Posts in category: Dating Tips, Guide and Advice

Being committed refers to the process of placing someone in an inpatient setting such as a hospital psychiatric unit or a mental hospital. Can you be committed to a psychiatric ward at a medical hospital or a mental hospital against your will? What if you are feeling suicidal?

The short answer is that you can be committed against your will if you meet the criteria set forth by the state in which you live, and every state has civil commitment standards. Here’s what you should know about both short-term emergency detention and long-term mental health commitment.

General, Short-Term Commitment

The process for commitment varies from state to state. Additionally, each state has procedures in place that prevent you from being detained without just cause, such as requirements for medical certification or judicial approval.

There are also time limits on how long you can be held against your will. Who can initiate the process of having you committed varies from state to state as well and depends on the type of commitment being sought.

Can You Commit Someone If They Are Suicidal?

Suicidal thoughts and feelings, along with the belief that the person is in immediate danger of hurting themselves, would fall under the umbrella of reasons for a short-term commitment or involuntary hospitalization for depression. Other criteria include whether the person can take care of themselves and whether they need treatment for their mental illness.

Some states do not require that a person be in danger of hurting themselves or others, and involuntary hospitalization may still be considered if they are refusing needed treatment for mental illness. The definition of mental illness also varies from state to state.

Who Can Make the Request?

A short-term emergency detention, such as detention immediately following a suicide attempt, can generally be requested by anyone who has witnessed the situation that you are in, including friends, family, or the police. Even though almost anyone can initiate the process, most states do require either medical evaluation or court approval in order to ensure that you meet that particular state’s criteria.

The allowed duration of emergency detentions varies from state to state but is most often limited to 72 hours before a civil commitment proceeding must be initiated.

Can Someone Who Has Been Committed Refuse Treatment?

Commitment is often seen as a way to get someone mental help when they refuse. However, even if a person has been committed through emergency detention, they will not be forced to undergo treatment for their mental illness.

The exception is treatments that are required on an emergency basis and are designed to calm a person or stabilize a medical condition. This does not include medications to specifically treat mental illness, such as administering antidepressants.

How to Get Someone Mental Help When They Refuse

If someone you know needs mental help but refuses, there are strategies that you can use to encourage them to seek treatment. They include:

Building a relationship of trust and support means the other person may be more likely to take your advice. Start small by offering to help them research treatment options and drive them to appointments.

Can You Commit Someone for Long-Term Treatment?

Commitments for longer periods of time generally have more stringent requirements than emergency detention. But, again, there are time limits that cannot be extended without the proper procedures being followed.

The maximum length of a long-term commitment is six to 12 months, depending on the state, after which a reassessment must be made before the commitment is extended.

Hospitalization for Depression

When talking about “commitment,” it might sound like a prison sentence. But in actuality, when commitment is considered, the goal is to help a person, not punish or restrict their rights as a human being.

Talk of commitment usually demonstrates compassion and consideration for the safety and well-being of the person in need of help. Certainly, this is not always the case, and this is where the involvement of a medical professional or judicial approval is important.

Severe depression is, unfortunately, far too common. And for some, being hospitalized for depression may be the best step in getting help before making decisions they could later regret. While in the hospital, a person who is depressed will have the opportunity to meet with a psychiatrist, psychologist, or social worker and participate in individual therapy and/or group therapy.

The field of psychology offers numerous career paths both traditional (i.e., clinical and counseling) and specialized (i.e., aviation, traffic, workplace, etc.). Look through this partial list of psychology careers to narrow down your options to those that interest you most. Some of these career options are purely psychology; others are less related but still rely on the knowledge and skills acquired while earning a psychology degree.

Psychology Jobs in Therapy and Research

Art Therapist

Art therapists utilize the expressive and creative arts to help clients cope with psychological distress and to enhance emotional well-being. People who work in this field are trained in both psychotherapy and art. By using art, clients can communicate feelings, express creativity, explore different aspects, of personality, and cope with stress.

