Reddit mentions: The best psychology reference books

I apologize in advance for this wall of text. There's a TL;DR at the bottom.

I'm a fellow undergrad and working on getting into graduate school also.

One of the biggest things I'm learning is that research experience is crucial to make yourself a better applicant.

If you're in the US and are wanting to get a PhD, you will want to start studying for the GRE and take it in your junior year of college if possible. Most if not all of the PhD programs that are certified by the American Psychological Association require the GRE.

If your college has any research programs, you could try to get involved with those. If they don't, you could try talking with a professor to see whether you could help them with their research.

If these don't work, you might try volunteering at other colleges nearby. Finally some colleges will let you conduct an independent study (often for college credit) with a faculty member. These are excellent ways to gain research experience and show grad school programs that you're a serious candidate.

As far as volunteer work is concern, I've been told that it all looks good, but it looks even better if it's somehow related to what you're trying to study. You might consider doing an informational interview with a clinical psychologist and also a health psychologist. This will help you get a better understanding of what they think about the career, what they had to do/learn to get licensed in their career etc. Additionally it will help you network with other psychologists who will be your peers in the future, and finally it might help you clarify which of the two fields you're interested in pursuing.

I conducted informational interviews with psychologists and counselors and it helped me decide on the kind of degree and research focus I am interested in.

As a final note, the American Psychological Association has published several books that are helpful regarding grad school in the United States. Here are the ones I found helpful:

Getting In: A Step-by-Step Plan for Gaining Admission to Graduate School in Psychology, Second Edition

The "Getting In" book has helpful information and chapter 7 has information on preselection interviews along with information on common questions that are often asked of graduate school applicants, as well as good questions for you to ask them during the interview.

Graduate Study in Psychology - You'll want to wait on this one until you're in your senior year as it is updated annually. This is the best book I've bought as it has info on every APA certified program in the US and Canada.

Surviving Graduate School in Psychology: A Pocket Mentor I'm not in grad school yet, but this helped me get a better picture of what the day-to-day realities of grad school are.

Career Paths in Psychology: Where Your Degree Can Take You, Second Edition

The "Career Paths in Psychology" text is helpful if you're not certain which specialty you'd like to go into. The chapters in this book are written by psychologists and counselors in a variety of areas including academia, private practice, hospital settings and more. There are three chapters that may be of interest to you specifically. The first two involve clinical psychologists, one in private practice and the other in a hospital setting. The third chapter is specific to health psychologists.

These books are available via the APA website, but are cheaper if you purchase them through Amazon. Also, all but one of them are available in Kindle editions if you have a Kindle or Smartphone or the Amazon reader installed on your computer.

TL;DR Gaining research experience is crucial to becoming a better grad school candidate. Talk with professors about helping with their research and/or look into doing an independent study at your college. APA has several helpful books on this topic if you're pursuing graduate school in the United States.

Thank you for reading and I hope this helps!

(edited for clarity - I'm an undergrad working on getting into grad school, I'm not doing both at the same time. Doh!)

I'm working on my MA right now, and this term I've taken a writing seminar for academic publishing.

This class has changed my life.

This book and this book were required for the class, and they have been really, REALLY helpful to me.

If you get the books, just ignore the parts that aren't relevant for you. "How to Write a Lot" is specifically about academic publication in the field of Psychology, but it is written in a way that is clear, makes sense, and relates way more to building better work/study habits than it deals specifically with publication. It's worth getting just for the parts that will be relevant to you.

Belcher's work-book is less relevant, but it has a lot of great advice on how to write better papers, and it covers pretty much every discipline.

You should seriously spend the $10 on "How to Write a Lot," you won't regret it. In case you don't...

How to Stop Procrastinating and Study More

For me, the problem was "writer's block." For you it's procrastination. They are two different names for the same thing. The solution to them sounds extremely unpleasant... until you try it.

You have to study every day. Yes, every day.

Currently, if you are like how I have been for about the last 20 years, you wait until a few days before your test or class or whatever, and then you spend hours upon hours studying until you are exhausted and pretty much hate whatever you were studying, right? If you get around to studying at all?

Stop doing that.

You know what kind of person you are, morning person, night owl, whatever.

Want to make it easier on yourself? Spend the next week recording everything you do over the course of every day- every hour should be accounted for. You don't have to share this with anyone, so if you spent an hour jerking it... well... that's fine, but it's probably time better spent studying.

When you do this, you will find that you are not as busy as you feel like you are. You probably have one hour from every day that you could use to do something more productive.

Even if you only use half an hour every day for studying, doing it EVERY DAY is what is essential. You have to turn the process of binge-studying and procrastination into a daily habit.

If you are like me, this sounds absurd, and you are probably thinking you aren't going to do this because it sounds stupid and won't work.

That was what I thought, until I did it.

I thought, "but I can't just MAKE myself write (study), I have to be in the mood for it."

No, you don't. If you do it every day you will find out it's actually really easy to pick things up and put them back down again, once you know it will happen every day.

It ceases to be some stressful thing you have to actively think of and remember to do.

If you KNOW that from 3pm to 4pm every weekday, you will be studying, then it becomes completely natural to pick up your books, work at things for a while, and then put them away at the end of it and move on to whatever else you want to do for the day.

"But I won't remember what I was working on."

Yes, you will. You don't remember what you study from your marathon sessions because you can't process that much shit at once.

If you spend about an hour every day on it, it becomes much more easy and natural to recall what you were studying. In fact, you will probably find yourself thinking about it more often than you ever would have expected of yourself.

"But people interrupt me."

Of course they do, people interrupt everything. But you don't say "I'm too busy to go to work/class," because that's absurd. It's an obligation, so you do it.

You need to jealously guard your study time. I'm not saying you can't be flexible and shift things around to be most convenient for you, but if you have your dedicated "study time" blocked off and a friend wants to go party, tell them you can't, but in an hour you'll be free.

Your friends are horrible influences. They WILL try to get you to do fun things instead. Mine did, and most of the time I listened to them.

