I am currently enrolled in an expensive graduate program at Antioch University, to get an MA in clinical psychology with a specialty in Trauma. I intend to become a psychotherapist specializing in survivors of trauma, such as child abuse, domestic violence, war, serious accidents or illness, secondary trauma (such as police, war reporters, even trauma therapists), and so forth.

This degree will enable me to help others, and have a satisfying career for myself. It may enable me to write books on the subject. While I am in school, I have been honing my skills and amusing you by diagnosing fictional characters.

If you would like to help support me in all or any of those endeavors, I have put up this "donate" button.

Crossposted to http://rachelmanija.dreamwidth.org/970225.html. Comment here or there.

Note: This is a list of all novels which fit the criteria listed in the second paragraph. It does not express opinions on the quality, authenticity, or positivity of the portrayals of the characters in the books. Please use your own judgment in deciding which books you wish to support.

The compilers of the list have not read all the books on it. Commentary is by Rachel Manija Brown and reflects her opinions on the books as literature. Title links go to Amazon.

These were the criteria used to compile the list: 1) The book must be science fiction or fantasy or otherwise not realism, and must have been published, either originally in reprint, as YA, 2) It must contain at least one major LGBTQ character who is clearly identified as such within the book itself. (Dumbledore doesn’t count), 3) Major is defined as having a POV and/or a storyline of their own and/or lots of page-time. 4) In most cases, it must be published by a mainstream or small-press publisher in the USA.

Books in which the protagonist is LGBTQ are marked with a star.

( Check out the list! )

Crossposted to http://rachelmanija.dreamwidth.org/1021169.html. Comment here or there.

1. Paper for Mindfulness-Based CBT class.

2. Paper for Life as Practice class.

3. Very complicated paper for Psychological Testing class, including analysis of multiple test forms and graph-drawing.

4. Presentation on Trauma-Based CBT.

Other Things I Have To Do Before All That Is Due:

1. All-Day CPR class.

2. Two tutoring sessions.

3. Four-hour block of on-call time with police - I am crossing my fingers they won't call, but I can't rely on having that time free.

4. Five and a half hours of classes.

Send cheer, encouragement, macaroons, book recs for when I'm done, a file baked in a cake, etc.

Crossposted to http://rachelmanija.dreamwidth.org/1042471.html. Comment here or there.

I'm writing a paper on PTSD and combat-related berserk states as depicted in pre-1650 sources and comparing it to the current understanding of both. Ideally, I will be able to reference substance/alcohol use and abuse in relation to this.

Can you recommend me some sources to check out? I am definitely going to be using Shakespeare's Henry V, Part I. I have already thought of Macbeth (possible PTSD), and The Iliad and The Mahabharata (berserk states). Nonfiction is also fine.

NOTE: No Civil War memoirs! I'm trying to find sources from before PTSD was really conceptualized as such, and it had been conceptualized as "soldier's heart" by then.

Crossposted to http://rachelmanija.dreamwidth.org/1042389.html. Comment here or there.

Antioch continues its tradition of registration fuck-ups. This time they varied the cause by putting a hold on my registration for lack of payment of fees. Needless to say, my fees had been paid in full. Amazingly, despite having to throw sequential fits at the registrar's and accounting offices, I still got all my classes.

Full classes

Group Therapy. Apparently in this you can choose to be a rotating group leader, a member of the group, or an observer. Haven't decided which I want to be; I'm torn between leader and group member.

Personality Theory II: Postmodern Theories. I gather that the professor teaching this is very experiential. I have heard some interesting descriptions of this class. Could be wonderful or bizarre or both.

Conflict Resolution, PTSD, and Self-Care Issues for Mental Health Professionals. Taught by Colonel Professor Jack Kempton, who taught my military PTSD class and is awesomesauce.

Frontiers in Integrative Depth Psychology. Totally unenlightening title conceals actual subject, which is generational and cultural trauma/dysfunction. (ie, your family was persecuted because they were Jews (cultural trauma) and your family tree is full of alcoholics (generational problems. What does that do to you? How do you deal with these larger-than-individual issues in therapy?)

