If people think holo-simulations are authoritative (such as "Future Imperfect"), there are some Barclay episodes you gotta check out. Those will offer lots of insights into Picard and Troi and the rest of the merry band.
Therapists on the bridge
- Thread starter NewHeavensNewEarth
- Start date
Except it wouldn't be a demotion. Admiral's aides are always Commanders or Captains, both in Star Trek and the real world.
... this is what Deanna herself said about it
"Admiral Picard offered me a position at Starfleet Command. It was a tremendous opportunity. I couldn't refuse."
So at the very least we know Deanna didn't see it as a demotion ....(or else she's trying to justify it for herself).
Then again, we are talking about a fiction within a fiction here .....
"Admiral Picard offered me a position at Starfleet Command. It was a tremendous opportunity. I couldn't refuse."
So at the very least we know Deanna didn't see it as a demotion ....(or else she's trying to justify it for herself).
Then again, we are talking about a fiction within a fiction here .....
So just what do you imagine Troi's role is in this would-be scenario?
Would she suddenly stop being his advisor on the diplomatic front, and take on the new role or secretary and catering planner? That's what they are there for... to meet with an ambassador and discuss diplomatic things.
Quiet, You!
Same as any other aide's? What did Sisko do as Admiral Ross's aide? Or Commander Bentene as Admiral Leyton's aide?
Once again, Picard wasn't an Ambassador in Future Imperfect, he was an Admiral. This actually us backed up by dialogue in the episode.
I said "That's what they are there for... to meet with an ambassador and discuss diplomatic things"
The ambassador is Tomalok
Troi’s role on the bridge isn’t as therapist, it’s as a diplomatic advisor.
Over and over again, she introduces/identifies herself as "ship's counselor" or "ship's therapist." I can't think of a single time she identifies herself in diplomatic terms or offers diplomatic credentials of any kind. And that's why we all know her as "Counselor Troi." So downplaying her therapist role is at odds with what she says about herself. The vast majority of the time she was on the bridge, nothing diplomatic was going on, and she seemed to just be hanging out with Riker & Picard.
I just realized it is not Doctor Troi, so, are we to assume she does not have a doctor's degree, rather, a lesser degree/qualifications?
Psychologists aren't doctors. Psychiatrists are medical doctors. So I just assumed her main area of therapeutic practice is as a psychologist. This would also be in line with some of the treatment we've seen her prescribe, never meds, always some exercise.
That said, she is clearly not just a psychologist. She DOES act as an advisor to the captain & senior staff, in both diplomatic matters, AND in professional & social matters. She gives crew evaluations. She determines mental fitness & aptitudes, & while she DOES offer therapy to those that require it, it is never presented as mandatory for all crew to routinely see her in that capacity. It's only ever put to people when they are clearly undergoing some kind of psychological duress. She is not on the bridge as a therapist, providing therapy (Unless it becomes necessary) She's there for other reasons. She's more than just a mental health professional
Nothing diplomatic needs to be going on. She's the professional advisor too. She advises on not just outsiders, but on the crew as well, & not just the individuals she may administer therapy to, but on the crew as a whole thing, made up of many cultures, & personality types in this professional environment. She's the HR rep.
Ship's counselor does not equate to only being ship's therapist (Or as you seem to be implying, the crew's therapist) She is counsel, & is attached to the ship, just like Crusher doctors, & is attached to the ship, but she doesn't just doctor the crew or outsiders even. She is also the life sciences expert.
Nobody provides their credentials on this show. Geordi was a pilot in season 1 & chief engineer in season 2. That's it. His credentials are that he's doing it, & what does she do? She evaluates crew performance & disposition. She advises on missions involving others, and she is a therapist, but she wouldn't be able to do those other things, if she wasn't credible in them too. It's behavioral science, & Starfleet must choose to apply it to a myriad of areas in its charter... not just as head shrinker
*Nods*
In fact, part of her role appears to career development, which would align with the USN Navy Counselor and some elements of the Personnel Specialist deck ratings (though it would probably be Admin/SCI in the USCG if they weren't part of the YMN (USCG) rating):
Navy counselors offer vocational guidance to Navy personnel — individually and in groups — aboard ships and at shore facilities. They assess the interests, aptitudes, abilities and personalities of individuals and assist them in reaching their full potential. They are responsible directly to the command triumvirate (CO, XO, CMC) and report on many items such as retention, attrition, advancement, testing and various other facets of the career development program. Additionally, it is their keen eye and attention to detail that ensure personnel throughout the command are updated on current Navy policies in regards to career management, off duty education and administrative procedures, among various other responsibilities.