Now, I don't. I get my shit done, and I feel immensely less stressed because of it. The time I invest on writing rarely ever actually interferes with plans I have made, or even spur-of-the-moment stuff that comes up.

"But I'm busy every Saturday/sunday/Whatever."

That's fine. Take a day off, have a day where you just enjoy yourself and don't study, but make sure that you develop a schedule for studying, and stick to it. Make it a time you know works well for you.

Lastly, your "study time" doesn't have to be strictly you, cramming from books, day after day. Use this time to work on homework, to organize your notes, to work on all of the shit that is related to studying that you need to work on, including studying itself. Studying is the act of studying, sure, but "studying" also includes working on homework, emailing professors, contacting peers you study with, organizing notes; whatever you can think of that is tied into the process of studying, this is your dedicated time to do that stuff.

Some days, you just won't feel up to cracking open the books, and that's fine. Use that day to organize your notes, or email your teacher that question you've been wondering about, or whatever. What, specifically, you do, is less important than blocking off the time so you can work on what you need to work on. Some days WILL be less productive than others, and that's okay, because you will be studying again tomorrow, and you can make up for it tomorrow, or the next day, or whenever; the point is, since you aren't procrastinating and binging on studying all at once, you KNOW that you will have regularly scheduled time to work on things.

__

As far as how to actually study better, being organized and breaking tasks into groups of things that need to be done helps, but ultimately the best way to do this is read up about different things people do, different strategies/techniques, and try them out. Some will work for you, some won't. I'm a visual/tactile learner, if I write something down it tends to stick; if I hear it and don't write it down, it's gone.




I'm at work right now, but I'll be heading home soon, if you are interested I can put some of the material from the book up here for you, so let me know if you'd like that.

omg, you are me a week back.

others have given a lot of advice here, but let me add my bit too.

to start with, this sort of thing feeds on itself, and it is important to understand that. you have to acknowledge that you feel like you have a huge weight strapped to your back, and that there is no shame in that. acceptance is the first step to working on it. it's fine to be depressed, depression isn't rational. but it will only get worse if you keep dwelling on it.

for me, even looking at my work made me depressed. it was a cycle that kept feeding itself. to break out of it, i tried doing things that put me in a more cheerful frame of mind, and while that cheeriness was still lingering, i would try getting started on my work. this is a short-term solution, it's not something you can keep doing forever. for this one week, that might be one of the things you can use.

it is very tempting to keep waiting till inspiration strikes and you feel better and then start working, but please understand that your actions affect your thoughts more than your thoughts affecting your actions. once you get started on something and start moving in some direction at some pace, that'll feed off itself and you will cheer up better as a result and feel more like going on.

for the present, i would recommend going through this book: http://www.amazon.com/Procrastinators-Digest-Concise-Solving-Procrastination/dp/1453528598/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1323072287&sr=1-1
It is a nice, quick, practical guide to getting things done when you are putting them off for whatever reason, like depression or anxiety or fear. it has several practical tips and exercises which will help you get stuff done. Also of help might be the Pomodoro technique, where you work in bursts of 20-25 minutes, and break tasks down to small indivisible units each of which can be completed in 20-25 minutes. do look it up and try it out.

your first priority should be to get through this week. After that, you can look at cognitive behavioural therapy for depression and anxiety. you might also want to try mindfulness to cope with depression and prevent it from recurring. I found this book particularly helpful: http://www.amazon.com/Mindful-Way-through-Depression-Unhappiness/dp/1593851286

i would advise you to not try CBT just by yourself. please find a qualified therapist or psychologist to help you with both mindfulness and CBT. it is hard to set realistic goals for yourself in a depressed frame of mind and CBT requires goalsetting. If you can't get medical help for whatever reason, atleast try talking it through with a friend. often, depression screws with your perspective and you tend to hold unrealistic and damaging beliefs which might be set right by doing as little as voicing it out to someone you trust.

lastly, do not cut yourself off from friends and family. keep communicating your feelings with others as much as you can. i know this is hard, because of the nagging feeling that others might not empathize and might unknowingly hurt you. but do find atleast one trusted sane friend or relative who you can voice your concerns with. just the act of verbalizing your feelings sets you free a little, and clear up your mind. at the very least, you stop dwelling hard on whatever is nagging you. at best, people gently correct the wrong beliefs you might hold about yourself (e.g. 'this is impossible', 'i can't manage to do this, im not smart enough'), and help you move ahead.

also, do keep yourself physically active. go for a short run or jog or a little bit of exercise every morning. get some sunshine... it affects endorphin levels greatly. make sure to eat and sleep well. it's amazing how many problems are solved from just getting a good night's rest.

do not be afraid to seek people out to help with your problems. it's very brave of you to put this on reddit, that's a great first step. i wish you all the luck in getting over your depression and getting all your work done, and hope that once you are over this, it doesn't recur.

hope this helped!

Books: How to Write a Lot was recently updated. It's a small book by helpful. I think my favorite recommendation in the book was "You probably don't skip class, you don't find excuses to not do your teaching obligations, so why are you often postponing writing?" From that, I blocked out an hour a day to write. That could mean reading papers, but I would also work on summarizing a paper.

When I started to get really critical of my writing, I noted papers that I enjoyed reading. There aren't many of them, so what set them apart? Taking time to just sit and think about what makes a good sentence, paragraph, or section can help improve your writing. For example, when does varying sentence length help or hurt your writing?

Another HUGE impact was co-writing with someone. I told my adviser I wasn't confident in my writing. He had me send my drafts to him, and he would edit with track changes. I critically looked and how and why he moved my sentences around. What did he add that I had excluded? The next round, I tried to emulate that style.

Another good book is The Scientist's Guide to Writing. As a bonus, Dr. Heard provides a syllabus for how he structures his classes around the book.

