! Where did you train, if you don't mind my asking?

Quote:
We're always looking for good places to refer our patients for individual therapy.

I'm sure! The consequences of the sorts of things you deal with can be devastating.

Quote:
Biggest needs I see include social skills training for adolescents, and someone familiar with trauma / chronic illness / cognitive sequelae of central nervous system dysfunction (e.g., family therapy after a car accident, coping with dialysis).

I do some social skills training (reality-checking, reading social cues, communication skills, both verbal and non-verbal, etc.), and I do have experiences with the cognitive remediation aspects of the sorts of massive system perturbations you describe. Actually did a fair bit of that back in grad school, at various placements, and some more in my first job (at the Communication Disorders Center of Mt. Sinai Medical Center, in NYC). Also did work with chronic pain patients. The main focus of my training, though, is of a more psychodynamic nature (I went to Widener's Institute for Graduate Clinical Psychology, where I got my Psy.D. Not strictly Analytic, to be sure, but definitely toward that end of things). So, I can do the cognitive-behavioral stuff, but generally as an adjunct to the more dynamic work where my strengths lie. Scope of competence and all that.

Quote:
Get on some insurance lists and advertise a specialization in adolescent issues and you should be fine.

Actually, in keeping with the model of the practice where I've been for the last four years, I'm going strictly out-of-network. So, no lists. Some very fine work can be done within the fold of managed care, make no mistake. I just know that it's not amenable to the kind of practice I want to build. Alas, this means that I truly have to bust my hump with the practice-building, making connections with local schools, churches, Synagogues, parent organizations, doctors' offices, clubs, etc., etc. It's more labor intensive, but the end result will be a practice in which I'll feel more comfortable.

Quote:
The fan stuff, sorry to say, comes across as flaky no matter how you spin it.

I appreciate your candor. This is exactly the sort of cautionary note I need to hear from time to time, as my enthusiasm occasionally threatens to swamp my realism. Still and all, as I've said, my thought is to very carefully target the marketing I do which features the Fannish angle. NOT something with which I would go to a general parent group! Not at all out of place, though, at conventions, genre-related venues (e.g., Comic and hobby stores), meetings of SF societies, SF/fantasy readings at book stores, etc.

Actually, even in the general population, the notion can be floated in the proper context, methinks. Over on serenitmovie.org, someone very astutely suggested that I present my services as addressing the needs of "marginalized teens and adults." This is exactly the sort of thing I was envisioning, since it's sufficiently general that, in addition to Fen it could also address the occasional sk8r and goth, etc.

Quote:
To work with adolescents these days, you have to be pretty computer savvy (know about instant messaging, myspace, etc.)

Check (to a point; I really ought to teach myself HTML and get a bit more up to speed on the Gaming world).

Quote:
and kids in need of social skills training are particularly prone to making their social connections online. If you get up to speed on that stuff, I'm sure they'll appreciate it.

I quite agree, though I think that that segregation is beginning to dissolve at an accellerating rate, as computers and online resources continue to saturate the 'mainstream' culture and the "digital divide" becomes a thing of the past. In effect, it's not just the isolated Aspergers kid who'll find his power on the Web, it's also the lacrosse player whose lit

NOOCYTE

Tuesday, February 28, 2006 10:29 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by ncbrowncoat:
My 16 year old daughter has mild Asparager's Syndrome and has an excellent adolescent psychologist.(For you that don't know the jargon-she has a collection of symptoms-ADHD, depression, major social problems, some autistic tendancies,among lots of other things and add a dash of obsessive compulsivity-for the best description read "The Curious Case of the Dog in the Night" it's fiction but it's great).

Haven't read it, but it's now officially on The List. I'm delighted that you've found someone who works well with your daughter and yourself. It can be challenging work, but I've seen some really superb results (firsthand, in one case) with kids who struggle with Asperger's.

Quote:
She has had several obsessions-the latest and longest lasting is Japanese Anime-you might find that most kids with Asparger's go through this and you could build your practice on this.

I would consider myself lucky to have a few of these fascinating and clever souls land in my caseload!

Quote:
They need lots of guidance on gettting along with others and not exclusively talking about their passion and avoiding other subjects- much like us Browncoats.

