[kate81]

Ok, so here's my dilemma.

I am looking for a therapist, one who deals with adult ADHD (somewhat hard to find in a therapist) and who knows what they're doing (even harder to find regarding ADHD!), and I have only been able to find one therapist who was recommended to me who fits that description. She seems like she might be good, and I don't really know of any other good options.

Only thing is that she is an associate professor in the PsyD program at the local state university, and there is a small chance I might end up applying to that program in the future. I'm not at all sure I'll be going for a PsyD, and may well end up pursuing another path. However, it's a possibility I haven't ruled out, and if I were to do that, this is the only university with a good program where I could get in-state tuition.

So I guess I'm looking for people's perspectives on this issue. Has anyone reading this ever been in the situation where they had a small possibility that their therapist might one day become their professor? If so, how did the situation work out? And if it's generally not a good idea, do you think it's worth scrapping the only decent therapist possibility I've found because of the chance I might end up applying to this graduate school?

Thanks for any advice you can give!

[ECHOES]

It sounds like she is just the right person for you at this moment. What the future holds is anyone's guess. Go with the moment.

Could this idea/issue, with it's 'tiny bit' of probability, be something that your mind is focusing on as a distraction from some other fear(s) you might have about beginning treatment with her.

[kate81]

Originally Posted by ECHOES

Could this idea/issue, with it's 'tiny bit' of probability, be something that your mind is focusing on as a distraction from some other fear(s) you might have about beginning treatment with her.

Echoes, I don't think it is a distraction from another fear - it's just that right now I am thinking about what grad school programs to apply to in the fall, and I really am wondering if seeing this therapist, who I really would like to consider as a possibility, would mean that I have to rule this program out.

What do you think? Like I said, I don't know yet if I'm going to do a PsyD, but I'm considering PsyD, PhD, or Master's. Right now I'm thinking I might go for a Master's, but I haven't completely made up my mind, and this is the school that would get me in-state tuition...

[ECHOES]

Well, I think maybe it would be a good thing to talk about with her. Ask if she has had this situation come up before, and how it was handled. I'll bet she would be able to give you a referral to another really good therapist who deals with ADHD if for some reason she can't see you herself.

[imapatient]

I’m a bit of an expert on the advanced degree decision-process from personal experience and from my heavy involvement in grad student life at the school I went to for grad school.

On the potential degree/career path: First, where are you with your education right now? In college? Fr., So, Jr, Sr.? Can't tell if you're on the verge of moving on or years away. Many people at your stage of thinking have multiple degrees in mind--I did--PhD, law, or masters of public affairs. Many people start one advanced degree and then switch to something else but related or even change fields entirely. When I got to grad school, more than half of the entering class (12) of my PhD program had started on and left or completed a different advanced degree already. In related and different fields. People I saw start stopped the PhD and went to other degrees. I applied to PhD programs, got in some great schools, and decided I was going to take a break before going on. I outright declined my offers. So I gave serious thought to law school, and applied again 2 years later to the PhD programs. It's a very involved thought/commitment process. You have a lot of things to decide before crossing any bridges. Many people change their minds, stats show.

If you find someone who is ostensibly good for what you need re: therapy, I wouldn't let the possible career path issue stop you from seeing her. In grad school there are many profs you need to work with in courses etc. Whatever her academic specialty is, almost certainly there are others among the faculty with expertise in her given area--if she even specializes like that. You won't foreclose getting that degree because you've done therapy with one of however many profs there.

The education unknowns are huge: whether you'll even want to get that degree, whether you'd go to that school for certain if you did, and whether or not she'll still be there when you might matriculate.

The therapy picture is crystal clear.

You need/want help now from a T--and ONE T at that, as opposed to having to work with multiple profs in that program should you pursue it. You can cross one prof off that list--if needed even, which I doubt, as a potential advisor and still have multiple advisors to choose from. Whereas if you strike the one potential T off the list, you have, essentially, no others to choose from. Bird in the hand?

