u/Several_Degree_7962

Hi r/psychologystudents, I have been lurking and occasionally commenting here. One thing I notice is that psychology training pathway and accreditation requirements can vary greatly between countries, as is the academic climate within the discipline of psychology.

Some of the example off the topic of my head: a PhD or PsyD is required to become a psychologist in some countries, whereas in my country (New Zealand) we don’t have PsyD programmes and don’t need a PhD to become a psych. Counselling psychology is quite popular in other countries whereas it’s very niche in mine. Then there’s the different internship settings in different countries, as well as requirement/attitude toward supervision.

There are many eager students looking for advice, to help them get the most helpful and appropriate advice, is it possible to mention the country you’re from in the title to provide context?

Mods, I hope this doesn’t break any rules. I genuinely want to help

Hi team, I’m a big fan of the video game series *The Last of Us*, as a reader I’m very interested in exploring the psychology of characters.

There are two specific headcanon/scrapped plots that are often brought up in the fandom, and I’m very interested in exploring what it’s like for the characters to experience this. I’m looking for fiction or non-fiction that explore similar dynamics, ideally with a heavy emphasis on the character’s psychological portrayal. It’s the psychological portrayal that I’m interested in, so setting or age/gender of the characters don’t matter.

Headcanon One: the descent of a “good man”, from the perspective of a loved one.

The dynamic: TLOU began with a single father, Joel, losing his daughter to soldiers sent to contain a zombie outbreak. Joel’s younger brother Tommy tried to intervene but was a step too late. The game then time-skips 20 years later and we find Joel a hardened survivor who’s done unspeakable things to survive, and now has an estranged relationship with Tommy, who is disgusted by the things they did in the name of survival.

What I’m looking for: a story about a “good man” (or woman)’s descent into darkness and brutality, as observed by a loved one, who might be struggling with disenfranchised grief and moral challenges themselves.

Headcanon Two: the moral complexity of finding a comfort in the target of your revenge

The dynamic: at the end of TLOU, Joel kills a doctor to save his daughter-figure Ellie’s life. A scrapped plot for TLOU 2 involves Abby, the slain doctor’s daughter, infiltrating the town for revenge but ends up finding a father figure in Joel.

What I’m looking for: a story of a person setting out for revenge, only to find comfort in the target of their revenge, and the moral dilemma that arises. I know that something similar happened in South America, where children of “disappeared” political dissidents were adopted/raised by other families, if someone could recommend a memoir from those children/families, or non-fiction of similar events in other countries, it’d be great too.

Thank you all hive mind 😁