What you’re missing here is that there are some branches of psychology that study biological processes, such as how sensation and perception are captured from the external world by the nervous system, interpreted by the brain, etc. (See psychophysics Psychophysics - Wikipedia )
Similarly, studying processes such as how memory, learning, and so on work seems like a pretty legitimate scientific undertaking.
[quote]iflyboats wrote:
I don’t mean to come off like a scientologist, but I truly agree that psychiatry is the most fraudulent discipline in all of health care. Naturopathy is more valid than psychiatry. These drugs they prescribe are dangerous and have NEVER been proven to correct ANY kind of “chemical imbalance”. In fact, the truth is that all psychiatric drugs work by DISRUPTING normal chemical processes in the brain. SSRIs do nothing more than dampen your emotions and make you complacent with your shitty existence. They do not enhance mental health- they merely cause you to become dependent on mind-altering drugs to keep you from smashing your nuts with a hammer.
As for psychology, I’m convinced that the entire field was born out of the need to have a cake major for dumb college kids who couldn’t hack it if they had to study something legitimate. Psychological “counseling” is so fabulously worthless. Most people just “think” that it helps because they enjoy having an opporunity to complain to someone about their shitty lives, but the counseling itself does nothing useful. Psychologists are not capable of providing any kind of theraputic intervention. They just sit their on their fat asses in their stupid psychologist chairs and pretend to have some kind of special perspective on life. Then they go home and snort coke like everyone else.[/quote]
There is a lot more to psychology than Freud style lie-on-the-couch therapy, which is almost never practiced anymore.
Case in point: Chris Shugart. Motivation, sport psychology, etc. It’s good stuff.
There is a lot of solid and useful information to be had about the human mind, and most of it comes from clinically controlled studies combined with field work.
That’s not to say there aren’t useless therapists out there. However, that isn’t a good reason to ignore an entire discipline.
Well I actually have a good old degree in psychology. I think it’s mostly bumpkem but I strongly disagree that counselling is worthless.
It depends on the individual but I think it’s extremely helpful and something most people will benefit from. As well, not all counselling is lying on a couch stuff. Cognitive-behavioural in particular is excellent for anyone with a specific behavioural problem they’d like to get addressed.
Like all fields there are good ones and bad ones. The challenge for a client is to find a good one. Once they do the money spent will be worth it.
I guess if a psychiatrist can give a suicidal patien t drugs for a little while, help them figure themselves out, take them off drugs and get them back on track then they are completely useless.
wait
no
[quote]iflyboats wrote:
I don’t mean to come off like a scientologist[/quote]
I don’t mean to come off like I’m selling you a beach property in Arizona, but I am a real estate agent after all, and I do operate in Arizona, and I do have a couple nice condos with great view to the ocean.
[quote]iflyboats wrote:
I don’t mean to come off like a scientologist, but I truly agree with Tom Cruise that psychiatry is the most fraudulent discipline in all of health care. [/quote]
Musafa, I don’t have any solutions. I don’t need to have any. It ain’t on me. You can realize that something is worthless without having a better idea.
[quote]iflyboats wrote:
Musafa, I don’t have any solutions. I don’t need to have any. It ain’t on me. You can realize that something is worthless without having a better idea.[/quote]
I’m bipolar. When not on medication I go manic, have delusions, and a lot of bad crap happens. When medicated, I have my ups and downs but I don’t go manic and I don’t try to steer my car into oncoming traffic. To declare it as worthless just tells me you haven’t dealt personally with any of it.
[quote]iflyboats wrote:
Musafa, I don’t have any solutions. I don’t need to have any. It ain’t on me. You can realize that something is worthless without having a better idea.[/quote]
If it’s worthless then you wouldn’t have a preference if you were forced to be locked in a room with a medicated versus an unmedicated paranoid schizophrenic, right?
[quote]doogie wrote:
iflyboats wrote:
Musafa, I don’t have any solutions. I don’t need to have any. It ain’t on me. You can realize that something is worthless without having a better idea.
I’m bipolar. When not on medication I go manic, have delusions, and a lot of bad crap happens. When medicated, I have my ups and downs but I don’t go manic and I don’t try to steer my car into oncoming traffic. To declare it as worthless just tells me you haven’t dealt personally with any of it.[/quote]
You’re so full of it I won’t bother debating with you.
[quote]iflyboats wrote:
I don’t mean to come off like a scientologist, but I truly agree that psychiatry is the most fraudulent discipline in all of health care. Naturopathy is more valid than psychiatry. These drugs they prescribe are dangerous and have NEVER been proven to correct ANY kind of “chemical imbalance”. In fact, the truth is that all psychiatric drugs work by DISRUPTING normal chemical processes in the brain. SSRIs do nothing more than dampen your emotions and make you complacent with your shitty existence. They do not enhance mental health- they merely cause you to become dependent on mind-altering drugs to keep you from smashing your nuts with a hammer.
