Psychology /Psychoanalysis
Secondary Ability · “Psychology/Psychoanalysis”
Versed in the practice of clinical psychology, you can help folks deal with mental and emotional ailments. Also known as Psychoanalysis, this Trait takes time and trust to deploy – you can’t cure phobias during a firefight! Given the space and opportunity to work your craft, though, you can win someone’s confidence and then help him sort out the traumas in his head.
For each session of focused psychoanalysis, roll Intelligence + Psychoanalysis, with a difficulty of the subject’s Intelligence + 3. If he’s resisting your efforts, use Manipulation or Charisma + Psychoanalysis, with a difficulty of his Willpower + 3 (max 10). Each success counts toward at least a temporary resolution of an illness or neurosis. Simple quirks are easy to fix (five to 10 successes), while severe mental illness can be much harder (20 successes or more).
On the shadow-side, the same techniques can be used to instill mental quirks and illnesses – false memories, induced phobias, that sort of thing. This application assumes that the subject is resisting you subconsciously (Willpower +3), but can still be quite effective if your patient trusts you. The Satanic ritual abuse panic of the ‘80s and ‘90s came largely from dishonest psychologists “leading” their patients to “discover” things that had never actually happened. Corrupters, seducers, and “conversion specialists” study psychoanalysis for that very reason.
Whether you’re trying to help or harm someone, Mind magick obviously helps with this sort of thing. (Again, see Mundane Skills and Magickal Effects in Mage 20, as well as the Uncanny Influence section of How Do You DO That?, pp. 114-136) Thus, “miracle cures” can be explained by your reputation as a skilled psychotherapist.
• Novice: A trusted shoulder to cry on.
•• Practiced: High-school guidance counselor.
••• Skillful: Professional therapist.
•••• Expert: Acclaimed authority.
••••• Master: Miracle-worker.
Possessed by
Therapists, Counselors, Caregivers, Interrogators, Teachers, Healers, Mind-Crackers, Clergy
Specialties
NLP, Freudian Techniques, Jungian Approach, Ancestral Tradition, Childhood Trauma, Abuse Survivors, False Memory Syndrome, Seduction, Subversion, Extreme Mental Illness, Criminal Psychology
Ratings
| Rating | |
|---|---|
| • | Novice: A trusted shoulder to cry on. |
| •• | Practiced: High-school guidance counselor. |
| ••• | Skillful: Professional therapist. |
| •••• | Expert: Acclaimed authority. |
| ••••• | Master: Miracle-worker. |