What are your opinions on psychology, psychiatry, and psychotherapy?

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Most psychologists believe they are the key to understanding the soul of a Human that what makes one unique[hr][/blockquote]
[blockquote][hr]It appears that a lot of people are convinced they had been abused when they were children, when they do a psychotherapy. (that's not an exact science...)[hr][/blockquote]
[blockquote][hr]Now, why would doctors, psychologists, psychiatrists, and other medical practioners diagnose youth with ADD and ADHD? The answer is money.[hr][/blockquote]


These are three things I heard said in this forum in the last little while, and by no means are these quotations isolated. It seems to me like there is a huge distrust, disrespect, and even disdain for those involved in the mental health professions. People seem to believe that all mental therapists are quacks, only out to make a buck, or are only concerned with making their clients feel like victims.

Is this what people really believe? Where do these ideas come from? Is it the media? Word of mouth? Or are these ideas that people have formed from their own experiences with therapists of various kinds?

I should start by owning up to my own bias- I have a Bachelor's degree in psychology, which means I cannot be licenced to practice, but I had to study the history, theory, and practice of psychological studies and therapy for many years. For a long time I thought that my goal of one day being a psychologist (the counselling kind) was noble, and could help people.

But now I've run into so many misconceptions (which is what I call the above statements), and such animosity, that I'm reconsidering spending those extra 4-5 years getting my next degree.

So what do you think- is psychology all a sham? Is it all 'just common sense?' Is it a goldrush for the next dumb sucker? Or is it a helpful, healing, and worthwhile profession? Opinions please.

 

I'm studying to be a psychiatrist and have run into many that think that way. It's a noble profession, but there are some people out there looking to exploit it. I happen to think that psychiatrists prescribe too many anti-depressants. A lot of good has come from this field, yet people still look on it as if it's some voodoo mumbojumbo. They'd rather believe people are demonically possessed. I also think it's kinda uhh....weird how there's just one class on personality theory. Imagine that, a whole class dedicated to one aspect of psychology.

 

Whimper, you quoted me, and I have to clarify my point. ("people are convinced they were abused...")
I heard that on "france info", a famous french radio channel specialized in information, the journalist was speaking about USA.
Some years ago, a psychologist also said me that (in France) psychologists haven't studied their own person. You understand that if they aren't ok with their psyche, they can easily derive to a transfer with their patients. Correct me if I'm wrong, I' not sure if the word "transfer" is correct here.
That's why I said (after the sentence you quoted) I prefer group therapy. In that case, the patient isn't guided or helped only by one specialist, but he's able to have his own opinion thanks to the multitude of advices he heard with the other patients. That can be more efficient, I think, and statistically it seems that there are less chances to take a wrong way.

If psychotherapists know their own problems so that they are able to not do a transfer with a patient, I think they are helpfull. And they have to go on working! I believe in psychology.

 

Hello All

As someone who was on the brink of ploughing 5 to 6 years of my life into psychotherapy, I came to the realisation that in a short time I would become utterly bored with this profession.

The issue is that the budding psychotherapist is entering a rather cloistered society where change in the way of thinking is frowned upon because nobody can think as well as Freud and other ?Great Physiatrists?.

I believe in order to truly understand an individual one should have an inherent sense of diagnosis; unfortunately more and more we come across text book shrinks that don?t even listen to your problems they presume to know the solution by looking up the remedy in books.

The new and amazing prognoses that pour forth from the psychiatric societies around the world are breathtaking. Truly understanding individuals is the key but unfortunately if one child is showing symptoms ADD and another shows symptoms similar to ADD then immediately both children suffer from ADD. Now this may seem over simplistic but at the end of the day it is not the individual that counts, but rather to justify and put forth the new prognosis.

The illusion that shrinks are a necessary aspect of today?s mental heath is also stigmatised by the fact that anyone who shows any form of rebellion, that the child has inherent learning or behavioural problems needs psychiatric help. There is no longer the time taken to look and observe the child in his or her environment this is too much effort and it is all too convenient to diagnose using the text book.

Not to mention that it is all too easy to take advantage of the ?mentally ill? to exploit their insecurities and therefore keep them in therapy for years. When I hear that someone paranoid person has been in therapy for 3 to 5 years I want to cry, the shrink should be strung up and shot.

People have problems granted, but it is all too easy to blame every incident that occurred in the person?s life as a major issue that can only be solved from a psychiatric point of view.

If one looks at society as a whole it is becoming more and more evident that people are frightened of making decisions and that they turn to ?professionals? for advice in either how they should raise their child or if the child has some problem. This is when incompetent members of the psychiatric community give credence to simple if not irrelevant psychosis and make it the new order of the day and that all children showing symptoms are afflicted with this disorder.

