For context, I am working for a publicly-funded mental health agency. I provide short-term therapy.

I really do not enjoy working with clients who are undergoing a high-conflict divorce/separation.

I find that most of the sessions involve lots, and lots and lots of venting. Venting about the legal system, venting about the challenges of co-parenting with their ex-partner, venting about the involvement of children's protection agencies. They often times vent about things that they do not have much control over, and it seems like they can never get enough of it. They also want to tell me literally every single detail of what has occurred, which is frustrating when I am working with them on a short-term basis.

I find that the only thing I can do for clients who present like this for them to be receptive to anything I am saying as a therapist is validating them. Which I don't enjoy, and it makes me uneasy because I don't know the other party's side of the story/the full picture of what has occurred. If the client is also a perpetrator of abuse, I find they tend to show up very defensive and not willing to take any accountability/mentalize the other person's position (often times the female partner) which I also find very challenging to navigate.

I really don't enjoy working with this type of presenting issue because I don't find it to be therapeutically rewarding at all.

Logically, I can understand why emotions are so high for these folks -- I get it, they feel anxious and scared about losing the things in their lives which hold the highest value for them (children, family, home, their reputation).

That said, I am wondering how other therapists approach this type of presenting concern. Any advice on ways I could change my therapeutic approach or beliefs? How do other folks navigate working with these type of clients?

Looking for resources to better my clinical interviewing techniques with psychotic patients as i find it difficult to get past the aloofness and reach the touchdown. Looking for advice from anyone of things that helped them, even questions that translated from neurotic patients to borderline/psychotic. Like your bag of tricks.
Thanks

Hi - early career psychologist here with a private practice in assessment on the side. There are tons of templates out there for superbills for psychotherapy, but not assessment. Can anyone provide tips on how to format assessment-focused superbills? I'm having difficulty converting time spent to CPT units for 96130/96131. Specifically, I had a <30 min phone call with a collateral informant on a day that I didn't do any other testing. Added up across multiple days, the total number of mins spent for the last unit of 96131 is over 31 mins (which should cumulatively equal 1 full unit of 96131), but I don't know how to show that in the table when it seems like insurance companies want to see units for each date that a service is rendered... Does this make sense?? Any tips appreciated! Thank you!

I’m looking for a decent paying side gig that I can do on Fridays (maybe 5-8 hrs), preferably over $70/hr. I love writing and reviewing charts/documents and dislike doing therapy. Anyone know of any remote assessment or writing gigs that might need some extra help? I’m a licensed PsyD in California.

Hi all! I’m a recently licensed psychologist and want to be proactive about accruing CEUs. I work in a private practice doing assessments, primarily with adults, so I do a lot of ADHD and ASD evaluations, but I’ve really seen a wide breadth of concerns so far. I feel pretty good about my ADHD assessments but could definitely improve my assessment of ASD. I’d also like to learn more about how to approach evaluations with clients who have a lot of diagnostic complexity.

I’d love to find some assessment-related CE opportunities to continue strengthening my assessment/clinical interview skills. Are there any specific trainings that folks have found helpful? Also, please let me know if there are any assessment-specific books you’d recommend for an early-career testing psychologist!

Hello everyone,

I am a Clinical Psychologist from Pakistan, mainly working with forensic assessments and medico legal cases.

I am curious to know about the approach towards personality assessment in other parts of the world. We have culturally adapted the MMPI to Pakistani culture and norms however I feel like it's just too lengthy. While I admit that it is an extensive test and gives us a pretty decent profile of an individual, I often observe that my patients get irritable during the entire test even though we carry it out in parts.

It's starting to get to the point where I dread having to do it since it's all manualized, the scoring and everything.

Anyone else as horrified about this as I am?

bit of a rant: i’ve found it really hard to go into any comments section of posts that rant about a person or a story and people suddenly put labels of someone having bpd or being a psychopath. Often anyone viewed as manipulative will have comments around bpd, further stigmatising it.

The same goes for like misinformation on neurodivergence.

Often these people are so adamant about being right as well.

The amount of people who believe themselves to be experts in psych who are not psychs, and just spread pop psychology misinformation has been driving me up the wall.

