Timothy Brown

PSY/480

March 19, 2018

Dr. Rina Wallace

Psychology can take on many forms in a variety of different specialties that each focus on a certain area of the field. Clinical psychology is one of many specialties in the field of psychology that focuses on treating individuals suffering from a variety of mental disorders like Post Traumatic Stress, depression, and other disorders. For this assignment I interviewed two individuals that work in the mental health field, each one specializing in a specific area with their own set of credentials and educational achievements. Dr. Schneider and Mrs. Shields both work in the mental health field treating patients that suffer from mental disorders. Dr. Schneider is a licensed clinical psychologist that works with the Veteran’s hospital and Mrs. Shields is a licensed therapist who works with Veterans at a Veterans Association center in Savannah, Georgia.

Differences and similarities

Both of the individuals interviewed work specifically with Veterans however they work in different settings and use a variety of methods to treat their patients. Dr. Schneider works for the Veterans hospital and Mrs. Shields works for a center that is separate from the hospital but still funded by the Veterans Association. Dr. Schneider focuses on helping Veterans with a wide selection of mental disorders that cover everything from depression, anxiety, PTSD, and many others. The most common disorder treated by Dr. Schneider is PTSD which has become increasingly more common among Veterans with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan continuing on for over ten years each. After working for the VA for over twelve years Dr. Schneider has PTSD manifest itself in patients and cause problems in the lives of countless Veterans. When approaching therapy or treatment Dr. Schneider uses a multitude of approaches that seem best fitted for the situation the patient is currently in and what they want to get out of the treatment. The different treatments range from immersion therapy to talk therapy and many others in between. Mrs. Shields, works with Veterans in a wide range of age groups, dealing primarily with PTSD but also working with couples counseling and other issues that might affect Veterans. Her primary approach is talk therapy, either in an individual or group settings, and she uses this method to help the Veterans try to get to the root of their issues. Each Veteran has different types of problems even if they are afflicted with the same disorder no two are the same. Due to the vast experiences that Veterans have come across in their tours of duty their treatment must be tailored to the individual to get the maximum affect. While both individuals treat Veterans there are a few differences in the way they approach their job and how they treat the patients they have under their care. For both individuals the ethical and legal issues they encountered were very similar with the biggest issue being the keeping of patients’ records and information confidential. The most challenging of the ethical and legal issues was the possibility of dual relationships due to the various Veterans functions held by the hospital and the center which brings the patients and clinicians together to interact in a non-clinical setting. Both individuals felt their job was very rewarding and that they enjoyed making a difference in someone’s life that was suffering and trying to move on from something that was tearing up their life. While both enjoyed their jobs the best piece of advice they said they gave was to be aware of what you were getting in to before you get into it because it isn’t for everyone.

Conclusion. Both individuals work in a difficult field doing the best they can to help people that have been through extremely traumatic experiences. While they have differing degrees of education and use a variety of techniques both individuals work in a field they feel very strongly about and have put in a lot of time in their respective jobs. The job of being a clinical psychologist or a mental health counselor are not easy vocations and definitely not for the faint of heart. These individuals hear heartbreaking stories of pain, anger, and extremely violent experiences that change lives forever yet still do their best to try to help the individuals under their care.