It seems to me that certain people have an inherent need to help people but are sceptical to do so because if you don?t support the latest new theory, ?you are not here to help people?.

If change is to take hold, society should question and denounce some of these prognoses so that the profession can once again be focussed on the individual and the not advancement of the ?Physiatrist? or the ?Profession?.

Sincerely

Master-Aries
(MA)

 

Okay, nice couple of first replies. It's Master Aries rant that I'd like to respond to first.

You are discussing the issue of over-diagnosis and mis-diagnosis of psychological disorders. You also use the word "prognosis" repeatedly, but to quote Inigo Montoya from The Princess Bride, "I do not think it means what you think it means."

Anyways, even if I were to accept that misdiagnosis is an epidemic problem sweeping psychiatry (and it most certainly isn't), that still only applies to one branch of the dicipline as a whole. There are entire limbs of the psyche-tree that have nothing to do with 'diagnosis' in the sense that you mean. (DSM-IV, I assume).

Your other point is that people are unwilling to make their own decisions without first consulting an expert. I agree that this is becoming the case in North American society, and has been increasing for a few decades now. But is this the fault of those that insecure people turn to? If people line up around the block to see a psychologist, because they can't run their own lives for 10 seconds, is it the psychologist's fault?

The last thing you mentioned is that these 'prognoses' (??) need to be abandonned so that the profession can advance the individual and not the profession.

You make absolutely no sense, and it hurts my brain even trying to come up with a single plausible interpretation of this point.

 

Fair enough it seems to me you have already decided on completing the course. Why then do you question yourself and the choice made?

From what I can ascertain, when you have made a decision, after careful thought it is rare that you change your mind, is it not prudent to say that this is not path you wish to follow.

No conclusive argument has been given to justify your continuing with the course. Why then the doubt?

I am not here to evaluate you merely to ask why this thread was started.

Sincerely

Master-Aries
(MA)

 

Ah, sorry for the misconceoption. This wasn't meant to be a discussion of whether or not I will get my PhD or not. Right now, I'm leaning more towards education anyways. What this thread is about is the general public conception that all psychologists are greedy quacks who prey on people's insecurities with their "psychobabble", while working in league with lawyers to bring a huge conspiracy of 'forgotten child abuse' cases.

The conception that all psychologists agree with each other, and behave in the same way. Or oppositely, the conception that because they don't all agree, their opinions must be worthless.

These are the issues I want to hear about, or any opinions in general about the mental health profession and research.

 

Like all doctors, some of them are crackpots, some of them are actually good at what they do.

 

I don't buy into most of the cases of "depression" or "hyper activity"... I think most are mild at best, or just diagnosed for the money of expenxive repeat visits, medicines, etc.

However, I do believe there is validity to some psychological disorders, and I'm fascinated by several. Psyctsofrenia (can't spell) is interesting to me. Most of all, I get really interested in reading about Dissociative Identity Dissorder (multiple personalities) which I think is a very interesting, valid disorder.

-sb loves john doe

 

It's interesting you should say that, Solo. DID (also known as multiple personality disorder) is perhaps the most famous disorder that psychologists can't agree on. Many don't believe the cases of it, or believe them to be exaggerated. It's also incredibly rare.

But depression? Clinical depression is very widespread, and very much agreed upon by psychologists! Not all would recommend drug-therapy for it (I believe too many do), but I certainly don't doubt its validity!

 

I don't think it is possible to fully understand the human mind, and most of them have little idea of what they preach.

I hardly see how "therapy" sessions 3 times a week for several years could do much good.

 

As someone who has been in and out of therapy and on antidepressents since high school, psycholoy saved my life and has helped me lead a much happier life.

Clinical Depression is not something someone can just get over, its a chemical imbalance in the brain that you can not control. I was finally diagnosed with seasonal depression, with light therapy and exercise I won't need antidepressents this winter. I only saw my Dr monthly to review how the medication was working and saw a clinical social worker for therapy.

There are quacks out there though. I think it was last year a Doctor in Boston was treating a woman for alholism and blamed it on her mother breastfeeding her and felt breastfeeding was child abuse and should be outlawed.

 

My opinion about psychotherapy is quite good.

I had therapy for almost a year due to personal problems and (highlight if you're not easily impressionable and overage although I don't know if it's a requirement)self-mutilation, and an depression that was going on for a while.

Basically I had it for a few months and it helped, in part because I had a heck of a good therapist who knew the problems I was having very well. Anyway... it's definitly a necessity sometimes and I think most times it can help.