Art therapy is often used in a variety of situations, including:

• Adults suffering from chronic or severe stress
• Children with disabilities
• People who have suffered brain injuries
• People who have witnessed or experienced a traumatic event

Clinical Psychologist

Clinical psychologists assess, diagnose, and treat clients struggling with psychological disorders. These professionals typically work in hospital settings, mental health clinics, or private practices.

Although clinical psychology is the single largest employment area within the field of psychology, there are still plenty of jobs available for qualified professionals. In order to become a clinical psychologist, you must have a doctoral-level degree in clinical psychology and most states require a minimum of a one-year internship.

Counselor

Counselors help people with a wide variety of problems, including marriage, family, emotional, and substance use issues. While requirements vary, almost all states require at least a master’s degree in order to become a licensed counselor. Typical work settings include schools, colleges and universities, hospitals, and mental health clinics.

Geropsychologist

As the population of older adults continues to grow, the demand for professionals to attend to their mental health needs also increases. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, by the year 2030, 21% of the population will be age 65 or older.

“Geropsychologists do everything from keeping older adults mentally and physically healthy and vibrant to working with those who are frail and have cognitive impairments,” explains Deborah DiGilio, director of APA’s Office on Aging. Geropsychologists can work in a wide range of areas, from providing mental health services to aging adults to designing products that make life easier for the elderly.

Experimental Psychologist

Do you love creating psychology experiments? Experimental psychologists use scientific methods and design research studies that explore many different topics within psychology. Social behavior, cognitive processes, personality, and human development are just a few of the topics that experimental psychologists might investigate.

People working in this field often specialize in a particular area such as cognitive psychology, educational psychology, or personality psychology. They may also be employed in a variety of settings ranging from universities, government agencies, research centers, and nonprofit organizations.

Applied Psychology Jobs

Consumer Psychologist

As retailers become more concerned with attracting new customers, the need for psychologists to understand consumer behavior in order to develop effective marketing campaigns has grown. Consumer psychologists not only study why people purchase goods and services, but they also analyze how family, friends, culture, and media messages affect buying behavior.

Some tasks that a consumer psychologist might perform include:

• Working with consumer focus groups to determine how appealing a particular product might be
• Developing advertising and marketing campaigns to appeal to a target audience
• Conducting theoretical research on shopping and buying behavior

Forensic or Criminal Psychologist

Forensic psychologists apply psychology to the fields of criminal investigation and law. This has rapidly become one of the hottest psychology careers thanks to numerous portrayals in popular movies, television programs, and books.

While the field may not be as glamorous as it is depicted in the media, forensic psychology is still an exciting career choice with a lot of potential for growth. These psychologists often work with other experts to scrutinize insurance claims, perform child custody evaluations, and investigate suspected child abuse.

If you are interested in this area of psychology, you might want to also consider the related field of criminal psychology. Criminal psychologists perform a variety of duties such as developing profiles of criminals, assessing convicted criminals to determine their risk of re-offending, and helping law enforcement catch online predators.

Engineering Psychologist

Engineering psychologists use psychology to investigate how people interact with machines and other technology. These professionals use their understanding of the human mind and behavior to help design and improve technology, consumer products, work settings, and living environments.

For example, an engineering psychologist might work as part of a team to redesign a product to make it more efficient and easier to use in a work situation. Those working in academic settings report the lowest earnings, while those working in the private sector report higher salaries.

Sports Psychologists

Sports psychologists focus on the psychological aspects of sports and athletics, including topics such as motivation, performance, and injury. The two major areas within sports psychology are centered on helping to improve athletic performance or using sports to improve mental and physical health.

Sports psychologists work in a wide variety of settings including universities, hospitals, athletic centers, private consulting practices, and research facilities.

Traffic Psychologist

Traffic psychology is an emerging field that involves applying psychological principles to understanding driver behavior. Some areas in this field include:

• Designing vehicles that are safer and more ergonomic
• Researching how people use transportation
• Searching for ways to improve traffic safety and prevent auto accidents
• Studying the relationship between driver behavior and traffic accidents

Traffic psychology often involves a multidisciplinary approach, combining fields such as social psychology, behavioral psychology, and cognitive psychology.