I hated people who told me to read more to write better. Reading more helped me learn how to phrase things in my field, but the papers were rarely a pleasure to read. Focusing on the English basics and an English writing course can actually help. If you can take a creative writing class, I would recommend it. You get to play with structure and style and work to convey a story in a less rigid way than writing science. Plus, as you develop those skills, they will translate into effective grant writing.

1. something blue

2. summer vibes

3. unusual food, avocado hugger

4. this for my mom. shes the ultimate beach planner, and it would be such a good gift because it has the insulated bottom that she could bring snacks and drinks in!

5. girl in cabin 10 its a suspense, and Ruth Ware has quickly become one of my fav authors.

six- hmm coming back.

7. dog bed for burrow types

8. this useless gift is pretty funny though

9. inception because its just a giant mind fuck and its awesome

10. first aid kit for zombies just seems like you might need a band-aid or something.

11. DSM 5 pocket version im currently studying for my license to become a counselor, and this one be so helpful when I have to diagnose my clients. it's absolutely vital for a therapist, and it would change my life!

12. add- on

13. harry potter fandom

14. this painting is 235,000 HOLY CRAP

15. unicorn cupcake topper

16. bourbon vanilla candle

17. barbie dream house was EVERYTHING

18. writers block

19. makeup vanity I cant afford one right now, but I will save up and get one!!! Im obsessed with makeup and having a good place to sit while doing it.

20. bacon survival kit. for the true bacon lovers lmao

Edit: I literally give up on editing the numbers. But this was such a fun scavenger hunt! Thank you adoptee!

The book is geared towards using SPSS, but it does offer info on some calculations and theory. My BA psych stats class was all about stats by hand (no calculators allowed!) and it was immensely helpful! I used the 4th edition of this book. It was a while ago so I don't remember how great the book was, but I learned a lot in that class because our prof explained things very well and made us do everything by hand.

You'd do well to learn SPSS, but don't go nuts. It's a powerful program and even after taking a whole class in it, I probably know 10% of what it can do. Your RA position should help you get acquainted well enough for a bachelors level student. Grad programs aren't looking for experts in SPSS, they're looking for people who learn well and want to learn more.

This book is awesome; it helps with setting realistic goals for daily production, and helps with making academic writing a part of your daily life. I also do a modified version of the Pomodoro Technique when I work. Kitchen timers don't work very well (I have an old wind up college test timer clock), but there's also an iphone app that's just as good; odd thing about it--I have to be able to hear the ticking. Cuts out the ambient noise, and structures my work habits.

As far as diet and exercise--go with whatever you can manage. I notice that I eat a lot more fiber these days (sorry if that's too much information), and because my gym/cardio takes a bit of a back seat, I make sure I walk everywhere, and I keep a good pace. I operate best when I've had enough sleep--I do my best work in the mid-morning. However, these are just things I do, and I'm sure everyone is different.

FIT may be a reach, but the usual advice is to apply to several programs in equal thirds of the following categories (programs that you’ll definitely be admitted to, programs that you’ll probably be admitted to, & programs that are a reach).

I think taking the GRE is a great idea! You should also strongly consider taking a study course.

The APA publishes data on GPA, GRE, etc. for almost every graduate program in America. APA Graduate Study

Good luck!

Really, right now, just that it's my job. The fact that it sometimes sucks isn't an excuse. Neither is the fact that I don't feel inspired to excellence every day.

I sit down for two hours every morning and write. It's the habit that keeps me going, especially when writing feels like the horrible chore that it often is.

That sounds bleak, I suppose, but I've actually started to feel a lot better about my work and progress since adopting this perspective. It means that I'm not failing at being a grad student just for not "feeling the love" or whatever. It means that I make incremental (sometimes infinitesimal) progress every day.

This book sort of articulates that perspective. It's a book about writing, on the surface, but I've found that it's also a great "how to cope with this shit you got yourself into" manual (at least, if the size of the task combined with the overwhelming pile of other stuff you need to do is what ails you).

My go to recommendation is Scott Lilienfeld's 50 Greatest Myths in Popular Psychology. Easy to read, thought provoking, and super interesting. I'll bet an upvote that you currently believe at least half these myths. :-)


http://www.amazon.com/Great-Myths-Popular-Psychology-Misconceptions/dp/1405131128/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1457820114&sr=8-1&keywords=50+greatest+myths+of+popular+psychology

There is a lot of research going on with organizations and journals dedicated to the subject.
American Psychological Association: Division 51 Society for Psychological Study of Men and Masculinity. This is probably your best resource. They have a page dedicated Research Briefs. Their Div 51 Journal - Psychology of Men & Masculinity will provide a thorough review of research published in the area.
There is also the Men and Masculinities Journal, the
Journal of Men, Masculinities and Spirituality, and the
Journal of Men's Studies. I'm sure that I am missing some but these are the ones that I know of. You could probably also find a text book that covers a lot of these ideas. I think the standard is APA Handbook of Men and Masculinities, Handbook of Studies on Men and Masculinities, and Masculinities 2nd Edition.

If you find anything you think interesting please post it over to /r/manfeelings. I'm collecting interesting articles and pieces over there.

It's a bit old, but this book is very commonly recommended for psych grad school and is probs in your library: https://www.amazon.com/Getting-Step-Step-Admission-Psychology/dp/1591477999/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1536719364&sr=8-1&keywords=getting+in+psychology

Your department may also have this giant hunk: https://www.amazon.com/Graduate-Psychology-American-Psychological-Association/dp/1433828111

You can also email the department head and ask if they have any presentations or meetings on the grad school process. This is pretty common in psych programs. You may also want to set up an appointment at your career center.

If you have any specific questions, please feel free to ask. I'm getting my doctorate in Counseling Psych.

Muhammed: How he can make you extraordinary

The Productive Muslim - Where Faith Meets Productivity

Dua, Weapon of the Believers

Revive Your Heart: Putting Life in Perspective

The Art of War

Khadija: The First Muslim and Wife of the Prophet Muhammed

Muhammed: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources

Dua's for success in this world and the next, over 100 Duas

Fortress of a Muslim

Reclaim your heart

These are some of the books I have at the moment and I highly recommend them after reading them. I am waiting on a few more books but a lot are non Islamic but still really useful [:

Edit: Like this

How to design and report statistics by Andy Field may be what you're looking for?