[kate81]

Thanks for your thoughts, guys!

Originally Posted by imapatient

On the potential degree/career path: First, where are you with your education right now? In college? Fr., So, Jr, Sr.? Can't tell if you're on the verge of moving on or years away. Many people at your stage of thinking have multiple degrees in mind--I did--PhD, law, or masters of public affairs.

I am postbaccalaureate - I am a career changer, and I have recently returned to school to take some psychology courses in preparation for graduate work in the field. I am debating what kind of degree to get, but it is fairly certain that I will be applying to psychology graduate programs of some sort next fall.

Originally Posted by imapatient

If you find someone who is ostensibly good for what you need re: therapy, I wouldn't let the possible career path issue stop you from seeing her. In grad school there are many profs you need to work with in courses etc. Whatever her academic specialty is, almost certainly there are others among the faculty with expertise in her given area--if she even specializes like that. You won't foreclose getting that degree because you've done therapy with one of however many profs there.

Originally Posted by imapatient

You need/want help now from a T--and ONE T at that, as opposed to having to work with multiple profs in that program should you pursue it. You can cross one prof off that list--if needed even, which I doubt, as a potential advisor and still have multiple advisors to choose from. Whereas if you strike the one potential T off the list, you have, essentially, no others to choose from. Bird in the hand?

That's a good point. I'm leaning toward going to see her despite this dilemma. I guess my only concern is that it looks like there are some classes this woman teaches that I would probably need to take if I went to this school - it is a fairly small program and they don't have all that many professors, so I can't rule out the possibility that I might some day need to take classes with her if I did end up going there. Do you think it would be a really bad thing if by any chance I did some day end up in her class?

[imapatient]

Originally Posted by kate81

I'm leaning toward going to see her despite this dilemma. I guess my only concern is that it looks like there are some classes this woman teaches that I would probably need to take if I went to this school - it is a fairly small program and they don't have all that many professors, so I can't rule out the possibility that I might some day need to take classes with her if I did end up going there. Do you think it would be a really bad thing if by any chance I did some day end up in her class?

Kate, I don't see having her as a prof in a course as a big issue, unlike having her as an adviser where that might not be possible because the involvement of an advisor in a grad student's life can be great and intense (and in psychological terms). The dual-relationship issue is relaxed somewaht in less-populated areas in the US; it's hard to get around them in a smaller place. You're not the only one to face this dilemma. I understand the difiiculty you're facing.

I have an expert to ask about this: My current T (via phone acrsoss the country now) is also a prof at the grad school I went to, a big university in a small town setting. I'll ask him about this, because he's probably aware of this sort of phenom happening there.

Have you tried reading any stuff from the American Psychological Assoc.? Their code of ethics addresses education, might be something there.

[(JD)]

I personally think that what you need to focus upon right now is finding the right psychologist for your therapy that you need now. You state that you have changed your mind already about career, and truly that is how it should be while still deciding! But you need therapy for your life now.

Consider that this person is the best choice for you. If you don't have a doctor that can assist you in your day to day decision making and living, the other questions you have are moot. This particular professor/therapist sounds like a good fit: she seems to be someone you feel you can trust, she can help you sail the career idea process in the area you think you want.

By the time you are ready for "her" to instruct you things may have changed on both sides: you may not be needing therapy any more, (and she can verify that for the degree or licensing process) she may not be teaching any more or may have advanced to a higher position that doesn't advise students.

I say do what you need to do for NOW. Even if your "ifs" come to pass, you won't be the first nor the last to have to walk that path. (You can work on the aspect of "what if" during therapy, in CBT. )

[Perna]

I think too, since you're looking for a T primarily from the standpoint of ADD/ADHD learning platform instead of a more psychological one, that taking psychological courses from her won't be as much a conflict of interest as it could be? Are you afraid she might feel, because she will know you better as a T client that she might accommodate you more/better than she might her other students?

