Could a job in Psychology be considered 'impossible' for an Aspie?

[Oasis]

I have a Aspergers, but I am REALLY passionate with Psychology and mental health research. I've been told by more than a few people that I should try something easier because of my autism. I understand that the eye contact might be a bit of a problem and the difficulty understanding, but is it completely out of reach? I want to work with PTSD patients or even other autistic patients as a career, but I'm just not sure whether I can do it or not. Would the limitations of my autism prevent me from being a successful psychologist? Would I have a higher chance succeeding in research instead of actually seeing patients?

 

[King_Oni]

I don't know if it's totally impossible, but because you already mentioned having some issues with eye contact, and perhaps understanding certain things being a therapist of sorts might be a bit difficult. Especially since there's a big part of social interaction involved. You might ask yourself how severe are your issues.

Honestly, I think research is something a lot of us might excel in a lot more for a couple of reasons, and the social thing (including eye contact, and understanding people) is one of those.

But don't let my post get in the way of a career you want to pursue. You might want to use it as a heads-up though. Get the basics first and when times comes where you have to specialize in either talking to patients or research (amongst other things in the field), I'd look into it.

 

[Dragon's Tooth]

This is exactly the career path I have been wanting to take for a while.

My main hesitation has always been that I will take on my client's problems instead of letting them go each day.

But I personally have always found that I tend to help people a lot. And people tend to come to me for advice. Probably because I'm an aspie and tell it like it is.

If your working with fellow aspies then I don't think you would have as big an issue as say with an NT. You know where the Aspie is coming from. You have been through it. You will have studied to arm yourself with coping techniques. So you will not only have the book smarts you will have the real life smarts to go with it. This is a big reason why I want to pursue this career. Not enough mental health professionals come with the personal experience. They have the book stuff down pat but there is a difference between blindly following a book and having the experience to guide you through the healing a client needs to do.

You can use your personal experience and combine it with what you learn and I think that could make you more effective in helping people. I personally would prefer to talk to a counsellor who is an aspie than an NT. an NT has to try and imagine where we are coming from, an aspie doesn't.

 

[gregmcph]

Hey, priests give marriage advice...

 

[Dragon's Tooth]

Hey, priests give marriage advice...

lol true ... but in my experience I find if you've been there your advice can be better. So I'm sure priests give great advice in that regard lol

 

[gregmcph]

In all seriousness, if you are functioning fairly well out in the world in general, then I quite agree with you. If you've got a taste of what other are feeling more intensively, you'd be of great help.

 

[Oasis]

My eye contact is horrible and can only be described as physically painful to look into someone's eyes. I'm 19 and in college and it doesn't seem to have gotten any better than when I was hiding behind my mother's skirt as a kid. However my empathy level can be described as a curse, which I think would help a lot especially in therapy. The only problem is that sometimes my empathy for others is so high that I end up getting depressed over other people's problems which is therapy is... not good.

XD Hah! I've never understood why therapists say "Leave it in the room" when referring to your problems. You mean there's an off switch?!?!

Anyway, I get where you're coming from. It would be beneficial to see Aspergers patients or other autistic patients where I have "life training." I agree that you could have all the book smarts in the world and not get autism.

Another problem I have is miscommunication. That seems to be a biggie. =/ I'm extremely literal, I guess like most Aspies? A question has to be worded JUST right for me to get it. Like today my twin sister (she does not have autism and in fact is in my eyes relatively normal, if there is such a thing) asked if I "wanted to get the show on the road?" I've heard the saying. I know what it means. But she asked if I wanted to... however she was implying let's go. I obviously didn't get the message because an hour later she came up to me and I wasn't ready but she was heading out the door. I ended up not going with her.

I have a feeling research would be more of my area... but I would rather work with patients. I just want to kind of know if it's worth trying or if I should give it up and go for a safe route behind a computer making graphics and coding video games like I do every day now anyway for just fun. =/


Dragon's Tooth: Your blog is amazing! I bookmarked it ^^ Hilarious!

 

[Dragon's Tooth]

just tell patients your an aspie up front. Be honest. Aspies won't look you in the eye anyway so if you end up working with people on the spectrum then the eye contact thing is probably irrelevant lol.

You can fake eye contact by looking at someone's face in general or by looking at another point on the face ... say looking at the mouth. You then just nod and work out when to put in an "Aww" or "Ohh" and your done. Most people when they are super emotional will not realize your faking that part of things. As long as you don't do it in the wrong spot lol.

And as for you question thing ... that's a typical aspie thing. We are known to take things very literally and miss the point of things. I do it alot.

 

[Dragon's Tooth]

just tell patients your an aspie up front. Be honest. Aspies won't look you in the eye anyway so if you end up working with people on the spectrum then the eye contact thing is probably irrelevant lol.

