OK so next year I’m going to be senior in high school and so I’m planning on what i want to do after high school. I want to go in the counseling/psychology/therapy field but i cant decide on which one is better to major in. I want to help people with their issues and i want to study people’s habits/behaviors. Also i want to have a lot of job choices like i want to get a degree and have many job opportunities because i dont want pay for 4+ years for college and then hate my job. So i want to have a variety of job opportunities.

thank you
It’s good to become a psychologist, actually. To deicide whether you might like it or not, try to reading Psychology Today mags, depression guides, calming your anxiety books, & comprehend the multiple reasons why others have phobias. Your choice might make a difference in this modern society because there are many people out there who are depressed from the loss of loved one, fear because the they critque negatively upon strangers or somethings unforgettable & forceful occured in their destiny, the stress by dealing with so many chores, the anxiety for being a victim, & the mental effects of verbal & physical abuse. In the art of psychology, you may need to read your clients’ facial expressions to indentify their moods. It’s a method to get to know them at first sight, so you’ll realize what could make them doubt, impatient, or dazed off. You may possibly be required to observe their eyes to see whether they are lying or not. An example might be that some liars make too much eye contact because they know that we’re looking for that behavior. Others try to avoid eye contact because they don’t want to feel guilty of lying. If someone looks up to the sky while they’re socializing or pausing, that means that they are thinking. If someone crosses their arms, it should mean that they’re protective of themselves. If someone talks while covering their mouths, that means that they try to hide the sincere facts. Hopefully, my reply will let you choose your career wisely. However, you must be aware & careful because sometimes when self-destructed people tell them their stories, you must not let it touch you too much. Otherwise, you’ll get depressed or contaged to their feeling. You must comfort them as much as possibly & try to let them know that you’re sorry & care for their issues or else they’ll feel offended or think that you’rfe heartless. Becoming a psychologist is a procedure to open your eyes & see the truth of mankind.

Art therapy is counseling psychology, and well I am interested in that, but I would like to go more of the route of research and testing. So I’m wondering if I would still be able to do my doctorate in clinical psychology if I only do a masters in art therapy or if I would have to do a double major for my masters to be accepted into the clinical psychology program.

Can anyone help me?

There was a student in my graduate counseling practicum who was accepted in a doctoral program in psychology in California. This was about ten years ago.

I would ask both the counseling psychology advisers and the (clinical) psychology advisers at your college to be on the safe side.

I was wondering if it is common for tourette patients to have sexually overt behavior, not verbal tic wise. I work with a gentleman who is very touchy feely and I wonder if it may be because of his tourette’s, he does not have obvious tics but the behavior is concerning is not from his illness.

Tourette syndrome has nothing to do with that. Tourette’s is a tic disorder. That’s all. Nothing else. Common tics are things like nodding, shrugging, blinking, weird faces, grunting, coughing, humming, and so on. It’s nothing sexual.

Has anyone ever been to Health Retreat Australia?…here’s the link http://www.healthretreataustralia.com/emotional_wellness_retreat.html

If so what was it like and did you find it helpful? If not do you know of any other health retreats somewhere? In my research this was the best I could find for what I am looking for. Problem is it’s far away and expensive. Although I’ve always wanted to go to Australia. Haha. I think it would be cool if I could find a retreat like one in Aussie that lasts like a month or two! I’d love that.

Anyways, here’s what I am looking for. I am 24 and trying to finish up college. I’m almost done but second guessing my major and career choice. I feel a little lost in pretty much every aspect of life and I feel a little scattered. I feel like I could use a mental health retreat to just get away from things, as well as, to be some place where people can help me figure things out.

Anyone been in this position? Have suggestions or resources?

intuitivementoring.com they are doing a retreat in colorado that sounds like it is just what you need, and it is affordable. YOu can stay for one day or the weekend.

When I was about 7 I had quite a few tics but was never diagnosed with anything because no one ever did anything about it. They were mostly motor tics besides sniffing/inhaling sharply and the noise when you exhale through your mouth just after you swallow/open you’re throat.

I was teased about the tics almost daily but it only lasted for roughly a year and never really appeared again until now. Im 17 now and the tics have been happening daily for almost a year now.