For example, traffic psychologists might assess how perception and cognition influence performance during a driving task. They might also look at how individual personality affects a driver’s emotions, attitudes, and risk-taking behavior while driving.

Psychology Jobs in the Workplace

Career Counselor

Thanks to the rapidly changing job market, many people are searching for a new job in their chosen field or even changing careers entirely. Career counselors help individuals make career decisions and utilize tools including personality assessments, interest inventories, and other evaluation measures.

They often start by looking at a client’s interests, job history, education, and skills in order to determine which careers are a good match. They also help clients work on building skills, practicing interviews, improving resumes, and locating job openings. Assisting clients who are dealing with job loss or employment-related stress is also common.

Aviation Psychologist

Aviation psychology is a relatively little-known subspecialty area of human factors psychologythat involves the study of pilots, air traffic controllers, and other flight crew members. People who work in this field perform a number of different duties, which may include:

• Assessing cabin safety
• Conducting research on aviation safety
• Designing flight decks
• Evaluating prospective employees
• Investigating aviation accidents
• Selecting and training pilots
• Training flight crews in communication strategies and ways to assist passengers with in-flight anxiety

Industrial-Organizational Psychologist

Industrial-organizational psychologists (also called I/O or I-O psychologists) focus on workplace behavior, often using psychological principles to increase worker productivity and select employees that are best suited for particular jobs. There are several different specialty areas within industrial-organizational psychology.

For example, some I/O psychologists train and assess employees, while others evaluate job candidates. While there are some job opportunities at the master’s degree level, those with a doctoral-level degree in industrial-organizational psychology are in greater demand and command significantly higher salaries.

One sub-specialty area of the field involves working in human resources management to screen and hire job applicants. These professionals are often involved in designing and administering employment screening tests and selecting job candidates that are the best fit for particular positions within a company.

Psychology Jobs in Healthcare

Genetic Counselor

Genetic counselors help provide information about genetic disorders to couples and families. These professionals typically have graduate training in both genetics and counseling, and many have undergraduate degrees in areas such as psychology, social work, biology, nursing, and public health.

Genetic counselors often work with a team of medical professionals, including doctors, nurses, and geneticists to offer support, guidance, and assistance to families who have a family member with a genetic disorder or who may be at risk of passing down an inherited disorder to their offspring.

Health Psychologist

Health psychologists study how psychological, biological, and social factors influence health. Two important areas of health psychology include helping people avoid illness and promoting healthy behaviors. Educating people about the causes of illness and teaching healthier habits are just two things that a health psychologist might do on a regular basis.

These professionals often work in settings such as hospitals, universities, health care centers, and government agencies. Some of the job duties they may perform include helping people to lose weight, stop smoking, eat healthily, and decrease stress.

Psychology Jobs in Education

School Psychologist

School psychologists work in educational settings to help children deal with emotional, academic, and social problems. Thanks to increased interest in the mental health of children and federal education legislation, school psychology has rapidly become one of the fastest-growing fields.

Special Education Teacher

While slightly outside of a traditional psychology career, the field of special education offers a great deal of opportunity for those who enjoy helping children. Special education teachers work with students with a variety of disabilities.

In order to become a special education teacher, you must have at least a bachelor’s degree and complete a teacher training program in special education. Because of the increased enrollments in special education programs and a shortage of qualified teachers, demand is strong and expected to grow.

More Career Options in Psychology

Did one of the careers highlighted above catch your eye? Or are you still looking for something that matches your interests and goals? The specific career you pursue will depend largely on your educational background. Some entry-level jobs are open to those with an undergraduate degree in psychology, while others require advanced or graduate-level study.

The following are just a few of the many psychology-related job titles that you might want to explore. Some are directly in the field of psychology, while others require additional training in another field or specialty area.

