Posted by Kim on March 9, 2000, at 18:42:48
In reply to Re: Personality Inventory testing, posted by saint james on March 2, 2000, at 21:49:23
> > Hi All,
> >
> > I wanted to know if anyone here has taken the Minneapolis
> > multij-phasic personality inventory test
>
Hi Thomas,
I took the MMPIA2 (same test). I think the results aren't as important as what you/your support do with them. My therapist (with whom I have a good relationship) used the results to help see issues we need to work on. My pdoc (with whom I have never "clicked") used the results to assault me with various labels. Now I'm working with my therapist on the problem I've acquired of looking at my behavior in the context of those labels. As my therapist said, "You're still the same person you were before you took the test."I am glad I had a working relationship with my therapist before I took the test. That way he took the results in the context of what he already knew about me, instead of forming opinions based solely on the test. I will get to see how it works the other way around (which is more like what you're faced with) since I'm in the midst of changing pdocs. The new pdoc will likely see the test results before he sees me.
I picked up a book today on Barnes & Noble's sales rack, "They Say You're Crazy: How the World's Most Powerful Psychiatrists Decide Who's Normal," by Paula J. Caplan, Ph.D. Obviously I haven't read it yet--one of the more intriguing chapters is titled "Do Mental Health Professionals Think Anyone Is Normal?"
The initial "shock" of being labeled has worn off somewhat (after all, it's not tatooed on my forehead). All in all I'd say that the test was helpful.
Kim
poster:Kim
thread:25597
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000302/msgs/26514.html