An introduction

Hi everyone,

As some of you noticed, I posted on the therapy acronyms thread recently; this was my first post at PC, but I have been registered for about a year.

Some of you have asked me why I am here, as I am a professional in the field. I found PC about a year ago while researching good internet resources for my clients. I believe that online communities can be an amazing source of support for people, and this is by far the best mental health support site I have found.

I look forward to providing support to everyone here, and I thank you again for your warm welcome.

Regards,

Jamie

Hi (((((((Jamie)))))) Welcome to PC

Welcome, Jamie, and thank you for the kind words.

KD

Jamie, Please understand I am just asking, not judging or whatever. This place is mainly for people who have emotional, mental health struggles to share and not be alone. I don't mind professionals, hmmm, was one for many years. But I want to feel safe here and would like to hear about your thoughts on different subjects, forums here. Maybe that would be a gresat way to get to know you? Thanks.

Shrinkjamie,

Welcome to Psych Central!

Yes! Psych Central is the best! ........

..........Not being rude, but wouldn't you prefer to be on a website that is geared just for professionals???????????? Then you can talk a load of gobble-de-gook and enjoy that!

Welcome to PC Jaimie I look forward to getting to know you.

Thanks for the introduction, Jamie. It's nice to meet you. I hope that we do get the chance to get to know you a little better. Have you read enough that you are getting to know us? Please let us know if you would like some return introductions. You'll find that you aren't the only MHP (mental health professional - I don't know if that's an acronym we use or not, but my T uses it). There are also several of us who are students in this field, but I guess most of us came here for personal reasons. I'm glad that you like the site and would refer people here.

Rap

like in my other post to you welcome and am glad you found this site. A therapist is only as good as what the client brings into their sessions and the therapist constantly updating what they have learned in their training. and what better way to add to a professionals training then experiencing what survivors and surviving is all about. Most therapists become therapy professionals because they themselves have experienced problems and I know that in order to be a therapist (at least during their training) therapists must also be seeing a therapist as a client. So at the very least I know that you can relate to at least the therapy message boards as a client so that in itself says you belong here.

Because I know that the reactions are going to be every which way for I do remember when I helped a past therapist register for an on line group I was in so that she could read my threads in general I want to say-
you are not the only professional as a member. and You are not the only professional that reads thes message boards.

Im not a professional but I found this site because it was listed on my local hospitals resource link. And I was able to read the boards for months before actually registering. That in itself says there are well over 1000 professionals just in my area let alone around the world that has access to reading the boards here without registering as a member or have registered as a member and then just sitting by reading or has blended in with us all here.

Sometimes people who become members of on line support groups forget that it is open to the public unless the site is a register and log in in order to read and or post professionals are going to be a part of that group whether or not they disclose they are a professional. Anyone can be anyone they want to be on line and a professional can not be a professional when on line just like a man can profile himself as a woman or vice versus on line. But yet people forget this and then get all upset when a professional or someone posing as a professional discloses the profession in this case the profession is in the field of therapy.

Even though this person has been on this website for a year people are going to get in an uproar. why because of the title not the person. Well how many of us are DHS caseworkers, cop, medical doctors, plumbers,authors,lawyers, students going into professional fields (the list goes on) that is here on this site. Does that mean because of their professional label I start getting into an uproar should they decide to reviel themselves? No I for one am looking past the label and say just like I do to anyone else that reviels that they are here on this site regardless of why and how they came here -

Welcome and glad your here and if I can help in any way Im here for you. and just like my offer to any one else here there is no strings / questions attached post as you feel comfortable.

Who are you talking to myself?



Again, welcome jam...glad you finally found time, and felt safe enough to post.

Actually, aside from being a therapist in private practice, I have been in my own therapy for, and continue to be. I am not just here to "lurk", but to participate as a lay person as well. I hope that anyone who is uncomfortable with that would let me know, as I certainly don't want to disrupt the safety of the board.

Thanks for the warm welcome, and I look forward to interacting with you all.

Jamie

totally cool ... i for one have a phd in criminal psyc (not the therapy side though)

remind me of the difference between psychotherapist and psychiatrist in the US (have noticed definitions/required qualifications can be a lil different sometimes)

DR unk, the protected terms of which you query are psychologist and psychiatrist. The psychologist does the one on one counseling and the psychiatrist has the MD degree and writes the prescriptions for psychotropic medications and usually does not do any therapeutic counseling.

hmmm i thought that, but i remember being taught that a variety of degrees (even online) can lead to the 'psychotherapist' qualification.

on a related matter i have read a bit lately about psychologists wanting to be able to prescribe certain meds (similarly to nurses wanting that power too). not sure what i think of that ...

/end hijack

Like I said - In general. LOL anyone and everyone I guess.

I have been on and in many on line support gorups for the past 5 years and everywhere the reaction is the same - when a professional reviels themselfs you have

Those that clam up for a bit
Those that get mad because of a professionals prsence
those that ask loads of questions
And those that accept

all because they forgot the internet is like sending a post card through the US mail - nice pictures but open to the public for all to see regardless of race, religion, gender and yes profession.