In either case, having a solid understanding of the human mind and behavior can be beneficial in any of these careers:

• Academic advisor
• Advanced practice psychiatric nurse
• Advertising agent
• Animal researcher
• Animal trainer
• Case worker
• Child psychologist
• Childcare worker
• Cognitive psychologist
• College admissions counselor
• College admissions officer
• College recruiter
• Community counselor
• Comparative psychologist
• Correctional treatment specialist
• Counseling psychologist
• Criminal investigator
• Crisis counselor
• Customer service agent
• Developmental psychologist
• Editor
• Education administrator
• Educational psychologist
• Elementary school teacher
• Employment interviewer
• Employment recruiter
• Environmental psychologist
• Family and marriage therapist
• Financial aid counselor
• Grief counselor
• Human factors psychologist
• Human resources manager
• Human resources specialist
• Journalist
• Lawyer
• Library assistant
• Literary agent
• Market researcher
• Mental health coordinator
• Military psychologist
• Music therapist
• Neurologist
• Neuropsychologist
• Occupational therapist
• Physician
• Police officer
• Probation officer
• Psychiatric aide
• Psychiatric social worker
• Psychiatric technician
• Psychiatrist
• Psychosocial rehabilitation worker
• Public opinion surveyor
• Public relations specialist
• Recreational therapist
• Rehabilitation counselor
• Research assistant
• School counselor
• Science writer
• Secondary school teacher
• Social psychologist
• Social services specialist
• Social worker
• Statistician
• Substance abuse counselor
• Technical writer
• University psychology professor
• Vocational rehabilitation counselor
• Youth counselor

Before You Choose a Career in Psychology

As you can see, employment opportunities in psychology are diverse. Some careers require only a bachelor’s degree in psychology, while others require more advanced degrees such as a master’s or doctorate degree.

Spend some time researching different options and learning more about what’s required to enter into those fields. Ask yourself if you have the commitment and drive needed to pursue the necessary educational training.

As you examine the variety of psychology careers that are available, think about some of the following questions.

• How well does the career fit your personality?
• What kind of training and education are needed to enter the field?
• Are the average salaries in a given field satisfactory?
• What kinds of things do people in that particular career path do on a daily basis?
• Does the career sound interesting, challenging, and rewarding?

Finding the right career in psychology takes some careful planning. It is important to start thinking about what you might want to do early on. This way you can start planning your educational map in order to achieve your vocational goals.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental condition characterized by hyperactivity, impulsivity, and inattention. Because of these ADHD symptoms, adults and children with this disorder are often labeled as unmotivated, lazy, or apathetic—negative labels that are unfair and hurtful.

Immobility, sluggishness, or “ADHD paralysis” that can occur in people with ADHD are often reflective of executive function impairments. Understanding these impairments is important to correcting common misperceptions that exist and involves learning how ADHD can affect motivation, as well as how this can often be wrongly interpreted.

How ADHD Impacts Motivation

Executive function deficits in ADHD can affect a person’s ability to begin, organize, and sustain effort on a task or project. They may want to get started but are unable to make forward progress in any manner, which can impact their motivational levels.

These differences in executive function can result in negative reactions from others. People around them may become confused or frustrated by inconsistencies in the person with ADHD, particularly when they perform well when a task is stimulating, interesting, or novel but do not perform as well when the task is tedious or repetitive.

ADHD Paralysis

While people with ADHD are often good at making quick decisions, they may struggle when working on tasks that require organizing information. They sometimes feel bogged down with large amounts of data, which can be overwhelming and result in ADHD paralysis.

This paralysis can make it seem impossible to figure out how and where to begin. And even if they are able to begin a task, a person with ADHD may have difficulty staying alert and persisting in this effort. They may know what they need to do to get things completed but, as hard as they try, they just can’t.

Boredom and Motivation

Boredom can create issues for children and adults with ADHD. Maintaining focus on a boring task may seem out of the question as their attention wanders to more interesting activities and thoughts.