If it sounds right, I can vouch for it being a good book. It's recommended by a statistics professor at my university, and the author of the book is pretty good. To warn you, the writing in the book is a bit basic and may be oversimplified. It could be useful for you, though.

Read a lot and practice writing have already been mentioned, and those are great and necessary practices that should continue throughout your academic career. Getting external feedback is also great advice. I'll add the following: Writing and editing your writing are two different jobs, so don't edit and write at the same time.

A few books I recommend regularly to Ph.D. students in the social sciences: How To Write A Lot has some tips and tricks about writing routines of academics. If you're writing ethnographic works: Writing Ethnographic Fieldnotes and Tales of the Field: On Writing Ethnography are worth reading.

The only thing I would recommend is current textbooks. Books aimed at layman people are easier to digest but aren't exactly accurate.

Oxford Textbook of Psychopathology is pretty good. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition lists out exactly what criteria is to be considered, and specifies categories.

The best option is almost certainly Leonard Peikoff's "Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand" (aka OPAR), based on lectures Peikoff gave in the 70s with Rand's approval:
http://www.amazon.com/Objectivism-Philosophy-Ayn-Rand-Library/dp/0452011019/

The other major option is Nathaniel Branden's "The Vision of Ayn Rand", which is essentially a transcript of an earlier set of lectures Branden gave in the 60s, also with Rand's approval (and before Rand broke ties with Branden):
http://www.amazon.com/Vision-Ayn-Rand-Principles-Objectivism-ebook/dp/B00LV0FX2S/

Jesus Christ. Ever heard of Jacques Ellul?

http://www.amazon.com/Propaganda-The-Formation-Mens-Attitudes/dp/0394718747

I mean seriously. The consideration that propaganda is a reforming rather than converting agent of indoctrination? Is that an astounding idea?

Fox has the Republicans. MSNBC has a few Democrats. Does that blow your goddamn mind? People who assume one thing stick to the thing they are accustomed. Is that so hard do understand? People don't like change, and are prone to sticking to what is familiar.Astonishing, right?

Propaganda is provided for the 1. Literate, 2. Intelligent, 3. Wealthy for the promotion of reconfirmation of myths ranging from National Pride to Work to Race.It's formulaic. Who do you want to enslave for your progressive reform? Answer that question, and we can have incarceration centers in less than a year. Every people is the same. Human nature is the ultimate unifier.

Fuck your dictionary. Give a name to something like 'propaganda' without considering Bernays or other propagandists and you can lose a great understanding of what it means. I recommend further study.

To let you in a little further, can you tell me the ties between the New York Times and the political growth of Mao, Stalin and Che?

If you ever happen to value that publication again, please specify their significant ties, and then apologize for the journal's credibility.

I love this book for engaging people to think critically and have fun with psych.

As others are noting, a lot of the time what appears to be a complex behavior can be the result of a few simple tendencies. Some here are suggesting "put sticks on top of the sound of rushing water" is what needs to be encoded, and that sounds reasonable to me (though I'm no expert). My point is to suggest that there are plenty of areas where we can see how complex behaviors can emerge from simple rules. Michael Dawson has written a book called Minds and Machines that explores some of these phenomena using artificial intelligence and robots. It talks a lot about connectionist models, but it was pretty accessible, and I recommend it.

1. The most expensive thing on my list is the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5(TM)).
   
2. I've always been fascinated with psychology, and might take this direction with my career. It makes interesting reading material, even if I don't end up being a psychologist, exactly. I love getting into people's minds and learning to understand them, as well as myself. Psychology is one way to do it, and the only concrete way that's worked for me so far.
   
3. I might have to get this item anyway, if it's required somewhere along the line. It would be a shame, though, if I didn't get one in fifteen years and didn't keep up with it till the sixth edition. Anyway.
   
   "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds!

50 Myths of Pop Psychology is a really great book. It'll help you take your psych understanding from a very intro level to something more advanced. One of our problems when we teach intro to psych is that we include all of the theories that are historically relevant in a very superficial manner, and never dive deeper with students to really talk about our modern understanding of anything. 50 Myths includes the major misconceptions people have of our field including things you probably learned in your intro class for their historical value.

Here is Occupational Health Psychology: https://www.amazon.com/Handbook-Occupational-Health-Psychology-Second/dp/1433807769/ref=sr_1_2?crid=23K4PM6UI8F10&keywords=handbook+of+occupational+health+psychology&qid=1574832541&sprefix=handbook+of+occupation%2Caps%2C198&sr=8-2

​

Here is also a great stats textbook: https://www.amazon.com/Discovering-Statistics-Using-IBM-SPSS/dp/1526436566/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=andy+field+statistics&qid=1574833320&sr=8-1

The same author also has a interesting version of a stats book: https://www.amazon.com/Adventure-Statistics-Reality-Enigma/dp/1446210456/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=andy+field+statistics&qid=1574833347&sr=8-3

If you're looking for interesting things to talk about that can get you out of the smalltalk trap, read a lot of psychology. It's something everyone can relate to, everyone is interested in, everyone can learn something from (making you a value provider). Here are two good ones to start with, and don't forget /r/psychology and related subreddits.

http://www.amazon.com/50-Psychology-Classics-Insight-Inspiration/dp/1857883861/ref=sr_1_1

http://www.amazon.com/Great-Myths-Popular-Psychology-Misconceptions/dp/1405131128/ref=sr_1_2

Thanks, Sounds very interesting; I definitely need to check it out.

To reciprocate, you might find the following two books relevant;

• The Doubter's Companion: A Dictionary of Aggressive Common Sense
  
  
• Propaganda: The Formation of Men's Attitudes
  

There's a great book called How to Write a Lot: A Practical Guide to Productive Academic Writing, which I found to be immensely helpful while working on my thesis.

