Psych Exam For Aspirancy

[OnlySunshine]

[quote name='HopefulBride' timestamp='1345079616' post='2468325']
Have you heard anything yet MM?
[/quote]

Unfortunately, no. I thought she would call me before evening Mass, but I didn't hear the phone ring and she hasn't emailed. The problem is that she is a night nurse at the hospice care so she is probably at work right now. I am planning to try the convent phone tomorrow morning again. I prayed HARD at Mass today.

[she_who_is_not]

Still praying

[OnlySunshine]

[quote name='she_who_is_not' timestamp='1345082914' post='2468360']
Still praying
[/quote]

I thank you for all your prayers! It helps a great deal to know that I have a prayer army. Especially, Our Lady in heaven.

[mantellata]

You have my prayers!

[emmaberry]

I am right there with you on all this psych stuff-the psychologist will not call me back, and I don't want to seem ..err.. crazy by calling him a bajillion times in a week! You have the patience of a Saint compared to how I feel right now.

Praying that His Will be done!

Edited August 16, 2012 by emmaberry

[OnlySunshine]

[quote name='emmaberry' timestamp='1345091043' post='2468473']
I am right there with you on all this psych stuff-the psychologist will not call me back, and I don't want to seem ..err.. crazy by calling him a bajillion times in a week! You have the patience of a Saint compared to how I feel right now.

Praying that His Will be done!
[/quote]

That's kind of what DtA went through with her psychologist. The woman wouldn't call her back for several weeks. I'm so glad that wasn't the case with mine. I hope yours calls you back soon!

[EmilyAnn]

All this psych eval stuff sounds terribly complicated. I'm suddenly very relieved that I don't have to do one.

[OnlySunshine]

[quote name='EmilyAnn' timestamp='1345102093' post='2468550']
All this psych eval stuff sounds terribly complicated. I'm suddenly very relieved that I don't have to do one.
[/quote]

I was just talking with my mom yesterday about how everything seems backwards this time. When I attempted to become a candidate for the Carmelite Sisters in 2009, I visited during the retreat and THEN made an application. She thinks that the Provincial Superior is going to ask me to come up for a visit next -- which seems logical -- but this is all very crazy! I'm not used to doing things this way and, when I said this, my mom made the hilarious comment that I might have been doing it wrong all those times before!

[OnlySunshine]

I just got a call from the Provincial Superior. She told me that she is going back to the Motherhouse in Europe for an unknown length of time (maybe a few months) and has received my final report. She is taking it with her to talk to the Mother General and the council about and will call me from Europe to let me know. So, I am very glad that I have school starting next week so I am kept busy and not waiting around. Sister seemed very pleased that I was going back to school.

So, please pray that my patience continues and that Mother General and the council sisters will accept my aspirancy. My pastor went there at the end of June and spoke to Mother about everything and he said that she is very understanding.

Also, as another prayer request, please pray for the Superior as she leaves for Europe today. I told her I would pray that she makes it there safely.

[Chiara Francesco]

[quote name='AnneLine' timestamp='1344724319' post='2466240']
I share your uh skepticism, Nunsense. I suspect these days many communities are afraid to NOT do it.... in case something goes wrong they want an insurance policy that said they did their due diligence and didn't let in an axe murderer (we have no doubts that you are NOT an axe murderer, Mater, BTW. )

I found a fascinating book in the university library when I was doing my counseling training about why psych evals for religious life had started, and how they were set up in the first place. They were put in place when so many people were leaving in the 1960's and 1970's to try to pinpoint the ones who might be likely to leave. But that doesn't make sense - because the whole WORLD was different at that point and all the norms were shot to heqq.

I know in my own case, at one point I took it twice, for two different communities. The first one (the one I entered and left within 6 mos of my own choice) said I was the most sane candidate they had had in a long time... .( ) The second one I was evaluated by the person who did the seminaries... and that person seemed to think there were serious problems because I didn't drive. (Uh, I have vision problems and can't drive.... and have known that for 20 years before I took the eval..... she seemed unmoved when I pointed out to her that I had functioned perfectly well like this for 25 years, rode public transit here and in europe with no problems... and that there would REALLY be something wrong with me if I hadn't made peace with this after 25 years..... She remained, unmoved, and wrote me down as stubbon and resisting. Fortunately the sisters involved just laughed and said they realized it wasn't a relevant issue....)

I hope most communities realize that these things are a TOOL more to be used the way FaithCecilia's community told her they were planning to use the one she took - to help them to know how to make this work for her.

Mater, I hope and pray that this is what you get from yours as well -- a good eval, and one that you and the community can use to go forward together to find God's will.....
[/quote]

As a psych nurse for over 15 yrs and having a brother who is a psychologist and speaking with so many orders who don't do this testing anymore, I agree that it is really useless. So many orders who DID do this testing in the past, dropped it as the majority who looked happy and well adjusted per the psych doc, ended up to NOT be that in the monastery!

I think just being given a situation on paper that you might have in the monastery is NOT the same as actually living it for either a short or long period of time and finding out how you fair! I was a nurse in a prison for a short time and for the hiring process we had a psych exam and some testing and what they give your as situations are NOT how anyone there reacts in person! And I am not talking about how you'd react in a riot but everyday affairs! I and most of the prison staff found out you don't what you "imagined" during the testing!

My brother also talks about how many can lie, fudge either on purpose or not if they don't want to face things, be in denial or just want a positive outcome that they will not be honest. Even the psych docs I work with think these tests a hooey! I know some patients who say one thing on tests and do and act the opposite - either lying or they ARE nuts and don't realize it!

But the test outcomes are also based on the psych or reader/grader themselves. A woman in my parish who came from another diocese got a bad outcome because the doctor had strong feelings about religious life, etc and she was older with grown kids and he was against a mother leaving her family for God, etc. and pretty much failed her. Never mind if the doctor is not catholic or a catholic inline with Rome! I remember Fr. Groeschel and others stressing to see a CATHOLIC psych doctor inline with Rome if you need one and then especially for religious life! Often dioceses don't have access to such good catholic doctors and they take what they can.

An order I am looking at doesn't do the testing - hasn't in years as they found it not to work and be unreliable - but their nutty bishop (sorry, he is very liberal and refuses to let the nuns have a small tabernacle in their choir when canon law says they can and other orders! and he is leaving in a few months) wants it and he wants the NUNS to pay for it! So they are trying to find a good psych doctor in my area instead having me fly and spend hundreds of dollars to go to one near them for a day. But they are having a problem getting a good one. The sisters are calling and doing an interview on the phone to see where these doctors stand on being catholic, etc and they are having a hard time finding one.

They found one about a 2 hrs drive from me but my car, that is not running great at the moment!, won't make the trip and I can't afford to break down on the way there or back or in that city!

I am hoping if the problem is too troublesome, the bishop might say forget it as the sisters last entrance about a few years ago stayed and was Sol Professed didn't need it and they had the same bishop!

MY novena is to have Our Lady make this bishop change his mind and drop the psych requirement! I've contacted MANY orders and different ones and I've only found 1 before this one that wanted these nutty tests.