Beyond Mind-Reading: The Reality of Being a Psychology Student

Oh, you’re a psychology student?? So, read my mind and tell me what I am thinking. You must not have any problems, right? Take my therapy, please. Just like ‘How are you feeling?’ is the most cliched question asked by therapists, there are many cliched questions they get asked as well. And the answers to those are just as different from the reality as ‘I’m fine’ is to your real feelings.  

If you're a psychology student, then I'm sure you know some of those questions we are talking about here. They are repetitive and annoying, and all you can do is smile and hope for people to move on. Not anymore. Send this article to all those people to address their misconceptions about psychology... If you're not from the field of psychology and reading this today, be ready to get your psychology student stereotypes shattered. This article will shed some light on what it really means to be a psychology student. 

1. Do we read minds? 

Firstly, the classic. Although the number of times this is asked is uncountable, it remains shocking each time. Unfortunately,  nobody can read anybody's mind. Not even psychologists.  Instead, we are taught to discover the patterns in your life stories that might not be visible to you. That would require you to talk to us, though. So, read your minds? Not really. But reading patterns in your behaviour? More likely. So the next time you meet a student or a psychologist, instead of jumping to this question, be curious and ask them about their field. They'd be happy to tell you about it. 

2. Do we use our notes to solve our problems? 

Oh, we wish! But if it were this simple to solve problems, everybody would pick up these ‘notes’ and know what to do. Those ‘mental health awareness quotes’ are just general tips. But humans are more complicated than that. There's no one textbook for solutions. Instead, psychology students also have their therapists, who have theirs and so on. We also need someone else to notice those patterns talked about earlier. But yes, we do use our notes for some quick tips and self-diagnosing all the time. 

3. Do we treat people who are “mental”? 

It is bizarre that “pagalon ka doctor” remains to be one of the first things that pops in people's minds even today. It doesn't just limit people's perception of psychology students but is also insensitive to people with mental illness. No, we don't treat ‘mental people’ as there are no mental people. They are all people struggling with difficulties in their lives. However, even then, that’s not all psychology students do. Other than clinical psychologists, there are many other career options for psychology students, such as career counsellors, school counsellors, HR managers, sports psychologists, professors, education psychologists, and many more. As long as there are people, there are psychologists in that field.  

4. How can we become a psychologist when we are… 

How will you become a psychologist when you are so sensitive? How will you become a psychologist when you get impatient and angry? Somehow, psychology is thought of as a switch to turn off all our humanness just because we know about humans. The reality is that instead, we embrace it all. We cry, get angry, and feel and have equal rights to express our emotions like everyone else. A mental health professional is a profession like many others. It requires training and knowledge of certain skills. And this training can be taken by anyone, regardless of how ‘human’ they are. 

5. Will we give you free therapy?

Do you also rely on your ‘therapist friend’ for advice? Are you also waiting for them to give you free therapy sessions? You must've at least joked about it, right? The trust that you put in us is valued. And yes, we can give you some tips here and there. But therapy is a no-judgment space, a place for everyone to feel safe. But how can we give you that objective space that you deserve when we have personal opinions about you? Or when you will be scared of ‘what I will think of you as a friend?’. This subjectivity and bias are unethical in a counselling relationship. So, stop waiting around for your friend to finish their degree and find a different therapist. 

Psychology has gained some popularity on social media in the last few years. However, actual mental health awareness is far from achieved. One of the first ways to build this awareness is to educate yourself right and check your knowledge about mental health professionals. Because, as this article has shown, most of it is just myths waiting to be debunked.