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Hi.

So i love playing valkin but i have been considering making up a new character. I was trying to think of a way i could "study" or at least re-enforce knowledge i require on a professional level while playing Amia. My main valkin however seemed a poor candidate for such things however i thought perhaps a Salandran Cleric might ?

So my questions are.

1. Do Psychologist exist in Forgotten realms in any sense ?
2. Would a Salandran Psychologist fit well ?
3. Would it be acceptable to "re-create" current theory's & literature on psychology and convert them into a fantasy setting ?
4. Do people think it would suite to "invent" the psychologist ?

Note: if no such lore exists my intent was to create a cleric or a wizard who (probably a cleric) that is interested in the mind, how the mind works how people think how perception works etc etc, all the things that psychologist look at. Take my own views, perceptions and current literature theory's, tests and re-create them and re-defined them into a more Forgotten realms fantasy setting.

1) In the Amian setting, yes.
2) Yes.
3) Within reason. Some components and wordings may not be appropriate, but converting real life literature into something that fits your character and the setting is where the fun is.
4) You're too late to "invent" the psychologist on Amia, unfortunately.

There is or was that mental asylum on Caraigh. They have or had mental health professionals.

This is all good incite, keep it coming. Any, specific lore anyone can direct me to as well ?

I recommend Foucault's History of Madness before you incorporate any today's psychology into your RP.

I don't think you should strive to recreate any medieval or early modern theories as such, but it's useful to be aware of them and the historicity of the current discipline. A Forgotten Realms psychology would probably be a bunch of ideas about bodily humors, layers of the soul, and late 19th/early 20th century theories. Considering the supernatural nature of the setting, you'd probably be closer to the mark with Jung's collective subconscious than Freud's secular, sexual emphasis, for example. The mindset I think you need to adopt is that it wouldn't be consistent and it wouldn't all make sense. You can't look for the best explanation according to your own expertise, but rather a thematically fitting, cool twist built from past ideas and current knowledge.

Remember that psyche refers to the soul first and foremost, and in our setting the soul is who the person is. So in a more proper sense than in our world, psychology would be a science of the soul. As such, you should expect mystical explanations and diagnoses to be common. Not to say many theories wouldn't functionally follow modern models, but you cannot separate religion and metaphysics from psychology.

Well, you can, but it wouldn't be very cool.

If you have the energy and expertise, you could look up some of the material listed here. Much of it is obviously in Latin, but some googling should uncover translations or descriptions:
http://blogs.helsinki.fi/pakarkka/medie ... -internet/

And obviously De Anima by Aristotle is a good starting point:
http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/soul.html

I agree, i think i would start of with something very medieval that he was taught, and then break him away to a more modern RL techines but put the fantasy spin on them all. As you said it should be fairly soul related and religious in a sense.

It will take a lot of time really to do this, but i was hoping to re-read all my books from the past few years (well most of them) and as i do i will re-create aspects of them. I was thinking firstly in his journals and in-game rp then slowly he could create his own medical like journal. I think i could mix up a lot of new and old theory's and techniques really as i actually read a lot about medieval and reinsurance techniques during my bachelor . lol the different humas and phenomenology.

bit of work

Hi

I found these two threads that help a heap.

viewtopic.php?f=20&t=55944&p=918476#p918476

viewtopic.php?f=20&t=55944&p=918477#p918477

But i cant find anything on any active Salandrans about, or means to contact them ? any clues ?

O'Raghailligh wrote:

There is or was that mental asylum on Caraigh. They have or had mental health professionals.

you are correct, Caraigh does have a Asylum,but does not get much use (PC wise)

Mind that the Caraigh Asylum is not exactly a model of enlightened patient care. They probably deal less in psychology than in controlling lunatics. That's one more thing to think about: while individual scholars could have a very good understanding of psychology and human behaviour, it wouldn't be insitutionalized into a system of modern mental health care. The vast majority of asylums that exist would be quite crude and brutish places, and as such a "psychologist" would represent counter-culture.

But yeah, I imagine pulling it off really well is a lot of work. That of course doesn't mean you can't do it before you've completed it all, it just means there's a lot to improve on as you go if you want a really excellent character. Personally I probably wouldn't go through all that trouble, so kudos if you do.

I don't even remember if I wrote anything about mental illness in those Salandra pieces, but I doubt I had a modern psychiatry in mind. That said, the Salandrans are pretty progressive and a fairly unique phenomenon in the Realms (there only are a handful of churches, after all). Unlike most faiths who just snap their fingers and cast a Heal, Salandrans are encouraged to find mundane cures for any ailment before resorting to divine help. So it stands to reason they would also work with the insane. Especially if you adopt a humorological doctrine, where movements of the mind are governed by the balance of bodily humors, it would fall into the realm of a Salandran. On the other hand, I imagine churches of Oghma and Savras would also have their share of expertise.

Caraigh alt beginnings. Mental asylum breakout

I've always had psychologist on my list of characters to make eventually. Go for it!

Go for it.

Have a morningstar handy though... they're useful when dealing with code: Mander situations.

corypx wrote:

you are correct, Caraigh does not get much use (PC wise)

Fixed that for you!

IronAngel wrote:

Mind that the Caraigh Asylum is not exactly a model of enlightened patient care. They probably deal less in psychology than in controlling lunatics. That's one more thing to think about: while individual scholars could have a very good understanding of psychology and human behaviour, it wouldn't be insitutionalized into a system of modern mental health care. The vast majority of asylums that exist would be quite crude and brutish places, and as such a "psychologist" would represent counter-culture.