So can transient tic disorder come back/come and go throughout life or does it just occur once during childhood? Could this be turning into tourettes syndrome?

What should I do?

I am not a doctor, but by your description of having both movements and noises, you had Tourette Syndrome for years already.

That’s all that Tourette Syndrome is, a tic disorder with both movements and sounds. That’s it.

As for your question, can it become worse? Absolutely.

According to studies, the mean age of worst tics is eight to twelve, but mine became quite severe at age fourteen (I’m fifteen now and still disabled by them) and I’ve met many people who continue to have tics later in life, even middle aged adults.

The course of symptoms in an individual with Tourette will vary from person to person.

You my friend, need to see a neurologist.

Be forewarned, however, there is no cure for Tourette Syndrome or tic disorder, and treatment is strictly symptomatic. It will take time and effort to find the right combination of medication and behavioral/psychological therapy to help you manage your tics.

Best of luck!

-Melody

I am a 16 year old female

Hiccups almost ever day multiple times for short periods

I feel I have to rub my nose every so often even though it doesn’t itch

Constantly smoothing my hair (worse if I wear it down)

I sometimes have a difficult time speaking because I talk really fast and on really bad days I get stuck on a word or I can’t get it to come out right

These increase whenever I feel stressed, uncomfortable, or embarrassed

I never really thought about this until my friend jokingly began to say tourettes every time I hiccuped. Then, a few weeks later a different friend pointed out that I smoothed or pushed back my hair a lot especially when I became nervous or excited. She said it was sort of like I had a tic. Could this be a tic disorder or am I just weird?

Tics — yes, likely. Disorder — no.

What people have to realize is that EVERYONE in the free world has many mental illness ’symptoms’ — in fact a great deal have some low level degree of mental illness.

Think of it as no one is perfect physically… some are more fit than others.. some struggle to do the ‘normal’ physical things .. some might have some lower back pain or shoulder pain, or other pain in the body because of poor posture, weak muscles, and so on.. that needs addressing.

Point is that yes, your observations are most likely ‘Tics’. But so what? Tics , by themselves.. are incredibly common. Most people have a tic or 10 they present daily.. most don’t realize their ‘tics’ or habits.. some have and just don’t care.

We are moving beings,.. as humans.. we don’t just sit catatonic — so if emotion causes us to subconsciously or consciously smooth our hair,.. rub our nose.. tap our fingers.. clear our throats and on and on.. it is natural.

No sense in worrying about something that at 16yrs of age you just ‘realize’. Understand?

If you had a "Tic Disorder" .. ie: Tourettes — you would have long ago realized the disorder and have already sought treatment for it. There is little to treat — but everyone could use some mental health counseling, preventative treatment and so on.

I’m not sure when it will happen, but eventually mental health will be treated like physical — in that routine ‘checkups’ are common, and preventative treatment will be the ‘best treatment’.

Nothing wrong with you,.. at least not any more than the next person. Make sense?

Relax,.. if these actions make you overly self-conscious and this uncomfortable feeling won’t leave.. talk to a therapist about them. You can get rid of Tics.. though we all tend to replace them with something else.

I have a few tics of my own. Most everyone else would call these things ‘nervous or anxious movements or actions’.

Just watch people sometime. You’ll see them scratching, rubbing, stretching, bending, coughing, clearing, blinking, snorting and so on as a ‘habit’ not so much as a one time thing to help the itch, or relax the muscle, or clear the sinus.

If people read the DSM,.. the criteria to diagnose mental illness just about everyone on the planet could and would fall somewhere in some illness as a positive. This criteria is only useful in people whose lives are significantly effected by these things.

Now relax,.. forget about it.. and go on living your teenage years!

Or should I major in counseling or psychology, and minor in music? I want to be a counselor and music therapist with my own private practice. It this possible?

Yes, It’s possible to minor in music therapy and major counseling or psychology.

The idea of art therapy interests me quite a bit, and i might want to pursue that as a career, but i am confused on what it actually is. i know people & children can express themselves, but where does the psychology/therapy come in? &about how much do art therapists earn? &do i need to be skilled in art myself, & take art classes? thanks:)
oh and does anyone know if UCSD and/or UC Berkley have art therapy majors? thanks!