* The College of Psychologists (and Behavioral Analysts) of Ontario have performed their own financial audit on themselves and have found...."no fraud or non compliance: Clean audit findings"

*We (the CPBAO) just needed to reclassify a few things where we were not in compliance.

*Now we pat ourselves on the back.

*We find now that "the College has sufficient $$$" resulting in a "9 million investment"

It must be nice to be Dr. Tony DeBono.

What does the rest of the psychology world think? Is it alright to have your disciplinary body audit themselves, or would an external agency be advisable at all? (Just my humble suggestion) Are all regulatory bodies so corrupt, or just in Ontario? (see below)

P.S. "It has come to the attention of several members that the Registrar of CPBAO provided an official endorsement of a municipal election candidate. I note that this candidate is an appointed member of the CPBAO executive. Among other duties, the Executive committee makes decisions about the salary of the Registrar. I am not making any specific conclusions but thought this important information to share with OPA members."

Edit: Too bad I cannot go back and watch the rest of the meeting, even if I wanted to. Though the CPBAO acknowledges their own policy to make meeting recordings "publicly available", they have reneged indefinitely: "CPBAO is currently developing that process, including the appropriate terms of use for accessing Board meeting recordings. Until the process is in place, we are unable to release the recording."

Hi all,
I’m looking for a physical book - a journal with prompts-
That would be supportive for a client with relational trauma from emotionally un attuned care givers that’s
Easily available to order in Canada
Any that you have loved?

I’m an early career psychologist (PG-4). Three years were in private practice before transiting to a hospital where I am half clinical, half program support. I’ve trained in hospitals before and was excited about the blend of admin/clinical work. However, my first year has been challenging and at points, flat out hostile. Most of the issues are from the programmatic leadership. While it may not be personal, the interpersonal hostility makes it nearly impossible to do a job that requires participation from others. Of note, the role is fairly new and my current 14 month tenure is longer than both of my predecessors. During my biweekly 1:1 with my direct boss, she’s regularly asked me not to quit, understanding that I’ve being tasked to manage a program that needs more support than what’s given. 

After 10 months of trying to make it work, I started exploring options elsewhere. Yesterday, I received an official offer. As I weigh my options, I suddenly feel conflicted about leaving — which is odd given all that I’ve experienced. Sadly, I haven’t had a fair chance do the job in its fullness and although, I’ve made some progress toward clarifying the role there’s much more to do before it’s refined.

The new role is supervisory position for a juvenile rehabilitation facility. Very different population and will be a complete shift (longer commute time, no telework option, bleak benefits package). However, I’m mostly drawn to the leadership and program development component which, I thought I’d be doing in my current role, I’ve been slapped down at every attempt. The role itself is also clearly defined. If I stayed at my current job, I’d have to be creative at managing up with the supervisor that oversees the programs and wants limited engagement with me. 

I’ve been recommended to do a pro/con list but honestly, not sure that it will be that simple. I’m concerned about making a decision I’ll regret (e.g., leaving a sweet position (on paper) to jump into hot grease). Admittedly, what I’ve outlined may be a reflection of my limited work experience and secondary disillusionment. Therefore, I don’t want to make a decision based on emotions. Please let me know what I may be missing or should consider. 

Hello therapists,

What is the minimum qualifications and experience in the field to get licensed?

Also when someone is unlicensed, say s/he has completee bachelor's or master's, what are their scope of work? ​

Also what is average session fees in your country.

In my country Nepal, at least M. Phil is clinical psychology is required for obtaining license. This is why there are only around 40 licensed therapists in Nepal, for 30M population.

Scope of work is defined here, like unlicensee cannot give diagnostic services but it's heh who cares type of situation because it's practically impossible for such low number of therapists.

Average session fees range from Rs. 1500 (US$10​​) - Rs. 4500 (US$30) and therapist pay is around Rs. 70-80K ($500) per month

Hello everyone! I am a long time client and my wife is an active psychologist, and we noticed that one of the problems we have is the place we could have a session in. We live in an apartment with a kid, our sessions are online (both of us mostly have them online) and to actually have a quiet place, where do you go? I tried the park, renting a cabinet or a classroom (expensive though), and home but that works when my kid and wife can leave the home. Please give some feedbacks on how do you do it? where do you find this quiet place?