It's geared towards academics, but much of the advice and strategies in the book can be applied to any kind of writing.

Hope that helps.

Check out the Harvard Study of Adult Development. Best popularised in Vaillant, "Aging Well" . http://www.amazon.com/Aging-Well-Surprising-Guideposts-Development/dp/0316090077/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1453845116&sr=8-1&keywords=aging+well+valliant
Significant truths about the importance of male bounding throughout the lifespan and its effect on longevity. However, as many posters have noted, it gets harder post red pill. I too have found the gym a good place to strike up conversation between reps, but I listen for the hints of red pill awareness before proceeding.

Texts and Reference Books

Days in the Lives of Social Workers

DSM-5

Child Development, Third Edition: A Practitioner's Guide

Racial and Ethnic Groups

Social Work Documentation: A Guide to Strengthening Your Case Recording

Cognitive Behavior Therapy: Basics and Beyond

[Thoughts and Feelings: Taking Control of Your Moods and Your Life]
(https://www.amazon.com/Thoughts-Feelings-Harbinger-Self-Help-Workbook/dp/1608822087/ref=pd_sim_14_3?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=3ZW7PRW5TK2PB0MDR9R3)

Interpersonal Process in Therapy: An Integrative Model

[The Clinical Assessment Workbook: Balancing Strengths and Differential Diagnosis]
(https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0534578438/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_38?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ARCO1HGQTQFT8)

Helping Abused and Traumatized Children

Essential Research Methods for Social Work

Navigating Human Service Organizations

Privilege: A Reader

Play Therapy with Children in Crisis

The Color of Hope: People of Color Mental Health Narratives

The School Counseling and School Social Work Treatment Planner

Streets of Hope : The Fall and Rise of an Urban Neighborhood

Deviant Behavior

Social Work with Older Adults

The Aging Networks: A Guide to Programs and Services

[Grief and Bereavement in Contemporary Society: Bridging Research and Practice]
(https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0415884810/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1)

Theory and Practice of Group Psychotherapy

Motivational Interviewing: Helping People Change

Ethnicity and Family Therapy

Human Behavior in the Social Environment: Perspectives on Development and the Life Course

The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work

Generalist Social Work Practice: An Empowering Approach

Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association

The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook

DBT Skills Manual for Adolescents

DBT Skills Manual

DBT Skills Training Handouts and Worksheets

Social Welfare: A History of the American Response to Need

Novels

[A People’s History of the United States]
(https://www.amazon.com/Peoples-History-United-States/dp/0062397346/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1511070674&sr=1-1&keywords=howard+zinn&dpID=51pps1C9%252BGL&preST=_SY291_BO1,204,203,200_QL40_&dpSrc=srch)


The Man Who Mistook His Wife For a Hat

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

Life For Me Ain't Been No Crystal Stair

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Tuesdays with Morrie

The Death Class <- This one is based off of a course I took at my undergrad university

The Quiet Room

Girl, Interrupted

I Never Promised You a Rose Garden

Flowers for Algernon

Of Mice and Men

A Child Called It

Go Ask Alice

Under the Udala Trees

Prozac Nation

It's Kind of a Funny Story

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

The Yellow Wallpaper

The Bell Jar

The Outsiders

To Kill a Mockingbird

Sorry, I just can't be arsed to write an essay in a language not native to me ;)

Start with understanding that your picture of other countries' cultures, including, and maybe especially, China's, is formed predominantly by propaganda (I mean media) of your single language. Luckily there's an English translation of a great book:

"Propaganda: The Formation of Men's Attitudes" https://www.amazon.com/dp/0394718747. Maybe read it. It's a bit longer than 6 paragraphs, though.

Leaning other languages is how one expands their monolithic point of view of cultures, so that it becomes a horizon. Actually I'm starting to wonder if the google translate version of, say, a ZH Wikipedia's article on China and USA is a useable source. If not ZH, try RU and, I don't know, FR.

In my research (with data) I believe you can write at least 3 paragraphs when starting any project.

1. Introduction - what has been done (ish - then do a lit review) and what problem are you trying to solve
   
2. Data - this is the data we're using
   
3. Discussion - why should I care even if you succeeded in your results section in getting good results?
   
   These will change (maybe not data), but they at least get you started and writing. Highly recommend the book "How to Write a Lot" (https://www.amazon.com/How-Write-Lot-Practical-Productive/dp/1591477433)

• Here is a blog post by Richard Carrier on naturalism and nihilism.
  
• FREE: Keith Augustine - Death and the Meaning of Life
  
• FREE: James Still - Death is not an event in life
  
• Bertrand Russell - The Conquest of Happiness
  
• FREE: Albert Camus - The Myth of Sisyphus
  
• Mortalism: Readings on the Meaning of Life
  
  Getting lazy now:
  
  
• <http://www.amazon.com/dp/155369175X/>
  
• <http://www.amazon.com/dp/1591297699/>
  
• <http://www.amazon.com/dp/0316090077/>
  
• <http://www.amazon.com/dp/1573929875/>
  
  Are you comfortable talking about this in r/Christianity? I think I may have overstepped the bounds of the reddits policy. It definitely seems that I am promoting a non-Christian agenda. It also feels like we may be doing the whole argument clinic thing.
  
  Essentially I disagree that because we don't live forever or aren't remembered forever that life is then pointless and has no meaning.
  
  I have thoroughly enjoyed expressing my ideas to you and reading your thoughts. I think your questions are very good ones, but evidently I think there is more to it than your conclusions.
  
  Thanks heaps for letting me talk, I don't often get the chance to have this kind of conversation with a Christian and it is refreshing.

You should buy this, it will be the best $50 you ever spend and you'll learn a lot about yourself, pay special attention to the section about delusional behaviour.
https://www.amazon.com.au/Diagnostic-Statistical-Manual-Mental-Disorders/dp/089042554X/ref=asc_df_089042554X/?tag=googleshopmob-22&linkCode=df0&hvadid=341772513967&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=12542928405666733448&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9069115&hvtargid=pla-404294404966&psc=1

Exactly. Exactly. I read Ellul and found that to be a pretty effective inoculation against modern global media.