[kate81]

Originally Posted by imapatient

Kate, I don't see having her as a prof in a course as a big issue, unlike having her as an adviser where that might not be possible because the involvement of an advisor in a grad student's life can be great and intense (and in psychological terms). The dual-relationship issue is relaxed somewaht in less-populated areas in the US; it's hard to get around them in a smaller place. You're not the only one to face this dilemma. I understand the difiiculty you're facing.

I have an expert to ask about this: My current T (via phone acrsoss the country now) is also a prof at the grad school I went to, a big university in a small town setting. I'll ask him about this, because he's probably aware of this sort of phenom happening there.

Imapatient, thanks for the advice, and if you would be willing to ask your T about this, I would be curious to know what he said.

The advisor issue is one that had not occurred to me at first, but now that it has been brought up, this professor also seems like she might be the main person there whose interests line up with my academic interests. But it looks like she's not full time, so that probably means she doesn't advise grad students anyway, right?

[kate81]

Originally Posted by Perna

I think too, since you're looking for a T primarily from the standpoint of ADD/ADHD learning platform instead of a more psychological one, that taking psychological courses from her won't be as much a conflict of interest as it could be? Are you afraid she might feel, because she will know you better as a T client that she might accommodate you more/better than she might her other students?

I was kind of thinking that the some of the ADHD issues I'd want to talk about with a T, such as procrastination, disorganization, and lack of time management, are all things that I generally do my best to hide from professors in an attempt to make as good an impression as possible... I generally manage to give my professors the impression that I am much more organized, etc than I actually am. I'm not sure I want to be in a class with a professor for whom I've stripped away that facade. :P

Also I do have some other things I'd want to talk about with a T that are more personal than just ADHD stuff, but finding someone who knows how to help me with the ADHD is a must.

[(JD)]

You may not realize that, depending upon where you seek your degree, you generally have to have some personal counseling before entering the field anyway (or before you finish....)

Don't make a common assumption (of not very emotionally healthy people) that if your T knows you, she won't be able to help you succeed in your career of psychology, that once she knows you she won't like you or help you.

Plus, there are countless areas of psychology that you will realize, and many of them have nothing to do with whether your T is part of the process or not.

Find the right person to help you become the best you can be, and then the rest will fall into place easier for you.

[Perna]

I think too, when we have an issue, it appears larger to us in our world than it actually may be in the bigger picture, "out there"?

I almost laughed when you were saying you try to hide your problems with disorganization and time management, thinking, "Why? It's not a crime to be disorganized or do things in a convoluted manner!". I think you should work on your self esteem I'd love to have you as a friend and if I were a professor, can't see why how you did your work would matter to me; over time, I think I'd be able to guess you have a hard time with organization/time management, I don't think that can be hid very well at the level you are talking and it's not very germane to the overall picture?

[kate81]

So I talked to the therapist in question, and mentioned that there was a very small possibility that I might be applying to this PsyD program, and she said she didn't think it was a good idea for me to see her under the circumstances. She gave me referrals to a couple of other people, but they weren't on my insurance, and none of my other referrals panned out. Now I really don't know what to do...

[Perna]

Oh, that's too bad. I would put the therapy on hold as being too complicated at the moment and decide what I wanted to study first. If you pick a program that is not the one she's part of, you could then call her back. Too, once you get situation in your new program and know your schedule, etc. then other therapy possibilities might have opened up in the time between.

[kate81]

So things just worked out after all! I found out that I actually have halfway decent benefits for out of network insurance, so I'm going to keep on seeing the T I have just been seeing at the college counseling center, but in her private office as I'm done being a student there. I had wanted to do this before, as she seems good, but from what I had understood of my out of network benefits, I didn't think it would work. It's still going to be a bit expensive for me - $30 a session, which doesn't sound like much but it starts to up if you go every week - so I'll be doing every other week.

Thanks to everyone for your advice!

[Perna]

That's great that it worked out to your satisfaction!