After repeated frustrations, the child or adult with ADHD can begin to feel less motivated. They might find it difficult to get excited and hopeful about something, only to crash down again and again.

Do I Have ADHD or Am I Lazy?

If you have trouble concentrating or finding the energy to get things done, you might wonder if it could be due to ADHD or something else. You may even begin to question if laziness plays a factor in how you feel. If this is a concern for you, a good next step is to talk to your healthcare provider or a mental health professional.

While ADHD is typically diagnosed in childhood—often between the ages of 4 and 7, depending on condition severity—it isn’t always. Getting diagnosed with ADHD in adulthood does occur, even if it is outside of the norm.

Diagnosis can also vary based on sex. Males with ADHD tend to be more hyperactive and impulsive and, since these symptoms are more disruptive, are diagnosed more frequently. ADHD in females, however, tends to be marked more by inattention, a less obvious symptom that results in the condition being missed.

ADHD Symptoms Are Often Misunderstood

Because people who have ADHD can struggle with staying focused and completing tasks, others often incorrectly label the behavior as laziness. Unfortunately, people with this condition sometimes internalize these labels, particularly if they have not been accurately diagnosed.

Labeling people with ADHD as “lazy” contributes to mental health stigma. It’s important to recognize that ADHD is a neurodevelopmental condition that is caused by factors such as genetics, brain abnormalities, and exposure to environmental risks. The symptoms of ADHD are not caused by laziness.

Other Factors That Affect Motivation

If you don’t have ADHD and are experiencing a lack of motivation, there may be other factors that are making it difficult for you to be focused and productive:

• Anxiety: If you are experiencing anxiety, you might feel restless and find it difficult to concentrate. This may mean that you also struggle to stay on task and get things done, which can make it hard to stay motivated.
• Boredom: A lack of motivation might also mean that you feel stuck in a rut or are bored with a particular task, whether because you’re not interested in it or find it tedious or repetitive.
• Depression: People with depression can experience lower levels of motivation due to impaired cognitive control. Several other depression symptoms also impact motivational levels, including loss of interest, difficulty remembering, and problems concentrating.

If you are having a difficult time staying motivated, it may be worth talking to a doctor or therapist for further evaluation and advice.

Importance of ADHD Treatment

It’s important to actively engage in treatment for ADHD if you’re having motivation issues or other ADHD symptoms. Connect with a medical professional who is experienced in treating ADHD, and openly and regularly communicate with them about your symptoms.

ADHD treatment depends a great deal on your symptoms and individual needs. In many cases, it may include medications and behavioral interventions:

How to Improve Motivation When You Have ADHD

Finding ways to manage symptoms of ADHD can help you feel more motivated and productive. The next time you are finding it difficult to get started or stay on task, try some of these ideas:

• Break down projects into smaller, more manageable chunks.
• Delegate certain tasks to others, if you can.
• Exercise or otherwise incorporate physical movement into your day.
• Reward yourself immediately for little steps taken towards reaching goals.
• Set smaller goals.
• Set aside a short, less overwhelming time period (for example, 10 or 15 minutes) to commit to working on the activity that has you feeling stuck.

Interventions focused on improving executive functioning can also be helpful for improving motivation and productivity. Reward charts, daily planners, and daily checklists are all strategies that can help children and adults with ADHD better plan, organize, and carry out tasks.

Uninvolved parenting, sometimes referred to as neglectful parenting, is a style characterized by a lack of responsiveness to a child’s needs. Uninvolved parents make few to no demands on their children, and they are often indifferent, dismissive, or even completely neglectful.

This style stems from the work of developmental psychologist Diana Baumrind. During the 1960s, she described three parenting styles based on her research with preschool-age children: authoritarian, authoritative, and permissive. In later years, researchers added uninvolved parenting.

Uninvolved parenting often flies under the radar compared to other styles because it involves fewer overt behaviors than styles like authoritarian or helicopter parenting. However, that doesn’t mean that uninvolved parenting is any less harmful. The minimal involvement and emotional detachment characteristic of this style can seriously affect a child’s self-esteem, social functioning, academic success, and ability to form healthy relationships in the future.