The advice about scheduling writing time is good. The book "How to write a lot" goes through several "myths" of non-productivity and suggests setting a schedule and sticking to it will help you overcome these difficulties. I wish I had read through this short work earlier: http://www.amazon.com/How-Write-Lot-Practical-Productive/dp/1591477433/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1334677315&sr=8-1

I call shenanigans on Companion Encyclopedia of Psychology. I have those. It's a two volume set, paperback. It was like $50 max for both of them. I know they were less than $50 because if they cost more, I wouldn't have bought them. I surely wouldn't have bought a $600 set of books.

EDIT: Found it on Amazon. $41

Wasn't around when you two had your original conversation, but based on the quote he's absolutely right. FOX "News" doesn't "report" anything, they spin everything. They are not a news organization at all, they are a propaganda operation.

It's a popular misunderstanding that propaganda is synonymous with "lies" and therefore if some of an outlet's "reports" contain some actual news or facts, they cannot be propagandists. This is incorrect. Propaganda is, in fact, always built on a foundation of actual information. Always has been.

If it's a topic you have genuine interest in, I recommend you start here - http://www.amazon.com/Propaganda-The-Formation-Mens-Attitudes/dp/0394718747/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1346383135&sr=8-2&keywords=ellul

Actually I think Chomsky is overrated. His biggest contribution (aside from his linguistics work which I can't critique) was his collaboration on "Manufacturing Consent" but most of that was already covered by people like Jacques Ellul and Lippman and Bernays. http://www.amazon.com/Propaganda-The-Formation-Mens-Attitudes/dp/0394718747 (Jacques called the manufacture of consent, "the falsification of majorities")

Tell me, is it "liberal" of me to say that our govt should not lie to us to go around gassing other people?

I have not read, but have heard good things about Aronson's Social Animal from academics and "laypeople."

My social psych class used Brehm, Kassin, and Fein's text. It is a solid no-frills textbook that doesn't require previous knowledge of psychology.

I highly recommend 50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology by Scott Lilienfeld.

I know many colleagues who use this text in their Psych 101 classes. It is written for a lay audience but still manages to cover a lot of ground and incorporate a ton of research.

Nathaniel Branden delivered a treatise in lecture form called The Basic Principles of Objectivism. It has now been transcribed to book form as The Vision of Ayn Rand. Both are quite good.

Lectures: https://thecultureofreasoncenter.com/the-basic-principles-of-objectivism.html

Kindle edition for the book: https://www.amazon.com/Vision-Ayn-Rand-Principles-Objectivism-ebook/dp/B00LV0FX2S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1502550110&sr=8-1&keywords=the+vision+of+ayn+rand

they must have updated it because it was out 30 years ago. hmmm about the same size and weight as the DSM, also updated. The Yam book is not exactly specific to recording. Much of it is PA- live sound, yah? Probably be better off reading the Ableton manual (?) - unless you want to know how to do room coverage and aim line arrays.

Brain soap

A copy of the DSM 5 (if they don't already have it)

Freudian slip sticky notes

A famous/important psychology book like one of these

Psychology Today magazine subscription

American Psychological Association membership

Nearly all PhD students face this as they come to the final years of their degrees. Coursework, reading groups, and teaching are often (sometimes artificial) ways to give structure to your life and allow you to escape the reality of confronting the hard work that needs to be done on your dissertation. Realizing that you're totally alone to structure your time and organize your research can be daunting.

When it comes to difficult knowledge work, don't feel too bad and realize that you will go through spurts. Many people only get a few (2-4) hours of genuine writing done a day: this isn't something you can crank out for eight hours a day continually for a few months like experiments or coding.

I read a book "how to write a lot," and found it helpful in accomplishing this:
http://www.amazon.com/How-Write-Lot-Practical-Productive/dp/1591477433

I would love to have the latest DSM -5 but it's out of my price range. http://www.amazon.com/Diagnostic-Statistical-Manual-Disorders-Edition/dp/0890425558/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=KRZ1Q5XAEPJU&coliid=I4A6VJ4057AWK

Any specific area of psychology?

I think this is a must for young people expressing interest in the field. Scott Lilienfeld is hands-down one of the most well-respected researchers in psychology, often seen as the arbiter of controversial issues and adequately dissecting the literature to present the most informed point of view.

This, exactly.

It is propaganda. Propaganda is an extremely powerful thing, and it comes in many forms.

Anyone looking to further educate themselves on the topic would do well to read this:

http://www.amazon.com/Propaganda-The-Formation-Mens-Attitudes/dp/0394718747

The biggest take-away point that you need to stress is that psychology is a science. Regardless of what material you choose to cover, your students need to get past the typical newcomer mistake of thinking about psychology as hugs and intuition.

Given that you can't reasonably survey the field in 3-4 weeks, maybe just tackle big misconceptions. You might find this book helpful for thinking about myths to tackle as you move across subdisciplines in the field (e.g., clinical, cognitive, social, etc.)

In truth there is no single bright border line. But many psychologists use checklists of diagnostic criteria in books like The DSM. This makes it possible to categorize people with at least some consistency.

If a patient meets, for example, at least 5 of 7 listed criteria for a specific listed disorder, they are considered to have that disorder.

One of my characters is similar to yours - a scholar of the Red Knight and a genius battle tactician. I carry around this copy of The Art of War to pull quotes from as necessary. It's a very small and light book so it fits easily in your bag.

How to write a lot

It is a thin book though: https://www.amazon.de/How-Write-Lot-Practical-Productive/dp/1591477433

Jacques Ellul's Propaganda: The Formation of Men's Attitudes deserves to be mentioned.

https://www.amazon.com/Diagnostic-Statistical-Manual-Mental-Disorders/dp/0890425558

https://www.amazon.com/Diagnostic-Statistical-Manual-Mental-Disorders/dp/0890425558

This one.