There's actually a relatively short description of the goings-on at a Mystran madhouse (for people driven mad by magic) in one of the FR novels. I think the book is Crucible. Anyway, Iron is pretty much correct. Even an asylum run by a goodly religion turns out to be pretty unpleasant and crude, until Adon of Mystra steps in to improve conditions.

One of my characters is currently suffering a psychological disorder and I've done some of the footwork to determine what kind of understanding and treatment is available for people with disorders, or who are just mentally ill. Things like depression, imbalances, post traumatic stress and baby blues, amongst other things. What I've come up with is that mental disorders are not well understood at all. Most healers and clergy (with the exception of the few) will think that the disorder does not exist, the person is exaggerating, possession (or super natural cause, looking at the Caraigh Asylum here) or will give the blanket diagnosis of insanity. This leads sufferers to cope by themselves or suffer quietly until they succumb or manage to get the help they need from some source.

Essentially, though, mental disorders are ill understood and don't "exist" as something to study. It's breaking new ground each and every day, and might not be taken seriously by the healing community. Except maybe the Selunites (who know a thing or two about psychology from their lycans) and the Ilmateri, who know a thing or two about grief. I'd personally suggest one of them instead of a Salandran PC, since they already fit so well in the niche and have specifications of flavor in the setting.

Name him something that vaguely alludes to Dr. Phil, please.

You could honestly do all of the above, you just have to do it well and within reason.

I think a Salandran, Sunite, Oghman or Sharessan psychologist would be the most fascinating and the best for any sort of formal approach. Mystrans could also be interesting if you go down the vein that Gers does and/or look at Spellhold from the Baldur's Gate II series. (Might not be canon, but it's interesting!)

A Salandran could be a clinical psychologist or an LCSW easily. They would work with anyone on anything because, as they do in war and violence, they believe in humanity and equality. You could take that practice many places and there are a few interesting Amian characters to look up regarding mental illnesses (that have been well-known residents of the Temple)-- Llewyn Forrest, Casper Meche and Vyashir Indrire!

A Sunite would take the approach of a social psychologist, perhaps one that takes the stance of positive psychology. They could easily promote certain studies and guides of how people interact, love and can bless and take control of their lives.

An Oghman could probably do the most in terms of psychology (or any field, really). Yes, they seek knowledge, but an Oghman seeking a specific kind of knowledge is exactly what research in the real world is for. Researchers are not only behind the scenes, either, especially in psychology. If you see ads for treating depression, a new study helping people with Alzheimer's, etc, it is all research psychologists in their differing fields. Most often it is a combination of more than one, and an Oghman could be any of these or all of the above! (I wouldn't make an Oghman a serious LCSW type, but that's just me.)

A Sharessan could be awesome. Sex psychology, peepz. Kama Sutra. Sue Johanson. This is just a goldmine of hilarity and opportunity. But again, depends on what you want...!

As for Ilmateri, Selunite and Eilistraeean... BoB put it well-- these have very distinct niches. I suppose I think the others can apply to a wider range of characters and instances, whereas these faiths apply more to certain situations and conditions. They can all be great therapists, even very formal psychologists, but it's going to be similar to a psychologist focusing in war-time PTSD or a researcher who does AIDS studies.

Everyone has sex, but not everyone has AIDS. So. Think about what niches you want, if any, or if you're into the psychology of everything! I think a psychologist is a great endeavor! It's something I do in life so perhaps I'm biased. Ainjyll does psychology, too, so maybe hit the cripple up with a few PMs!

I have the character, i am thinking of making him a psychologist to "everything", a individual fascinated with the mind, but also with a warm heart who desires to see everyone's mind "in order" and levitate suffering and illness of the mind however he can. I am planning to basically take everything i have been learning over the past few years and slowly apply it to my character, i will try to take on treating people by reflecting on real life illness in the DSM and then translating it into something that is more "fantasy" and related to faith the soul as well as biology, and neurology but with a medieval magical twist

I dont really know were to start, so i have created the character as man who thought he set out to become a wizard, to master the mind, but his kind hearted nature had seen him become a cleric when he found his calling through his new found faith to salandra. I will just build on him as i progress and interact with players & i guess make his own little medical journal.

like i said in the beginning i intend to enjoy playing him but its serving two purposes as it will help to reinforce my knowledge and hey what an opportunity to do "Fake" patients "fake" diagnosis and care that will essentially help me develop a process of working with patients effectively.

GreatPigeon wrote:

Caraigh alt beginnings. Mental asylum breakout

I'm totally in for this. Someone please please run this.

Lizzie wrote:

GreatPigeon wrote:

Caraigh alt beginnings. Mental asylum breakout

I'm totally in for this. Someone please please run this.

yeah Caraigh needs some drama since it's quite a peaceful place. :roll:

TaliaZalinNalla wrote:

like i said in the beginning i intend to enjoy playing him but its serving two purposes as it will help to reinforce my knowledge and hey what an opportunity to do "Fake" patients "fake" diagnosis and care that will essentially help me develop a process of working with patients effectively.

Reading this I somehow can't help but to think of "The Dice man". Not sure why

There was a pseudo-psychologist awhile back that did odd little experiments like this. She was a master enchantress, and could use will to influence the minds of others. She of course, wasn't all that sane herself. Here's a cut of her 'work': viewtopic.php?f=3&t=66371

Questions: Salandran Psychologist ?

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