High IQ and Therapy?

I can relate.. I've literally had people tell me I was stupid.... It's obvious now they were just angry because I didn't act and/or react the way they wanted me to... and it pissed them off. too bad... so sad...

Maybe this will help put things in perspective...
of course, you could just reread the article in post #4.. that one also explained the situation fairly well.

What does it mean that I had my IQ test in the psych ward, for emergency admission, zonkered on Thorazine, and scored 138 anyway? Does that mean I might be 140? (Not that it does me any good anyway...just curious).

Also, Shakespeare, I think it's kinda cruel for people like your mechanic to try and show you up. And I can't help feeling you never had the support and backing you really did need with your intelligence. I live in a rural town, but 35 miles away is a college town that would be far more stimulating. I wish I could move to an area near a university where I could be a perpetual student. Maybe Pacifica University in California. That could be the answer to the feeling of isolation.

I haven't done this test but generally if you just try one test and get a result as yours, it means that if you practice a bit, you should be able to score at least few more points without any problem...

That story about the mechanic was written by Isaac Asimov

You raise a good point... I am a lifelong learner.. I'm in my late 40's and am working on a degree. I also just started communicating with a philosophy professor at the local college, and we we plan on meeting on Thursdays for a philosophy discussion group.

There is a difference from having a high IQ and actually being intelligent.
Intelligence comes from effort and experience.
A highly intelligent person has learned how to be honest with themselves and is aware of the consequences of their actions.
They know the difference between what they know and what they don't know.
They know why they do things and why they don't do things.
They know what the function of a therapist is and if a particular therapist is a good fit.
They know they do not have all the answers, but they know how and where to get them.
They accept the things they cannot change and change the things they can.

I think a high IQ often equates to being misunderstood because of the nature of the testing and what these tests measured. The older IQ tests only measure one type of intelligence- the logical/analytical side (and they are not used in schools anymore, so the ones online are fun but not what they give kids to measure their intellectual ability). I've always thought IQ's were overrated anyway. There is so many different types of intelligence- like other posters have mentioned emotional intelligence, kinesthetic, visual spacial, logical mathematic...that it overvalues one type and dismisses most others.

Still, I get what you are saying and I imagine part of the problem is that people who choose to go into fields like therapy (social work or counseling usually) tend to have fairly high emotional intelligence but maybe lower in math and science. If you're off the charts in these areas then it's easy to dismiss people as less intelligent than you - and in this area they are - but that doesn't mean they aren't intelligent people in other ways. If you just don't connect then that is a problem, but it's like that with all people and the more logical/analytical you are the harder it is. It's really a balancing act of finding someone who's thought process and intellect mesh well with and may complement yours.

Children are not tested or given straight up IQ scores anymore because those older IQ tests are inherently flawed and biased. Now kids are tested on the different variations of intelligence and scored on a percentile- much more accurate in identifying individual strengths and weaknesses.

I have a high IQ as well, I'm no genius but smart enough to have been considered gifted in school. But as I grew into an adult also felt misunderstood like you, since I got logic but many social interactions were often very difficult. So I do get it, but like others here have pointed out, it can also be a way to push away people and avoid emotions, which doesn't do much for life satisfaction and happiness. Appreciating and being open to learning from people who have talents that are different than our own can really be a great way to learn. It doesn't mean they are always right (and not all therapists are as gifted or talented as they think they are) but just being open to possibilities is really freeing.

I thought of this while reading this thread:
Jebediah: [on film] A noble spirit embiggens the smallest man.

Mrs. Krabappel: Embiggens? I never heard that word before I moved to Springfield.

Ms. Hoover: I don't know why. It's a perfectly cromulent word.

(From The Simpson's)

I admit I don't get the idea of emotional intelligence being all that worthwhile at all.

I have a high IQ and although it is the bane of my life, it surprisingly is useful in therapy. It allows me to articulate myself well and easily empathise and get across what I feel. I like finding the right vocabulary.

I always have enjoyed being cromulenlty embiggened.

oops, I misspelled cromulently.

You just highlighted the vast chasm between intelligence and wisdom.