1-2 Day Workshops

Assessment and Treatment of PTSD in Civilian Populations

Domestic Violence in Military Personnel and Military Couples/Families

Introduction to Jungian Sandtray. SO EXCITED.

No word yet on the traineeship. If I get it, I might have to rearrange my class schedule.

Also, I am totally exhausted and cannot wait for the break. The Japan trip was wonderful but not exactly relaxing. I have been working or going to school or spending the whole day doing school work an average of six days per week since January.

Crossposted to http://rachelmanija.dreamwidth.org/1042043.html. Comment here or there.

On the tiny island of Thisby, killer carnivorous water horses emerge from the ocean every fall to eat people and gallop along the beach. The inhabitants of the island capture some of the horses, train them all year, and then race them along the beach for a huge cash prize to the winner. Often at least one rider gets eaten during the race, or ridden into the water and drowned, for the water horses are killers, never fully tame, and always desperate to return to the sea.

I adore this premise. All else aside, it's not "my vampire/werewolf/zombie boyfriend" or "I kill demons/ghosts/robots" or "post-apocalyptic cannibalism/rape/vampirism" or "the government controls the color of your eyes/skin/shoelaces." So huge points for being different. I read this despite getting too bored to even finish Stiefvater's previous book which I tried, Ballad. The Scorpio Races is much better than that one. But, ultimately, it's more ambitious than successful.

It's told from two POVs. One is of a boy, Sean, who works for an eeeeeevil stable owner and has ridden the same water horse to victory five times over. Corr, the water horse, is the only thing Sean loves, since his father was eaten by a water horse during the races and his mother died. The other is Puck, a girl, who loves Thisby and is an orphan after her parents were drowned by water horses. Her brother decides to move to the mainland to find work. Desperate to keep him home, Puck decides to be the first girl ever to ride in the Scorpio Races.

This is very atmospheric, and I love the killer horses. But it's atmospheric in a vague, wifty way that detracts from rather than adds to the story. What country is Thisby in? When is the story set? Are there magical creatures everywhere else, or just in Thisby? There's not enough detail to tell. The supporting characters, apart from the two eeevil ones and the water horses, are also vague. Periodically someone would get eaten by a horse, and I'd always think, "Wait, who was that?"

While Sean is riding Corr, Puck decides to ride her own regular horse, Dove, because the water horses are too dangerous. No one has ever done this before, but there's no rule against it. I feel bad complaining about a plot point which wasn't the obvious way to go, but the obvious way (have Puck ride a deadly water horse) would have worked much better. Or even have Puck ride her own horse because her own horse is SO badass and special that she can stand up to the water horses.

The problem is, Puck's horse is not only a regular horse, but not even a super-special Black Stallion type horse. Just a fairly fast mare who is terrified of the water horses, which could easily kill her and very well might. It seems cruel for Puck to subject her horse to the races under those circumstances. Also, if a regular horse always had a chance of winning (since it's more obedient than the water horses) why aren't people riding regular horses in the Scorpio Races all the time?

This plot choice makes Puck look cowardly and selfish, introduces a plot hole, and deprives the reader of the fun of watching Puck struggle to master a deadly water horse. The last storyline is much of the reason why I wanted to read the book, and you never see it - Sean has already thoroughly tamed his own water horse. Normally I like "ordinary person squares off against the special people" stories, but in this case, that was less satisfying than the more standard plotline would have been.

Also, the race itself is a very small part of the book. Tons of build-up, very quick climax.

I did like aspects of the book, and it's certainly different. Some individual scenes are excellent. But for me, it was too much promise and not enough delivery.

The Scorpio Races

Crossposted to http://rachelmanija.dreamwidth.org/1041723.html. Comment here or there.

