Counseling, Testing - Clinical & Forensic

Q. Describe the most common types of jobs you do for your clients.

A. Therapy / counseling in my office;
Assessment / testing in my office and other locations;
Contracted assessments
Teaching clinical and forensic psychology courses

Q. What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?

A. Shop. Find the ones that have profiles you like, call each, set up an appointment, and tell them that you are shopping. Pay a few for one session and see what you think. There are so many wonderful--and less than wonderful--perspectives and practitioners out there that this is one way to ensure a lasting fit with one of them.

Q. If you were a customer, what do you wish you knew about your trade? Any inside secrets to share?

A. Only two things:
-Therapists / counselors should be focused on you (it won't be perfect, but they should not be looking at their phone, eating, etc).
-Everyone has distressing thoughts, images, and feelings at times, it's just that sometimes we get 'stuck' there and need help. If you are having absolutely NO distressing thoughts and feelings at all, ever, then you may be holding on so tightly that you will need help sooner rather than later. If not, congratulations--you are superhuman. :)

Q. What important information should buyers have thought through before seeking you out?

A. -Am I really committed to doing this work?
-If someone else wants me to come to treatment, can I find reasons for commitment?
-What exactly do I want to accomplish? Symptom relief, small personal changes, major changes, etc? Some combination?

Q. Why does your work stand out from others who do what you do?

A. I have background in creative / talented pursuits (music and theatre, in my case), experience in working with those who have serious mental illnesses, solid background in testing and assessment, and training in forensic psychology. With regard to testing, I provide interviews, symptom investigation, IQ and adaptive functioning, neuropsychological screening, objective and projective personality tests, and forensic testing and interviews.

Q. What do you like most about your job?

A. I simply enjoy being with clients in counseling / therapy, learning about them, understanding their concerns, and then working toward resolutions. Testing and assessment also provides similar opportunities by providing summarized test results and reports that can help clients answer important psychological questions. When I work with others I feel more connection to the world, and I actually learn more about myself and the human condition as a whole. I anticipate this work daily, and am continually enriched by it.

Q. What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?

A. "How do you work?" -Psychological problems have biological, personal, and social 'causes' that are usually intermixed. I work from the assumption that although symptoms have negative consequences, they also provide a kind of compromise benefit to the client (why else would these negative things persist?). The benefit usually has to do with avoiding thoughts, feelings, or experiences that are felt to be even more threatening than the obvious symptoms. We work directly on symptoms, but also to describe and understand the functions of the symptoms. We then identify what they cover and shield us from, and then we work through the underlying fears. This must be done in a supportive, fully related, holding context.

Q. Do you have a favorite story from your work?

A. I don't tell stories in such a way that any client could be identified. When I do consult with other professionals for professional reasons, I de-identify the case.

Q. What do you wish customers knew about you or your profession?

A. There is no benefit to 'analyzing' people just to do it. I cringe whenever someone says something like that at a party or wonders if I will do it automatically to everyone I see (of course, I still smile and continue the conversation...) Picking apart someone's inner workings is not something that is done just as a party trick, for some kind of personal thrill, or for personal power--and if it is, run from that particular practitioner. Caring and relationship come first.

Q. How did you decide to get in your line of work?

A. I started out as a performing artist (with some dabbling in visual arts) and decided that I wanted to go a different direction that was still connected with creativity and with having profound experiences, but that was both more intellectual and more focused on helping others in a different way.

Q. Do you do any sort of continuing education to stay up on the latest developments in your field?

A. Yes; I've done continuing ed most recently in somatic psychotherapy (psychotherapy that includes awareness / use of the body--I did this for over three years in a training / experiential group), hypnosis, substance abuse issues, and others.

Q. Describe your most recent project, what it involved, how much it cost, and how long it took.

A. Recently I provided an evaluation oriented toward 'fitness for work duty.' The professional was not a police officer. I gave an objective personality and symptoms test, a mental status exam, a brief neuropsychological screening test, and a comprehensive clinical interview. I also reviewed substantial records and wrote a brief report containing my opinion and related reasoning.

Q. If you have a complicated pricing system for your service, please give all the details here.

A. My sliding scale for psychotherapy / counseling starts at $150 per hour. In most cases, I provide a superbill for clients who wish to bill insurance. For assessment, I charge $150 per hour for the assessment session, record review, test scoring, and report writing. If (rarely) I am called to court or a hearing I charge $200 per hour while I am there, whether I testify or not.

Q. If you were advising someone who wanted to get into your profession, what would you suggest?

A. Be a good generalist, but start forming your specialty as soon as you enter grad school, or maybe even in undergrad. And not just a broad specialty like "neuropsychology." "Geriatric" or "pediatric" neuro would be much better, and "forensic pediatric neuropsych" would be awesome. There are lots of psychologists--you have to distinguish yourself. To get specialities later find innovative combinations, but do these things while you are early career (or pre-career) and still have the time and energy.