Personnel specialists provide enlisted personnel with information and counseling about Navy jobs, opportunities for general education and training, and promotion requirements. They assist enlisted members' families with legal aid or reassignments in hardship situations. Personnel Specialists keep records up to date, prepare reports, type letters and maintain files.
She certainly has a post-graduate degree of some sort (she spent several years at both SA and UoBZ) but it could be a Masters rather than a DSc/PhD, she certainly doesn't appear to have an MD or equivalent. However, it's interesting to note that while "Doctor" may be used in place of "sir/ma'am" in the military, most of the CMO we see in Star Trek would be referred to as LT/LT CMDR/CMDR [Name] in direct address, which the obvious exceptions of Dr Phlox and The Doctor.
As noted above, the Ship's Counsellor appears to combine the Navy Counsellor/Personnel Specialist ratings, a civilian mental health and education role (she seems to be the liaison with the mixed civilian/Starfleet school staff). Whether the Ship's Counsellor is normally the Diplomatic Officer is unknown, ity could be that Troi's personnel history as a 'child of two worlds' and a 'diplomatic corps brat' means that she individually fell into that role (note the main time where she takes the lead on 'diplomatic intelligence' is in Insurrection when Data is absent, usually she works as part of a senior staff team of two-three).
Anyone with a doctorate is addressed professionally as "Doctor_____".
People with doctorates in medicine (like a psychiatrist) are Physicians.
I would say Troi was a Behavioral Consultant to the Captain and the bridge officers. She advised the captain as to the mood/morale of the crew on several occasions that we saw.
I found this tidbit interesting from Memory Alpha:
I guess it confused me about her Starfleet rank and service division on the ship, since she didn't wear a uniform in the first few years of the show. It didn't occur to me that she was a Lt. Commander, too. Thank you, Captain Jellico.
In "Future Imperfect", I always pegged Troi as Picard's senior advisor/attaché or chief of staff.
Or, as far as we can tell, a devious SF Intel Section 47 agent masquerading as an inconsequential psychointerpreter for the Admiral.
"Staff" in Trek is always problematic since the studio can't afford to show much of that. We might just as well do them a service and assume that technology allows Starfleet to be lean and mean there. Except perhaps in the 2260s where Yeomen are prominent - the transition might be during the TOS movies where Admiral Kirk never has as much as a pretty secretary chirping him a good morning when he arrives to the office to sulk. And Lorca might have arranged for a series of unfortunate accidents to stop people from looking too closely into his papers, while Pike... Okay, insert your rationalization here.
A top secret flying lab might get a waiver for any must-have-counselor rule. Would other ships in this currently active spinoff realm have Troi-equivalents aboard? Kirk was assigned Dehner, and then had a specialist in Space Psychology as his CMO.
Timo Saloniemi
"Staff" in Trek is always problematic since the studio can't afford to show much of that. We might just as well do them a service and assume that technology allows Starfleet to be lean and mean there. Except perhaps in the 2260s where Yeomen are prominent - the transition might be during the TOS movies where Admiral Kirk never has as much as a pretty secretary chirping him a good morning when he arrives to the office to sulk. And Lorca might have arranged for a series of unfortunate accidents to stop people from looking too closely into his papers, while Pike... Okay, insert your rationalization here.
A top secret flying lab might get a waiver for any must-have-counselor rule. Would other ships in this currently active spinoff realm have Troi-equivalents aboard? Kirk was assigned Dehner, and then had a specialist in Space Psychology as his CMO.
Timo Saloniemi
Kirk also had mission specialists:
MCCOY [on monitor]: Oh, I'm assigning your technical aide, Captain. One of our psychiatrists does have a background in rehabilitative therapy. Doctor Noel, standing by in the transporter room now. 
Well, she did wear a uniform with rank insignia in Farpoint. and Disaster has dialogue stating her rank is Lt. Commander.
It is funny that Jellico basically addressed many of the complaints the actors were having over the years, like Marina Sirtis complaining about Deanna never wearing a uniform or Patrick Stewart's complaints about the fish tank in the ready room.
Counselor is her title, of course they call her that. When she’s on the bridge she’s not talking people through emotional issues, she’s giving advice on how to deal with an enemy in a tense situation. She is counseling, giving the captain advice.
I am so, so, SO sorry...but I cannot read the title of this thread without hearing it in a Sean Connery voice, if you know what I mean... 
You're right. My memories are degrading as they age in the transporter buffer. By-the-by, is that Tarsha Yar in a mini-shirt uniform and go-go boots in the final scene of the Farpoint episode?
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