"Art therapy involves helping those with emotional and psychological difficulties to deal with their problems through a cooperative process of discovery. Clients are encouraged to come to their own understanding of what their art reveals, facilitated by the therapist, who helps to negotiate interpretations of the client’s drawings, which are created through a therapeutically oriented art-making process."
http://art-therapy.concordia.ca/

(from concordia university’s art therapy department website )

The program at Concordia is offered as a graduate program, and you are required to either have done your undergrad in fine arts, or take a certain number of fine art classes. I don’t know how other schools organize their curriculum, but I think that’s definitely a good place to start your research, the person I talked to when I called the Concordia department was immensely helpful and answered all my questions (I ended up deciding art therapy wasn’t for me at that time)

As for salary, from the few conversations I’ve had about this, I hear it can be a difficult avenue, that many art-therapists do it for love while holding a day job to pay the bills. But this may only be true for some, ie for people who choose to work for themselves, and build up a client base from the ground up. Something to look into.

hope I could be helpful

-I touch my face. When it itches or gets sweaty, I’m extremely prone to touching my face. I always just touch in general when I’m nervous though, regaurdless of my face sweating or not. It seems to be my nose that I play with the most.

-When I’m anxious, I clamp my hands together as if I were praying. But I’m not praying. I just feel tingling in my fingers out of nervousness and that HAS to stop. I also twiddle my fingers repetitively.

-I check things back and forth. Last night I checked the car several times in the back before I locked it so my mom wouldn’t get mad at me in case I didn’t bring all the groceries in. I’m most prone to checking the mailbox. No particular reason at all. Like, see, I found old lint or paper in it and that freaked me out so I took it out. I don’t get why I do this. I also check the kitchen pantry, freezer and refrigerator and I have no idea why.

Sometimes, while in the bathroom, I take my sponge and I push it across my chest over and over until I feel satisfied.

-I began pulling my eyebrow hair yesterday. I just pluck it when I feel this imaginary "twitching" thing, which I’m relating to anxiety. I had to pluck certain hairs out with tweezers because they were too long or stuck out and that bothered me to my wit’s end. But usually my fingers do the trick.

-I do this weird thing; when I was twelve I told myself that if I walk across the speed bump a few times my mom would pick me up from school and if I didn’t, she wouldn’t come so I walked across the speedbump. I do stuff like that a lot, a game I call scenarios. This isn’t a problem anymore, but something I still do on a regular basis.

I’m going to the doctor, but insight would be nice.

…i’m no doctor. we all have compulsions. i’m a counter. i count everything. but i believe when it comes to ocd, one is driven to the compulsion because if the ritual is not performed, something terrible will happen…ie, you mom not picking you up or your mom getting mad at you. make sure you bring th is up with the doc. it sounds like you may also be suffering from anxiety.

im not in college im still in high school
but i know i want a doctorate in marriage and family therapy
now how do i go to a four year college and get a masters then go on to
another program and eventually receive my doctorate?
im a little confused
so help please thank you

In order to obtain a doctoral degree in psychology with your specialty in families, you would obtain an MA in psychology, then continue with your studies, do field work, practical work, and write another thesis. The doctoral thesis would be like a book. You would need to pass the GRE and also, to take graduate level statistics. In my opinion, in consideration of all the work you’ll be doing, you may as well go into medical school, then specialize in psychiatry. You can aim for that, and, if it doesn’t work out along the way, switch to psychology. Exactly what course work would put you on the right path, would depend on the state, country, university, etc. You would need to check on licensing requirements. Another way to get information is to obtain a university catalog. For example, get the catalog for your largest state university or a private one connected to a hospital. Then, read the prerequisites for a given course of study. Regarding university admission, you will want to have an "A" average and high ACT or SAT scores, as well as meet other requirements, so you can get into the best university for your planned course of study. Once admitted, you will want to follow a course of study for your goal, and again have an A average. Then, during your university tenure, figure the best university for your doctoral program. Probably, the best way to complete your studies would be the consecutive way, as you have described in your question.