I Saw a Shady Psychologist
I came across this [vocab word=psychologist]psychologist[/vocab]. She [vocab word=claim]claims[/vocab] to have a Ph.D. in psychology, and I've been attending her sessions once a week for my [vocab word=anxiety]anxiety[/vocab]. But, her methods seem [vocab word=weird]weird[/vocab]. That doesn't sound right, does it?
"She claimed ..." means she said something but the speaker thinks she is lying (not telling the truth).
"That doesn't sound right, does it?" has a question tag (", does it?") at the end. Toby believes it doesn't sound right, but he wanted to ask Rina and confirm his belief.
I don't know. What [vocab word=exactly]exactly[/vocab] about her techniques seemed weird?
Well, she used a [vocab word=pendulum]pendulum[/vocab] during our session and told me to focus on it to reduce my anxiety. She also said [vocab word=hypnosis]hypnosis[/vocab] can [vocab word=cure]cure[/vocab] any [vocab word=mental]mental[/vocab] [vocab word=illness]illness[/vocab]. These don't sound like [vocab word=standard]standard[/vocab] psychology practices, do they?
"These don't sound like standard psychology practices" is a statement, and ", do they?" is a question tag. Toby doesn't believe they are standard psychology practices, but he wanted to confirm with Rina.
I think you're right. Those are more like [vocab word=alternative]alternative[/vocab] [vocab word=heal]healing[/vocab] methods. Are you sure she is a psychologist and not a [vocab word=therapist]therapist[/vocab] with a different focus?
Alternative healing methods are treatments used instead of conventional Western medicine. They may include acupuncture, yoga, meditation, herbal treatments, biofeedback, massage, and others. They are often traditional methods (e.g. traditional Chinese medicine).
She did [vocab word=insist]insist[/vocab] that she is a psychologist, but now I am starting to [vocab word=question]question[/vocab] it.
"did" is an emphatic do. Toby wanted to emphasize the verb "insist". It's almost like saying "She really really insisted ..."
Did you see her [vocab word=educational]educational[/vocab] [vocab word=credential]credentials[/vocab]? Psychologists usually put their [vocab word=degree]degrees[/vocab] on the wall.
I did see them on the wall. It said Ph.D. in psychology, and the university name was... it was... University of Ve... Venus, Veridan, no...
University of Victoria? It's in Canada.
No, it was... Veridian! I do remember it now. University of Veridian.
It does, doesn't it? Isn't it [vocab word=illegal]illegal[/vocab] to claim to be a psychologist if you're not?
"Isn't it illegal to claim ..." is a negative question. It starts with "isn't" instead of "is". Toby is sure of the answer to the question - he is anticipating the answer of "Yes, it is illegal". That's why he is using a negative question.
Absolutely. The whole thing sounds suspicious. Let me do a quick check on her.
Sure. I wouldn't want to [vocab word=continue]continue[/vocab] my sessions if she's not a real psychologist.
Toby, I've googled her name, and it seems she isn't [vocab word=register]registered[/vocab] anywhere. And, University of Veridian isn't a real university. Its website is just a [vocab word=generic]generic[/vocab] website without any contact information or information about their courses. I think she might have bought her degree from a degree mill.
"google" is a verb - it came from (obviously) google.com. Nowadays, to "google" something means to look something up on the internet (doesn't have to be google.com).
A "degree mill" is a company that sells fake degrees.
Also, your anxiety didn't improve from the sessions with her, did it?
Now that you mention it, it might have improved a little. So, her therapy has to have been [vocab word=effective]effective[/vocab] to some extent, hasn't it?
It's hard to say. It could just be a [vocab word=placebo]placebo[/vocab] [vocab word=effect]effect[/vocab]. Anyway, don't pay her any more money. Find a real psychologist to help you with your anxiety.
The placebo effect is when a person feels better after they receive a treatment, even though the treatment has no real medical effect. Toby's psychologist is a fake one, and her methods aren't good, but because Toby believed she was real, he felt better after the therapy sessions.
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