It's literally 5th century Chinese thinking, nothing new.

https://www.amazon.com/Art-War-Sun-Tzu/dp/0981162614

Real talk:
How to Write A Lot

How to write a lot. Ironically, the book is quite short!

How to Write A Lot
https://www.amazon.com/How-Write-Lot-Practical-Productive/dp/1591477433

It helped for academic writing in grad school, but many of the lessons carry over: How to Write a Lot. https://www.amazon.com/How-Write-Lot-Practical-Productive/dp/1591477433

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0890425558/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1487738831&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=dsm+5

Scroll all the way down to 'new and used'. Click, then click 'new'. All kinds of options starting in the 25 dollar range.

https://www.amazon.com/Propaganda-Formation-Attitudes-Jacques-Ellul/dp/0394718747/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1497972931&sr=8-3&keywords=propaganda

Check out this book http://www.amazon.com/How-Write-Lot-Practical-Productive/dp/1591477433

Multiple exemplars of why we need studies to show things you think are obvious (although, again, you would have find the opposite effect also obvious) in this book: http://www.amazon.com/Great-Myths-Popular-Psychology-Misconceptions/dp/1405131128

Sorry - the DSM is purple.
Link

I found 50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology to be kinda stunningly humbling. I knew that "we only use 10 percent of our brain" was false, and that not all people who confess to guilt are actually guilty, or that dream analysis is mostly bunk. I didn't know, however, that electro-shock therapy can actually be helpful, or that the instance of repression of traumatic memories has been greatly exaggerated, or that the Kubler-Ross stages of death are far from universal.

It did make me feel better, slightly, that psychology students are often no better at parsing psychology myth from fact.

Tell me more about this book. Is it the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders written by the American Psychiatric Association? If so, a lot of people would have their guns taken away for no good reason. For one example, I can't think of any good reason to take someone's gun that has an eating disorder. I think that u/lowdiver asks a valid question.

I think everyone in academia could find useful tools in this book. Not to sound like a late night infomercial but I went from low productivity to publishing way more than my colleagues using some of the principles covered here. It's essentially just CBT for writing. How to Write A Lot

This is a very complicated question and IMO we can't possibly begin to make a valid sweeping generalization in this regard due to, among other things, the myriad religions and religious practices of the world and the plethora of psychiatric and cognitive pathologies, many of which we are still studying, that afflict a person. With that being said, my shot-in-the-dark guess, with no data to support it, is that no, religious belief or practice does not always associate with a mental disorder. Humans are naturally inquisitive creatures and are very observant. There is so much of the world that the large majority of us observe but cannot, for whatever reason, understand. Religion can be a tool utilized to fill those gaps in knowledge. Whether or not you agree with its efficacy in this manner is another discussion.

I would imagine that is very frustrating, and I am sorry I contributed to that frustration.

It's just that I, myself, deal with my own mental health issues and have been combating it for years---Pure O OCD, PTSD, severe Major Depressive Disorder, General Anxiety Disorder, and a Nonspecific Personality Disorder, according to my last in-patient stay at a unit, and it's taken me out of college, out of work, out of my apartment, out from nearly all my relationships---and so when I see a comment such as yours (which truth be told is confusingly put so as to be misconstrued as a complete dismissal of Mental Health and Illness as a legitimate problem or concept) I take it personally---just another person judging me by what they do not understand.

I've seen Schizophrenics, laughing hysterically into a pillow and then attacking a fellow schizophrenic 90 year old black man for calling him a 'Racist ass Smurf', Mania, addicts of all sorts, PTSD episodes----the man bashing doors screaming, punching walls, resulting in the unit being shut down, everyone in their rooms, and that person having to be subdued. He was fine the next morning---calm, collected---although, his knuckles and forehead were fresh with thick and long scabs. He was an ex-gangster, coming to terms with the crimes he had to commit.

The previous night he 'experienced' murder.

I also research and write about Mental Health and Illness since it impacts me so. And I understand you have your own take, and studied it in undergrad 25 years ago, but believe me, what was taught a quarter century ago is vastly different than what is taught now.

This Amazon link is for the current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders V-- the 5th edition, published in 2013. I highly recommend for you (if you haven't already) go buy it or check it out at a library or find a pdf of it somewhere (or excerpts of it) and see how disparate the 25 year old, 1994, DSM IV (and the DSM IV-TR update from 2000) is from our current understanding of Mental Health and Illness in the 2013 DSM V.

And even then, that one is 6 years old and is in need of an update.

Anywho, if I may offer an alternative to your approach at giving your takes on Mental Health (or really any subject, really): do not presume an authority over the subject matter but instead present it as your own personal take while allowing the room and welcoming the possibilities of further understanding the subject from its responses; since, just like you say, 'You don't who I am. I could know nothing, or be sharing a really different and valuable perspective', so in that line of thinking, it's reasonable to assume you don't know them either and you might learn something too.

This is really sad. Never expected reactions like this. So this you people make of someone who's taking evening classes in college, while working a full time job, to help other people resolve their problems for a living. Why drives you people to make these things up? You've never even heard of of the DSM, you clearly have no idea. There is not a single case study of a person who has been depressed all of his or her life. How can you be so dumb to think someone could live that long? Words and meanings can be so difficult.

There are many people however who go in and out of depressions, it always goes away. If you ever feel safe enough to go talk to a psychologist or psychiatrist, it will be one of the first things they tell you. It is supposed to comfort you in the knowledge that it will pass. The work you do is to ensure you don't fall back in that hole. Luckily they don't make this stuff up, it's based on empirical research and NOT your imaginations or your personal, misinterpreted experiences.