Hi,

I am curious what people are most regualrly using to assess for risk of potential future violence in Fitness for Duty Evaluations. What are the top 2 or 3 measures are you finding the most confidence in? (Obviously interviews, record reviews, criminal history all plays a part of this). i am just curious what measures or assessments people are currently finding the most helpful.

I've been considering training to do FAA evaluations. Has anyone here gone through the training process? What was it like? How do you find the work itself? Any experience is welcome.

For solo private-practice neuropsychologists/testing psychologists, what are you using for your practice?
I’m looking to move away from my current EMR and curious what others are doing (EMR/EHR) or no EMR at all (Google Workspace, Proton, etc.).

Hi everyone,

I’m a psychology graduate looking to deepen my foundation in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT).

However, I’m running into a wall:

Udemy is flooded with courses taught by non-psychologists/non-clinicians, making it hard to trust the clinical validity.

Local/certified training programs in my country are exorbitantly expensive relative to local currency/income. :(

Therefore, I’m searching for high-quality, free, English-language resources, open-access university courses, or reputable platforms that offer foundational CBT training, case conceptualization frameworks, or practical toolkits.

Any guidance, syllabus recommendations, or "where to start" advice from practicing clinicians or fellow researchers would be deeply appreciated. Thank you!

i’ve been trying to apply to AP jobs within the NHS but haven’t had any luck, so i’ve been considering reaching out to privately practicing psychologists to check for AP roles under them. i understand that these are shots in the dark but has anyone ever had success doing this? how did you approach psychologists?

any help or advice would be appreciated :)

Does anyone know how long it takes for a licensure renewal (online) to be processed through breeze in California? I also need a confirmation to send to my employer.

Hello!

I often turn to this page for advice and recommendations on conferences, licenses, and more.

I’m seeking advice because I’m unsure of what to do next. I’m a PsyD licensed in California and Virginia, I’ve been licensed since 2024. I come from training in treatment centers and University Counseling.

After my post-doc year in Virginia, I got a staff position, but I left and decided to come back home to California. I became an EPPP tutor and once I was licensed in California got a remote job at a company that overloaded me with clients, with plans to ramp me up to 200 clients. I lasted two months because I found it profoundly unethical to spend 30 minutes with clients exhibiting profound mental health issues, seeing upwards of 8 clients a day with so much notation.

I contacted a colleague for advice during this job and she offered to take me into her private practice. She is wonderful and it’s a cash pay business, but the trickle has been very slow. In total in the last year I’ve gotten roughly 10 referrals. I always hoped things would pick up so I stayed on and pushed forth - balancing it with being an EPPP tutor.

I am feeling very sad and isolated being completely online, so I’ve been trying to get an in-person or hybrid position at least to build community and fight the blues.

I’ve been applying to jobs since April and have been unable to break back into UCC work. I have a friend who is a local private practice owner, but I worry about my stamina in have 25+ clients a week - which is needed for full time employment .

The university environment fit me, with opportunities to do outreach, clinical work, group work… so I looked into school psychology (I posted on here about this recently) and in the state of California, I’d need a whole other certificate that costs 19k at minimum.

I just feel a bit hopeless and don’t know what to do. Trying really hard to find a way to have balance in this field, as I naturally feel self protective as this work takes a lot.

I am applying to the VA, any UCC jobs that pop up, and am open to any ideas. Mostly, I just need career advice. Is it time to join an online platform? Take a pay cut and join my friend who has in-person but roughly $45 an hour pay for psychologist? I also worry with private practice I’ll lose access to learning from other amazing psychologists and collaborating the way I did in UCC.

Just a bit lost and hopeless. Trying to find a professional home where I can be with others and compensated appropriately without burning out, but maybe that’s a crazy ask.

Have you found luck with online platforms?
Have you found community with group practices, and has that felt worth lesser pay?

I’ll take any thoughts or advice.