You can fake eye contact by looking at someone's face in general or by looking at another point on the face ... say looking at the mouth. You then just nod and work out when to put in an "Aww" or "Ohh" and your done. Most people when they are super emotional will not realize your faking that part of things. As long as you don't do it in the wrong spot lol.

And as for you question thing ... that's a typical aspie thing. We are known to take things very literally and miss the point of things. I do it alot.

 

[Oasis]

Thanks for the help, guys . I'm probably going to head towards leading therapy sessions. If that doesn't work out I can always switch over to research. I can gain personal experience through at least trying. Because that's what I WANT to do, I think it would be best to at least give it a shot. I'm probably going to talk to my psychology teachers at the college and get their input as well.

 

[Spinning Compass]

I'd say go for it. Psychology is such a broad field and involves more than just clinical psychology. Yes, you will have challenges but so does everyone else.

What I hate to see, and it seems I am seeing so much more of it now, is the idea that because one is on the spectrum, that they shouldn't try to overcome some of these difficulties. The other night I was backstage and a couple of my fellow actors (who did not know I was on the spectrum) were talking about some family issues regarding a sibling with Aspergers'. It seems that his sister feels that he is being overprotected by the rest of his family. For example they discouraged him from taking a job at a Walmart-type store because of his Aspergers'. The brother was saying that this wouldn't be a good job for him. I spoke up and said, "I have Aspergers and I work in a very demanding type job, one Aspies aren't supposed to be able to handle. But my family did not bring me up to think that I should avoid certain careers because of my Aspergers. On the contrary they insisted that I be as normal as possible. So I can definitely see where your sister is coming from and maybe you are holding him back." There's a fine line between capability and paralysis from fear, and I am afraid that if I had had the "advantages" then that many have now I would have been "enabled" into a life of dependence rather than independence.

So don't let your fear or your Aspergers hold you back if that is the only thing stopping you.

 

[Fox]

I, as someone also considering a career in psychology, never considered the Asperger's could hold me back. If anything I thought it'd be more of a super power.
It's ridiculous to say that just because you're on the spectrum you need to do something "easier." Just like there can be no concrete definition of "normal" because every individual in this world is different, for the same reasons there can be no career truly defined as "easy" so that has to be the most absurd thing I've ever heard. If you find your niche in your career (which it seems you have) and you truly love what you do (which of course we all know, when an Aspie says they're passionate about something, they are passionate about it) then go for it!
(I also agree with everyone here, personal experience will be a giant plus in the field!!)

 

[cb_aspie]

I'm a neuropsychologist, and one of my areas of expertise is ASD! One of my obsessions is psychology, and I find it very easy (exciting even) to research and learn everything about autism, and ADHD. My current position is one in which I am conducting evaluations and then writing the reports and explaining it to parents. Its easier to be objective. I like the mathematical aspect of rating scales and algorithms in scoring protocols. I like seeing the diagnoses "add up" if you will. Of course, I still have to use my clinical judgment, but that has come out of the research and experience I've had. As for the feedback with parents, its really just one big monologue anyway, with me talking (nearly) uninterrupted as the expert. Perfect. I absolutely love my job and I feel that I'm really good at it. Since I'm the only one in my office doing my job, there is no one over me watching or judging what I do either.

 

[Arashi222]

I have a degree in Clinical Social work. I was told that eye contact is not that important. I mean in that people who are completely blind are therapists so it doesn't really matter. I find talking to clients little hard sometimes but it all depends on the connection you have with the client. You will always have clients that you work and connect with easier than others. I think its great to pursue something that love you. I find that because I don't always understand. I ask more questions. I ask things that a lot people don't ask. I never believe that my dx's would hold me back always has made me go for it even more.

 

[dowdit]

Thanks for posting this question Oasis

I found this page/forum by typing in 'can an aspie be a psychologist', lol. I have only just self-diagnosed myself with Asperger's under pressure from my wife who reckoned I had it. I had always hated labels since so may abuse them. I also didn't want to think there was no hope for my thinking to change. Turns out, I'm glad I now know since I can stop trying to become like everyone else, (long refreshing breath).

Anyway, going through this process, as well as other dramas that led to seeking out Asperger's info I discovered the limited help out there and good psychologists (any area, but Aspie specific) are hard to get help from due to the ridiculous waiting periods of months, or even complete closing off to new patients. There's a real demand here and I 'love' helping people who want it. There was the real concern though that my aspieness would make it too hard for me. Great info above about being able to empathise better with aspie patients since I've had it all 38 years of my life and know the very real rejection you feel when you don't know why you don't fit in.

I've been encouraged. I think I'll go for it. I haven't been able to get/hold a job for years anyway and I'm presently doing a degree that could serve as an undergrad for postgrad study.

The photo attached is of me when I was 9. I now call the photo, 'spot the aspie', lol. It's the saddest photo I have I think, since it reminds me of how lonely I was and how much of a loser I felt. Not looking for sympathy btw, just keeping it real