Even daddy Google could teach you these basics, really sad to read such pettiness. For your convenience, here's a link to the latest edition of the DSM. Though I'm afraid it does fall out of the price range of the average teenager. And the words will be difficult and meaningful. https://www.amazon.com/Diagnostic-Statistical-Manual-Mental-Disorders/dp/0890425558

MRIs show the brains of trans people being vastly more similar to those of the gender they identify with. Gender dysphoria is a recognized disorder where a person's assigned sex doesn't match up with the gender they identify with. The largest psychiatric organization in the world, the APA (I shouldn't have to say this, but the combined knowledge, study, and experience of thousands of psychiatrists world wide just might surpass the cursory research you've done on the internet), states that Gender Dysphoria is not in itself a mental disorder or mental illness.

The standard treatment recognized by the aforementioned APA is... (wait for it) Sex reassignment therapy and surgery! This treatment has an 80% rate of improving the severeness of gender dysphoria, and consistently increases quality of life at very much statistically significant rates.

All this information can be found in the Universal authority for psychiatric diagnoses, the DSM-5, which is available on amazon, used, for $35! What an incredible value! Actual, real knowledge in the area of which you speak, just for thirty five bucks? Of course, buying new helps support more, real research, but even so, sounds like a hell of a deal to me.

All of this is completely besides the point that it really just does not fucking matter what people want to be recognized as and called. It makes practically no difference on your quality of life, but you have the opportunity to just be fucking nice to someone. I'm going to take a wild guess and say you aren't a professional athlete on any level whatsoever, and that even this transwoman in this shitty article makes no difference to you. Maybe cut her some slack, yeah?

Let's even continue with your metaphor: you seem to think that human beings are comparable to motorcycles, but I just sorta think humans are just people. Because of your mindset, can I buy you for money and ride you 3 seasons out of the year (assuming I have the right jacket and gloves and shit)?

> Could be a loud speaker array training/annoying unsuspecting "terrorists" to commit acts of violence.

No. That's paranoid delusion talk. It won't work for two reasons:

1. Subliminal messages don't work: https://www.amazon.com/Great-Myths-Popular-Psychology-Misconceptions/dp/1405131128
   
   
2. We've been making annoy-o-trons for decades. If a person can hear them, not only will a friend confirm they exist, but they will find them:
   https://www.thinkgeek.com/product/ihvg/#tabs

Well, nearly all forensic track programs are tracks in clinical programs. As I said, I guess some might be out of school or counseling psych, but that seems rarer.

(You're saying 'combine' which makes me think there might be a misunderstanding. Forensic psychology as a practitioner profession is always a subfield of clinical, counseling, or school psych. Other research psychologists might study criminals. And other fields may have forensic doctorates. But the only way to be a practicing forensic psychologist is to get a clinical/counseling/school degree with a forensic track.)

When you say you're having trouble finding programs, I'm not sure where you're looking. I typed "clinical forensic phd" into google and a bunch popped up. No idea if they're any good, but plenty exist.

If you're really motivated to go to graduate school for a doctorate, you need to look at the full list of APA-accredited doctoral programs and find out which ones offer the tracks you want. You can find this on their websites or you can shell out for a copy of the APA Graduate School Directory. Make a spreadsheet with all of your options and go from there.

My rule of thumb is that if something becomes a movement, it is controlled opposition. I like to call it "dissension by design". There are a couple good books on the subject I would recommend, they're not necessarily about "controlled opposition" per say, but cover the topic of propaganda and how it shapes the world view and how groups are isolated to have propaganda foisted upon them to create "movements" etc.

First one is "Propaganda: The Formation of Men's Attitudes" by Jacques Ellul

http://www.amazon.com/Propaganda-The-Formation-Mens-Attitudes/dp/0394718747 Worth buying, IMO, get it used its cheap as hell. Read the reviews, they can sum it up well.

The other is "Foundations: Their Power and Influence" by Rene Wormser. This goes into how the big tax-exempt foundations(like Rockefeller, Carnegie, Ford, etc) were funding all of the communist propaganda aimed at academia and schools, this was written before the effects of these things really took hold in the 60s and 70s, which led to the situation we have today of mindless Bernie Sanders supporters wanting "socialism" and state control of everything.

http://www.amazon.com/Foundations-Influence-Rene-A-Wormser/dp/0925591289

This one isn't cheap, its rarer, I own it, but someone did put it up on scribd:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/129462864/Foundations-Their-Power-and-Influence-by-Rene-A-Wormser#scribd

Okay, there can be a lot of misinformation around clinical diagnoses of mental illnesses, so I'm gonna try to clear up a few things.

First off, sociopathy and psychopathy aren't actually psychiatric terms. They are more colloquial words traditionally associated with antisocial personality disorder (ASPD).

Now, personality disorders are very hard to diagnose, because there are just so many categories, but these categories aren't always all that different. A psychiatrist can choose to diagnose someone with ASPD, with avoidant personality disorder, with narcissistic personality disorder, with borderline personality disorder, or with schizotypal personality disorder. And though the DSM-5 has fairly specific characteristics for each disorder, an actual real patient might display characteristics of two or more of those disorders. And if that wasn't enough, the DSM-5 now offers Personality Disorder NOS (not otherwise specified) as a category, for when diagnosing someone with a specific disorder is just so difficult.

Now that we got out of the way, let's look at ASPD specifically, shall we? There are several criteria that should be met to diagnose ASPD.

First, significant impairments in personality functioning manifest by (skewed identity OR skewed self-direction) AND (lack of empathy OR lack of intimacy).

Second, pathological personality traits in the following domains: manipulativeness, deceitfulness, callousness, hostility, irresponsibility, impulsivity, and risk taking.

Third, the impairments in personality functioning and personality trait expression should be relatively stable across time and consistent across different situations.

Fourth the impairments in personality functioning and the individual's personality trait expression are not better understood as normative for the individual's development stage or socio-cultural environment.

Fifth, the impairments in personality functioning and the individual‟s
personality trait expression are not solely due to the direct
physiological effects of a substance (e.g., a drug of abuse,
medication) or a general medical condition (e.g., severe head
trauma).

And finally, the individual should be at least 18 years old.

So there you have it. That's ASPD.

Main source

Secondary source

Best source

TL;DR: armchair diagnoses based on a single behavior are useless.