Yah, I had a couple of Fannish clients during my grad training, and I found it supremely challenging not to constantly get drawn into rambling discussions on our shared interests. One of the things that comes with professional maturity, I suppose. The trick is to balance a genuine interest and attentiveness to what's important to the client (whatever it may be), with the overall goals of the work. One learns to listen with a 'third ear' for when these conversations are being used defensively.

Quote:
In fact, she was the one that dragged me not quite kicking to see Serenity and she gave me the best piece of advice that I've passed on before to all Browncoasts-She said "Mom, embrace your geekiness." She has embraced hers and now is trying to turn it into an asset.

This is really lovely! How lucky she is to have a parent who can mirror her interests like this. That last piece of advice is one which will feature prominently in the subtext of my work with Fannish clients. As with all things, though, balance is key.

Thanks for telling us about your daughter!!

Department of Redundancy Department

NCBROWNCOAT

Tuesday, February 28, 2006 11:19 PM

BTW I got the title of the book wrong. It's "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" by Mark Hadden. I just checked Amazon.

It was first published in Britain and recommened to me by a friend who had a daughter teaching school there and I read her copy before it was published here.

JOCKOCKEYOCK

Wednesday, March 1, 2006 12:37 AM

Intriguing... your post was a bit long just skimmed it sorry, but I find it absolutely fascinating to have a Fan-friendly psychoanalyst or I guess rather psychologist.
(I would have read it fully if it got to the point before the gibberish)
Is it necessarily harmful to the psyche to wade in the depths of obscene isolation, finding yourself in an imaginary coexisting world to this “real life”?
I suppose I am not asking but trying to comprehend what issues that arise so fearfully in such fans that they need a psychologist.
I would rather wallow in my xenophobic life than to go seek help that I necessarily never needed.

The light is lost in the depth of shadow.
A glimmer of the crescent moon crossed the blinding dread of fear.
The smoke of death suffocates the barren land.
Leap out and live we the lost, but by the beat of a heart fight back.

NOOCYTE

Wednesday, March 1, 2006 4:44 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by jockockeyock:
Intriguing... your post was a bit long just skimmed it sorry, but I find it absolutely fascinating to have a Fan-friendly psychoanalyst or I guess rather psychologist.
(I would have read it fully if it got to the point before the gibberish)

I'm flawed in that way. I sometimes go on. It's been said...

Quote:
Is it necessarily harmful to the psyche to wade in the depths of obscene isolation, finding yourself in an imaginary coexisting world to this “real life”?

The gods know, I'm the last person to presume to tell someone how to live their life (contrary to popular opinion, that's pretty much the opposite of what a well-trained {and well-adjusted} psychologist would do. Talk about disempowering!). However, some salient questions in this regard include: If isolation is experienced as "obscene," could it really be considered beneficial...at least in the long term (never one to deny a body a good wallow from time to time!)? Once the "finding yourself" part happens, what does one do with the Self that one finds? This isn't really the place for an essay on these subjects, though (indeed, I've probably gone too far in the answering of your rhetorical questions with more rhetorical questions

).

Quote:
I suppose I am not asking but trying to comprehend what issues that arise so fearfully in such fans that they need a psychologist.

At the risk of being tediously repetitive (a risk worth taking, considering the importance of the point) I'm not even remotely suggesting that there is anything Disordered about Fandom in itself (cos, like, where would that leave me?

). Rather, all the same sorts of issues which arise in the horticulture or automotive or derigible maintenance or any other community of humans will also arise among fans, and a clinician who is inclined and qualified to think inside of their reality can have a very beneficial effect...especially if they are accustomed to having that reality scoffed at or pathologized.

Quote:
I would rather wallow in my xenophobic life than to go seek help that I necessarily never needed.

'Kay.

Department of Redundancy Department

DONCOAT

Wednesday, March 1, 2006 6:40 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Noocyte:
I'm not even remotely suggesting that there is anything Disordered about Fandom in itself (cos, like, where would that leave me? ).

Convicted of Disorderly Conduct, perhaps?

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I don't disagree on any particular point.

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