As for psychology, I’m convinced that the entire field was born out of the need to have a cake major for dumb college kids who couldn’t hack it if they had to study something legitimate. Psychological “counseling” is so fabulously worthless. Most people just “think” that it helps because they enjoy having an opporunity to complain to someone about their shitty lives, but the counseling itself does nothing useful. Psychologists are not capable of providing any kind of theraputic intervention. They just sit their on their fat asses in their stupid psychologist chairs and pretend to have some kind of special perspective on life. Then they go home and snort coke like everyone else.[/quote]
Now while it seems that most of the users do have a tidbit to say about actual therapy, the majority of psychological sciences are based upon actual things that we use in every day life, and the processes that help us achieve these things, as well as determining that we can improve the many things in our lives (mostly social psychology).
Ever bought something that you really didn’t need, but got conned into buying it due to the persuasion of the salesman; well damn, that’s psychology! Want to read about how to stop it from happening ever again; well hell, go read some psychology books (Cialdini, etc.).
Ever wonder why taking a chick to a scary movie often elicits her to feel more attracted to you? Go read more about psychology (excitation transfer theory)! Vital parenting skills can be related to developmental processes, skills valuable to studying for the next exam can help you ace it (cognitive science), or even motivational techniques to work on with athletes and team leadership, etc.
Therapy is based off of the practice of the medical community, and yes, it does seem to be the case to where many of the cases do have them throwing pills at you (just like a doctors office!), and this is a genuine problem, although most sincere psychotherapy sessions can be of some immediate worth without any drugs (unless it comes to something that may need aid, such as bipolar disorder, schitzophrenia, etc.) to facets OTHER than abnormal psychology especially (e.g. couples therapy. However, the byline of psychological study is NOT based on clinical community therapy.
Psychology, just as it interlinks with medicine and philosophy, can be very challenging as a whole, and can be applicable to any piece of our lives, and therefore, is of great worth to the scientific community.
Maybe you should educate yourself on the field before making naive overgeneralizations.
Speaking for my own branch of psychology (industrial/organizational), it is definitely a field driven by the scientific method. The employment tests developed over the past year at my company are a good example of the scientific method at work.
Psychologists are not capable of providing any kind of theraputic intervention. They just sit their on their fat asses in their stupid psychologist chairs and pretend to have some kind of special perspective on life. Then they go home and snort coke like everyone else.[/quote]
Out of all this I conclude you’re an insecure type, who just wants to start some shit.
See, that Masters in Psychology wasn’t wasted after all.
No really, in all friendliness, like all academic studies, there is only little practical in the studies themselves, however, Psychology is a most interesting direction, and it would be very ignorant to think that all psychologists do is “sit on their stupid fat asses and and pretend to have some kind of special perspective on life.”
The snorting coke part, okay.
Besides, an educated(and most of all experienced)listening ear can provide more help than all the talk in the world. People know the solution to their problems, they just need to see it themselves.
Many succesful managers, CEO’s, and the heads of major business corporations are in fact psychologists.
Dr. Mercola probably has some extra living space for a few million suffering for Schizophrenia…
Feed them Krill and Coconut Oil…that should work…
(Do you SEE how all this self-righteous dribble sounds, and how impractical it is when dealing with the care of millions of the mentally ill?)
Still waiting on PRACTICAL suggestions…
Mufasa[/quote]
And what are practical suggestions to you? Giving them worthless drugs that do more harm to them in the long run than any good? I mean,thats all they really do,is hand out drugs. A close cousin of mine suffered from bipolar disease and was basically a walking zombie for the past four years of his life. Almost every week he was switched on a new drug. His doctors and the drugs they prescribed him gave him severe brain damage.
Anything Mercola recommends would of been better than the legal crack he took. There are some great studies that quantify the number of people who commit suicides every year due to the prescription medications they not only abuse,but “use”.
No one,not even doctors,or even scientists for that matter,fully understand the human brain. Even with all of my studies,one being psychology too, I don’t agree with what they’re doing.
I was watching a drug commercial on TV last night for depression. “In a recent government study,over 70% of all patients who were suffering from depression and took medication for depression still had unresolved symptoms…Now you too can treat and even prevent depression from returning with ANOTHER medication”.
What are they doing? Trying to breed legal junkies?
I NEVER said that our attempt to deal with the extremely difficult problem of the millions of mentally ill was one that was perfect.
…But I also didn’t make it the root of all that is Evil, and that the answer was Coconut Oil and UV lights…
Don’t Straw Man me with arguments I didn’t make. Instead, give some practical and viable alternatives.
Tell you what.
Go to any Mental Health facility in what ever State you live in.
Make an appointment with a family that was at their wits end when they thought that they would lose their Loved one ravaged by mental illness who is at least now a) getting some food and a place to stay b) they can visit and at least carry on a conversation with and c) while not perfect are alive, safer than they were, and still with them.
Tell them that all that is being done is bullshit and killing that loved one, then tell them to take them home, eat some Krill, put them under some UV lights, and read everything by Mercola and L. Ron Hubbard they can find.
Repeat with all the Mentally Ill that are probably roaming the streets where you live.
Let us know how the strength of your convictions hold up.
I’m all for debate…but I HATE casting stones with no viable alternatives.