 

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I don't think it is possible to fully understand the human mind, and most of them have little idea of what they preach.

Okay, so we have your opinion. What lead you to believe that most psychologists don't know what they're talking about? Was it a personal experience, or the media, or was it something else?

I don't think it's possible at this point to fully understand the human mind either, but I think we've got a good start. And what we have so far isn't just common sense, but real data from real observation. That's got to count for something.

 

We only use a very small portion of our brain. I wonder what parts we don't use.

 

Well I'm not doubting that clinical depression isn't real. I'm just saying it's over-diagnosed, I think. Everyone is depressed, that's normal. I think too many people are convinced to believe they have some huge problem with it, though, when they don't.

DID on the other hand, I know it's controversial. I happen to think that it's a very real, but rare and complicated dissorder. Because I believe it to be real, though, I find it very interesting.

-sb loves john doe

 

Everyone is depressed, that's normal. I think too many people are convinced to believe they have some huge problem with it, though, when they don't.


Untrue, and I think that's a myth that keeps many people from getting help. While most people have some times in their life when they are somewhat down, that isn't the same as real depression. When the depression lasts for several weeks or more and starts to really impact a life, that's more than just being down.

 

Absolutly.
Do you think people who, for example (hightlight if you're not easily impressionable) cut themselves, are in a normal state? That they don't need to get professional help?
I most certainly don't.

 

DarkWoman- I don't think anyone here is so impressionable that they'll cut themselves up just because someone on a StarWars message board admits to having done so. And if they are that impressionable, they should be reading topics in the Senate anyways, which is designed to be a little edgier and more controvesial.

I, for one, would like it if you would stop black-masking your text. All it does is draw extra attention to it, not to mention making your posts harder to read.

 

No, of course people who cut themselves or are depressed for several weeks do have a serious problem. I agree those people should seek help. What I'm saying is that too many people, especially teenagers, are being diagnosed as being depressed when they are simply just discontented with something else in life that doesn't require medication to solve.

-sj loves kevin spacey

 

Whimper: I put the black masking thing because I wasn't sure if there was a problem here at the boards about describing stuff like that. Apparently there isn't, so your point is taken.

Cheers!

 

I went to councelling a few times. To three different councellors. I stopped seeing them when I realised they weren't helping me, I was helping me.

I'd go in to see them, they wouldn't really know what I wanted from them so they would basically become a microphone for me to speak at. I'll repeat the first part - they didn't know what I needed from a councelling session. I didn't at the time either, but that was beside the point. If they weren't sure how to help me, what hope did I have of achieving any benefits from going there?

I've learned to heal myself through thinking things through, channeling my energy into songwriting and being more socially active. I figured out how to help myself. They did sweet FA. So - my opinion on the psychs of this world? I don't need them, they didn't help me.

 

i double majored in english and psych. i've seen a psychologist following my dad's death. i think it can definitely help, but you have to go to someone REALLY good and not a kook (obviously) and also be open to it. You can't be forced.

but i saw some things about myself i never wanted to see or admit, and i think a psychologist can really help you come around to some issues that have affected your life negatively, but that you yourself are too close to to either see or acknowledge...

 

Regarding major depression: I don't know that I'd say it's an overly used diagnosis, perhaps it's just a common disorder. I do agree that more care should be taken when diagnosing a teenager. At the age of 15 I was diagnosed as having bipolar disorder with temporal lobe epilepsy. I don't experience bouts of mania or depression nor do I have seizures of any degree. A couple years later a therapist I was seeing told me that I had adjustment disorder with mixed emotional problems. I think teenagers are just prone to bouts of depression due to their social situations, as well as moodiness in general. Maybe what you are trying to say about major depression is that it should be examined further whether the depression is situational or not?

Regarding whether or not psychology is a tool for making money: I would say with a small percentage of psychologists/psychiatrists it is, but the same could be said of a general physician as well. However, people are more likely to want their physical ailments treated than their mental ailments because, of course, they are crucial for survival.

 

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I went to councelling a few times. To three different councellors. I stopped seeing them when I realised they weren't helping me, [i]I[/i] was helping me.[hr][/blockquote]

My humble opinion:

1. Counsellors [i]shouldn't[/i] help people with their problems, so much as make it easier for them to help themselves. It's called empowerment.

2. Once you were able to help yourself, you didn't need counsellors anymore. There's nothing wrong with that- and I personally believe that if therapy doesn't get anything accomplished in a few sessions, it's going nowhere anyway.

3. Neither of these things means that therapists are useless- just that you were able to get well with their help and your own. A non-sarcastic 'good for you'.