Everyone accepts everyone unconditionally UNTIL a professional reviels their presence. They forget that they could very well have been talking and supporting a professional but dont think about that because the professional they have been supporting did not reviel that they were a professional.

SKR and I had a great time when I helped her register for a support group that I was a member of. We went into the chat room and revieled right away that she was my therapist. She was also a client of the therapy field because therapists have to have their own therapists unless they are at licensing level. She was certified but not liscensed so as a part of her training program she had to be in therapy herself.

We had all the above reactions people left the chat room angry because she was there, we had people who asked her lots of question and there were people who just accepted her. The end result was that she was finally accepted by everyone when a discussion came up about how the internet is and how anyone can be any one and prfessionals are there anyway we SKR and I just happened to decide to be the ones to reviel from the get go that she was a professional and was my therapist.

basically what I am saying here is that I know from the get go when I come to on line support and therapy groups I know that there is a whole mixture of people who are going to be there and a part of that group also and that include therapy professionals and whatever other type of professionals there are in this world.

I myself have been very open from the get go and let everyone know that my own therapist knows what on line support groups I am in and when I tell my therapists that I am in on line support groups I also tell them who I am going by and how to find the sites. That knowledge and invitation extends to those professionals that I have contact with and sometime quote their work or activities. That knowledge and invitation also extends to my frineds in my life.

So right there people here have known for however long I have been a member here that professionals may be here at the very least reading my posts and threads and those people may have decided to register and blend in here for themselves.

Not only that from time to time here security has been up for discussion and again we talk about how ANYONE can come here and read the community boards registered or not and those people registered or not can be people who know us, therapy professionals and so on. and everyone is told in so many ways - don't reviel anything that would reviel who you are or where you are or any information that could end up coming back to bite in the you know where.

This was also discussed when the blogs became active amd people realized that anyone and everyone had access to the blogs just by typing in a word that matches a word in the persons blog. Everyone got upset when they realized that their friends, family therapists and so on would read what they write.

The bottom line is that no matter where a person goes on the internet there is going to be a professional at the very least reading the posts. Whether or not they reviel themselves. Thats the risk we all take by putting ourselves out there and writing things on messageboards and blogs. even pming because anyone can be anyone on line unless we have real world contact with the person we have no idea who we are pming and chatting with and those people can very well be our family friends and yes professionals.

This said I personally don't have a problem when a therpay professional decides to reviel themselves in any on line support or therapy group that I am in. Whether or not I know by name that they are there - they are there. So there is no reason for me to blast them with "explain yourself" type questions.

I accept and welcome them just like I would anyone else in the group - by saying welcome and post when you feel comfortable and Im here if I can help you.

Im just pointing out the obvious and what has been discussed many times here already and my point of view on it and welcoming a member who just happens to be a professional.

Yes, I know what you said, and obviously now you are talking to me, whereas before I couldn't figure out who you were admonishing. I assume you disagreed with my reply. However, this thread is jamie's and imo, not about you sorry (((hugs))

No I cant' disagree or agree . you have a right to however you feel.

I am just putting down my point of view on how I feel about Shrinkjamie revieling herself and being here by posting what has already been discussed here many many times before and my experience with having my therapists as a part of my on line support groups.

Shrinkjamie wanted to know if anyone had a problem with her being her so I posted my welcome and my views to that.

You were the one that asked me to explain my post so I did so.

As far as I know, there is no part of the U.S. the regulates the title "psychotherapist" or licences "psychotherapists". Psychotherapy is something that is practiced by psychiatrists, psychiatric nurses, counselors, psychologists, marriage and family therapists, social workers, and pastoral counselors (some of these professions are regulated in most states).

As far as I know, just about anyone who wants to can hang out a shingle and call themselves a "psychotherapist". In some situations, these folks might be referred to as "paraprofessionals"--there's really no telling what you'll get. Might be great. Might be just awful. (That's true for licensed professionals as well, but at least there is something that the state can take away from them if they screw up too badly.)

To bring it back to the topic...I remember a bit of a fuss when I was first made an admin because I'm a counseling grad student. If I remember correctly (and forgive me for being too lazy to go back and actually read the comments) it was based on the idea that maybe I was here to conduct research or provide treatment or whatever. I don't think anyone has those fears anymore. (And to be fair, when I read my early posts and their stilted and overly formal tone, I can see where these objections came from.)

Post deleted by _Sky

Is shrinkjamie a he or a she??

I was wondering that myself.

lady counselor in Oregon.

Yea I'm not sure where it all went wrong ...

As JustBen says we have had this discussion before (I remember taking part quite actively :/)... Someone should dig up that thread and revise it.

I think good on shrinkjamie for being up front ...

from shrinkjamie's post above -

I hope that anyone who is uncomfortable with that would let me know, as I certainly don't want to disrupt the safety of the board.

--------

I decided that it would be nice to show not only those point of views against her being here but for her to.

Now sky I am going to say have a nice day because you are obviosly going to be upset by anything I post today so -

Have a nice day and take care of yourself.

I don't see a fuss about Jamie, I only see a fuss about someone thinking there is a fuss LOL