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Originally Posted by Halx
Personal opinion question...
What do you find most appealing: Pathological Psychology, Sociology, Social Psychology, Child Psychology, Neuropsychology or good ol' counseling.
Please explain why!
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Hey Hal. . . being jaded, much of what I do lost it's shine many years ago. Having said that, I am interested in personality theory (related to both psychopathology and couseling/psychotherapy). Even though I don't provide formal psychotherapy services any more, it was the most gratifying skill that I learned. I think a big part of "why" is that in reading the most influential theory books, I realized that they were the works of truly great minds, intellectual giants who also understood how to communicate, and just being able to grasp the concepts and apply them in my work made me feel like I had accomplished something significant.
My favorite patient populations to work with are inpatients (although the ones who are only interested in "3 hots and a cot" until their disability check comes in and they can go blow it all on alcohol or drugs lose my interest pretty fast). Inpatients who really just want to get back to the humble lives they have made for themselves make my job feel meaningful. Plus, their stories and experiences are always interesting. Being a sophisticated city slicker, it is enjoyable to me to be in the presence of such unpretentious honesty on a regular basis.
Neuropsych is the wave of the future, and it is the area where I spend most of my reading and continuing education time. The more we understand the relationship of gentics, and of neurotransmission, with mental illness, the more exciting the drug development programs become. The most promising research paradigms are all based in neuropsych imho.
Social psych, sociology, and child psych are not really interests of mine. I was not blessed with the patience to work well with children, and we are already bombarded with so much "sociological" data from the media and market researchers that it has become associated with sloppy research design and meaningless results in my mind.
My other interests include fast cars, fine women, gourmet food, and speckled puppies, not necessarily in that order.