Characteristics of Uninvolved Parenting

Baumrind characterized her parenting styles in terms of two key dimensions: parental responsiveness and parental demandingness. People with an uninvolved parenting style are low on both of these dimensions.

They do not respond well to the needs of their children and provide little affection, support, or love. They also make very few demands on their children. They rarely set rules and do not offer guidance or expectations for behavior.

Free-Range vs. Uninvolved Parents

It is important to note that uninvolved parenting is not the same as free-range parenting. Where uninvolved parents have no interest in their children’s lives, free-range parents are loving and attentive but give their kids plenty of freedom to experience the natural consequences of their actions.

Busy Parents

It is also important to note that just because a parent is busy with work or other obligations does not mean they are uninvolved. Intent and caring matter.

What’s Your Parenting Style?

This fast and free parenting styles quiz can help you analyze the methods you’re using to parent your kids and whether or not it may be a good idea to learn some new parenting behaviors:

This parenting style quiz was medically reviewed by Ivy Kwong, LMFT.

Examples of Uninvolved Parenting

Uninvolved parents have little emotional involvement with their kids. While they provide for basic needs like food and shelter, they are, for the most part, uninvolved in their children’s lives. The exact degree of involvement may vary considerably.

Some uninvolved parents may be relatively hands-off with their kids but may still have some basic limits, such as curfews. Others may be downright neglectful or even reject their children outright. Kids might be given the bare minimum they need for survival, such as shelter, nourishment, and clothing, yet little or nothing in the way of guidance or affection.

Causes of Uninvolved Parenting

It is important to note that uninvolved parenting is often not intentional. It may arise for a number of different reasons, including things like parental experience and stress.

Parents who exhibit an uninvolved parenting style were often raised by uninvolved and dismissive parents. As adults, they may find themselves repeating the same patterns they were raised with. Other parents who display this style may simply be so caught up in their busy lives that they find it easier to take a hands-off approach to dealing with their children.

Effects of Uninvolved Parenting

Researchers associate parenting styles with a range of child outcomes in areas such as social skills and academic performance. The children of uninvolved parents generally perform poorly in nearly every area of life. These children tend to display deficits in cognition, attachment, emotional skills, and social skills.

Children raised by uninvolved parents may have difficulty forming attachments later in life due to a lack of emotional responsiveness and love from their caretakers.

The complete lack of boundaries in the home makes it difficult to learn appropriate behaviors and limits in school and other social situations, which is why children with uninvolved parents are more likely to misbehave.

Coping With an Uninvolved Parenting Style

The uninvolved parenting style can leave a lasting mark on kids, which you may continue to feel as an adult if you were raised by uninvolved parents. You may also fear repeating these patterns with your own children. There are things you can do to improve your parenting skills, such as:

• Learn more about parenting: Read books, websites, and articles devoted to childrearing to learn more about effective approaches that are beneficial for children.
• Take a parenting class: Parent training has been shown to help improve parental involvement. Check with local hospitals, schools, libraries, and community colleges to find parenting courses in your area.
• Consider therapy: Talking to a mental health professional can help you contextualize your own experiences and develop new skills that will help you build healthy bonds and boundaries with your kids.
• Get involved: Make an active effort to spend more time with your children. Listen to them and learn about their lives. Changing isn’t easy, and it may be more difficult if you are a busy, working parent. Focus on carving out whatever time you can to devote your undivided attention to your kids. 

If you recognize that you have been an uninvolved parent, you may find family therapy helpful. A therapist can help you identify strategies that will help form closer connections, deeper bonds, and better responsiveness within your family unit.

While you can’t change the past, there are also things you can do to help heal from being raised by uninvolved parents. Reparenting yourself, developing healthy attachments with other people in your life, and speaking to a mental health professional are all steps you can take that can foster the healing process.