I relate to that, I wish I knew how to get round doing this as it has been a major stumbling block in my previous attempts at therapy. This time around I'm frustrated not so much by my therapist's intelligence or otherwise, just that she is following a formula that seems to assume that one size fits all. So far we are trying to write a definition of my depression. Except it isn't a defintion it is a description, for me depression cannot be defined by a formula, there are no constants, only variables and the immeasurable.

Maybe I'm being too analytical or too literal, maybe I need to accept that defintion is just a word and although it may be the wrong word for the activity, it is the activity itself that is important not what it is called. However, I find it hard to believe someone who seemingly doesn't know that what we have is a description not a definition will be able to help me move forward. I don't assume that my intelligence is in anyway superior to hers, I just mistrust a process that hasn't identified that accuracy in words and language is important to me.

Thank you, I agree with all of this and you said it nicer than my initial thought of "***** to brag"

I know someone who is really intelligent, above the 99.9th percentile. This person goes to therapy just fine. I also wouldn't describe this person with all the non IQ related points the previously posted list showed.

Anyway, that's my anecdata.

I don't really buy the idea of "emotional intelligence." Intelligence is related to IQ, that's what real intelligence meant, historically. Lately everything is some kind of an "intelligence." I came across several scientific articles about "spiritual intelligence." Actually I'm starting to wonder if there is anything somebody can do well that is not some kind of intelligence, according to today's definitions.

I think maybe people did not feel what they had was valued. So if you said I'm good at reading people, that I'm very sympathetic, etc, then people would be like, So what?! But now you say, I have high "emotional intelligence"! That sounds impressive. If you constantly wonder about existential issues, you have "spiritual intelligence." And so on. It's a devaluation of the concept of intelligence, in my view.

While I agree that a lot of this newer language can border on being silly (spiritual intelligence?), emotional intelligence is still important. I think it's s little bit of a flowery term for having excellent social skills, being good with people and a good leader. We've all heard about individuals who are "book smart" but can't hold a basic convetsàtion with a person, never mind work alongside one. To work effectively with and communicate well with people is most definitely a skill that requires a certain amount of intelligence, the value of which can't be denied.

Yes, I think the "original" concepts of IQ and intelligence were, and still are, wishy washy and never very consistent, clear, meaningful or helpful overall.

Do the assumptions that therapists make ever bother you? Mine appears to assume that religion would be good for me. I need proof.

Assumptions suck. No matter who makes them... it is possible to root them out.. but, it's hard work. and I'm too busy... I do take the time to work on my own... I recommend you all do the same.. You'll thank me.

I would run very far from one who tried to foist religion upon me. I saw one who was into spirituality and kept on about it so I never went back to that one.

^it's not pushed very hard.. but, it is there. I wish he would just let it go.

I don't know my IQ but I am fairly smart and well educated. When I decided to go with my current T, the fact that he's smart and has a doctorate were important to me. That said, I think it would be entirely possible to get some value out of therapy with a T who is just normally intelligent. They're not there to tell you what to do or how to think, but to give you ways to think about things, to ask questions. You're the one who has to come up with answers for yourself. Or at least that's how I think of it.

Yes - even the best and most sensible of Ts (such as my T) have preconceptions that are hard to get away from, and when they don't tally with our own views it can be bothersome. My T assumes that I would want to talk to my husband about feelings, in particular about when I am not doing so well emotionally. I have absolutely no wish to do that and I don't see why I should want to, and it does annoy me that T won't understand that. He is not trying to push me into anything I don't want to do, but he just can't understand.

No. Maybe my IQ isn't as high as yours. Finding a good therapist is difficult, I'll give you that... but it's hard for everyone. Having a high IQ helps with everything else. It helps you comprehend your situation in real terms, it helps to be able to read and learn new behaviors, it helps to be able to see additional possibilities...

I don't think IQ is everything, there are other forms of intelligence though, like emotional intelligence, social intelligence etc that would be better indicators of success in therapy. But, having a high IQ isn't a disadvantage. It's a poor excuse for failure in my book. Personally, I think I would be dead if it weren't for my higher than average IQ...

I think that is really inappropriate. Therapists should never push their own beliefs and values on a client. One suggestion I'd let slide, but if I had a T that continuously brought it up, I'd find another.

He's on probation right now (but, he doesn't know it).. I'll report back if he does bring it up again....