Can you all name me some comparatively recent (ie, less than 20 years old) YA urban fantasy (ie, not set in a fantasy world or post-apocalyptic world) in which the protagonist does NOT have any magical powers or attributes or devices (ie, no magic rings), does not develop any later, and is not a professional demon-hunter or anything like that?

I'm thinking of books like A Wrinkle in Time (but more modern) or Neverwhere (but for teenagers.) Also, ideally, more along the lines of Charles de Lint than "my vampire boyfriend."

The only ones I can think of offhand are Holly Black's Valiant: A Modern Faerie Tale, Flora Segunda: Being the Magickal Mishaps of a Girl of Spirit, Her Glass-Gazing Sidekick, Two Ominous Butlers (One Blue), a House with Eleven Thousand Rooms, and a Red Dog (Magic Carpet Books), Fire and Hemlock (borderline - Polly does have a power, of sorts; back in print!), and some of Charles de Lint's novels.

It's a little hard to write stories like that and not have the action be entirely driven by the magical characters, leaving the protagonist drifting passively in their wake. The characters with abilities are inherently going to be far more powerful. Tolkien used this type of plot very well, but even so, Frodo and Bilbo had the One Ring. I'm thinking of books in which someone like Sam is the protagonist.

Crossposted to http://rachelmanija.dreamwidth.org/1041557.html. Comment here or there.

I am desperately seeking an LA couple for a questionnaire for my psychological testing class!

I need to interview the couple in person and have them fill out a questionnaire. It should take about half an hour to forty minutes. I will buy you both lunch or coffee.

- Must be available before about 4:00 PM TODAY or TOMORROW.

- Must have been a couple for at least six months.

- Must be willing to let me know about your couplehood. No detailed questions about your sex life, but the questionnaire asks about stuff like how satisfied you are with your sex life, your time spent together, how you handle your finances, etc.

Crossposted to http://rachelmanija.dreamwidth.org/1041249.html. Comment here or there.

This book, which is supposedly about the ideal of selfless service, can be summed up as, "Hi, my name is Ram Dass and I'm a narcissist."

Compassion in Action: Setting Out on the Path of Service

Crossposted to http://rachelmanija.dreamwidth.org/1041066.html. Comment here or there.

A clear, well-written, informative, easy-reading book for the layperson on the history and current conceptions of autism, and what that means for people with autism. Grinker has an autistic daughter, and includes his own experiences with her to illuminate larger issues. He primarily writes about the US, but has two chapters with snapshots of the situation in South Korea and India.

I particularly liked the lengthy section in which he makes his case that autism is not increasing, but seems to be because we are more aware of it. I don't have time to lay out his detailed explanations of how he came to each of his conclusions, but the reasons for the perceived increase are as follows:

- It is only comparatively recently that autism, like many other mental and developmental disorders, has become understood as a unique phenomena rather than lumped in with every other disorder else as "mad" or "simple" or some such. That is, autism has always existed, but was not called "autism."

- Parents and researchers agitated for more awareness of autism. Once people became aware, they started noticing it more: laypeople recognized kids with autism, and doctors became able to diagnose it. Previously, the same kids would have been labeled mentally retarded or schizophrenic or something other than autistic.

- Due to improved services for autistic kids, pressure arose to diagnose kids with autism rather than with some other diagnosis which entitled them to less or inferior services. Hence, kids who previously would have been labeled mentally retarded are now labeled autistic. (Autism is also less stigmatized than mental retardation.) For the same reason, kids who have less severe problems, who previously would not have been diagnosed at all but would have struggled and been called weird, stupid, or lazy, now tend to get an autism diagnosis so they can get help.

- A misprint in an early edition of the diagnostic manual DSM-IV - "or" instead of "and" - led to many kids qualifying for an autism diagnosis who otherwise wouldn't have gotten it. (Basically, it should have been "must have this symptom AND this symptom," but it was printed as "must have this symptom OR this symptom."

Unstrange Minds: Remapping the World of Autism

Crossposted to http://rachelmanija.dreamwidth.org/1040761.html. Comment here or there.