I know exactly one 'psychologist' (who is also roughly my age) in real life. And it does not seem at all like a real profession, like anyone with just a moderate amount of drive and copious resources could be one. It does seem, however, like if you took at least two intro-level psych courses at an average to above average state university, you could totally be the executive producer of at least a half dozen new A&E documentary pilots. I recall being briefly (though intensely) intrigued by the notion of hoarding after hearing about it at a college lecture. Little did I know one day some genius would turn it into a highly popular hour of television.
It doesn't seem like psychology is real, or should be a real profession, because everyone on earth is at least a little bit fucked up. It's definitely interesting, a thing that we should definitely research and have the smarter individuals of our population write books about, etc., but psychiatry and psychological counseling as a practice? I'm not sure. Maybe these people should be interns until they can get an on-air gig at A&E or TLC or [channel x]. It seems much of psychology is just acting anyway, so it should probably be as difficult as acting in terms of transitioning your interest in it into a bankable career.
Take the psychologist who was assigned to Lisa in last night's episode. From the first second he entered that the temple of cat piss and poo, he was out of his element. It was obvious. The guy from the clean-up crew basically starting doing his job. The horror and disdain on in this psychologist's face said everything: "I can not help you, you fucked up fucked up fucked up individual." And I'm not saying this is wrong, this is why we watch. That dude is probably otherwise OK at his psychologisting job. We watch Hoarders and Intervention (and etc.) for no other reason then A) the fucked up parts inside of us, however small, can relate to these people, at least on some basic human level, and, or importantly B) THEY ARE NOT US. It's not surprising that there were literally no blood relatives associated with rat-hoarder Glen in the above clip. His only interviewed 'friend' was a strange man in overalls with a fu manchu. When your psychological problem is "I have let 2,000 rats take over my house" the real people in your life are going to bail. Your mother and father and brother and sister are going to bail. They are not going to deal with your 2,000 rats. But thanks to A&E you now have TV 'friends' who will be there for you. You have a select number of psychologists and 'organization experts' and cleanup crew business owners, all looking to somehow parlay their moderate interest in [something] into our country's ultimate currency: fame, minor reality TV fame.
The psychologist I know in real life is pregnant. I am 100% confident she does not read this blog. She is not a bad person. She just went on maternity leave from her job counseling war vets with PTSD, a very noble profession. But she's far from mentally perfect herself. She gets anxious. She can be a bitch sometimes, a little snobby (snobbiness is as major a psychological problem as anything else, as it effectively says, "Not only am I superior to you, but I cannot recognize how my actions and words are conveying this.") Every single person in this worl has problems. Even random peeps who believe they are fully realized, mentally fit individuals have a problem: they are most likely assholes. Because you can't get to that place without ego, and your ego can't exist without feeding off of the less-confident who you, without consciously thinking it, are comparing your winning life to every second. Ideas like happiness and contentment can literally not exist without depression and disorder. It's a fucking chicken-egg scenario. And that's why I like Hoarders. It makes this more obvious than every before. We are capable of so many things.
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