I am looking for one that does not believe that praying for me will eventtually cure me. Preferable a clinical psychologist with at least an M, preferable his doctorate.
Regards
I am looking for one that does not believe that praying for me will eventtually cure me. Preferable a clinical psychologist with at least an M, preferable his doctorate.
Regards
Thanks Jane!
Pleasure
There are “good” psychologists? Ones who provide some benefit to humankind? Shit, you learn something new every day! Next thing there’ll be “good” homeopaths. Nance - where are yoooo?
I was waiting for this
rwenzori I know what you are thinking (Oops, was that sentence a Freudian slip?) Even though there are doubtful views on the benefits of psychiatry, psychology do have some serious merits in my view.
No it will not “cure” depression or hate, but it provides a foundation from which I believe anyone can benefit. As with everything, the “New agers” had their little grubby paws all over this field for some time. It is difficult to speak psychology these days without someone referring to “energy” or “field” etc.
So when I refer to a “good psychologist” I mean someone that knows that the person is the only one that can cause the desired outcome and they need to just facilitate the internal dialogue to a point where the solution is discovered. And that it purely a logical conclusion that needs to be reached, no energy field or the like that need to be tapped into or activated >:D
But I know that there may be some interesting views on this and I would love to hear more of the counter argument. Maybe we can move this to another topic all together ;D
The difficulty, though, (and this is what I think rwenzori is driving at) is that even without all of the New Age encumbrances and woo-woo adornments, it is doubtful whether orthodox psychology properly qualifies as a science – or even could, given how there’s a theory to fit every occasion and personality. Psychology is extremely short on falsifiability because it has a model pretty much irrespective of the situation. I’ll grant that it’s trying to be a science but I’m not convinced that it’s anywhere near that goal yet.
'Luthon64
Thanks Mefiante - yes, that’s about the size of it. ( I’m caught up in a debate about it over at MyBB ).
I’ve come to regard psychology much as I regard trepanning: both rather primitive, of unfounded healing power, imprecise, and based not upon any real knowledge of the human mind/brain. I figure i need psychology like I need a hole in the head.
waaa ka ka ka ;D
im allso in two minds about shrinks.
wereas they might be to supply a person with methods in coping, like keeping a diary, or what the hell ever, i think they might have about as much merit, as having a chat with a mate over a drink.
with coming out of a violently abusive relationship, i feel the need to see somebody.
i think, that friends get gatvol of hearing you bitch, and eventually tell you to get over it, whereas the shrink gets paid to listen to you karp on indefinitely.
There’s also the fact that a shrink has a degree or a diploma, usually from an accredited institution. Furthermore, as GCG mentioned, you have to pay to see a shrink and the fees can be quite high, so you may well feel obliged to get better under the shrink’s ministrations even if you’re not. Mulling things over with a friend doesn’t have these same pressures. It is telling that many people continue to visit their shrinks regularly over extended periods, akin to the ongoing relationships they maintain with their pastors and priests – except that they aren’t formally invoiced for the latter. It is similarly quite rare to find a shrink telling patients to go home and stop wasting their time and money because there’s nothing wrong with them, which observation raises questions of “treatment” efficacy, and possibly some ethical questions, too.
'Luthon64
Bit confused on the topic so please inform me…
Isn’t the difference between a shrink and your buddy down at the pub, that the shrink can decide you have a chemical imbalance in your brain and treat it with prescription medicines? I wouldn’t go so far as to say NOBODY gets benefits from antidepressants. However I’m sure you can make a case that anti-depressants/ritalin/etc. are over-prescribed. But then I’d contend the same is true of antibiotics, even though I solidly consider those to be with scientific merit (if used wisely).
Going to the pub for schizophrenia is also just going to make matters worse I’m afraid, the schizo’s I know who are on medication tell me that they just cannot live without the pills and will probably go psychotic after not too long without them.
I may just be getting lost in the distinction between clinical psychologist/psychologist/psychiatrist/etc. Like I said, please enhance my understanding if I’m getting this wrong…
Psychiatrists are the ones who prescribe medications or surgical interventions where necessary. They have proper medical degrees. Psychologists are basically counsellors.
'Luthon64
An aquantance of mine practicing child psychology blatantly states that the kids are his ferrari money, he “treats” children from a fairly well-off background and generally in his opinion its the parents that actually needs help and not the kids. On the other hand, I have colleagues who assists kids with a variety of real issues and equip them with practical solutions (managing ADHD or social background issues for instance) - there’s a huge difference between these two people and like with any job out there, it comes down to whether its a passion or a well-paying job for the individual.
Psychologists are basically counsellors.
Yes, and its tiring on a good day. I still maintain though, if you truly have the need to talk to someone about your problems, go find yourself an older person - they have far more practical advice born from experience and are generally rooted in reality, and they’re also not professionally bound not to tell you that you’re being an idiot and to stop your crap. (and its for free)
What I find extremely fascinating is the amount of sexologists thats popping up all over the place, and I’ve also in the last year or so came across quite a few psychologists that claim to be psychics and combine the two practices (I was horrified - its immoral) Throwing woo into the mix is giving false hope and not empowering someone to do something for themselves but to instead to sit on their asses and wait for the spirit world to fix their shit.
There are quite a variety of psychology practitioners but the main streams are
clinical, this includes neuropsychology which studies the relation between the brain and behavior, often working in stroke and head injury programs; and geropsychology which deals with problems faced by the aging and elderly.
One of the newer fields is ‘para-psychology’ which deals with stuff like intuition, metaphysics, para-normal things. At the university of KZN they’re doing some serious research into this (The reason I am aware is that I had 42 professors of psychology in a 9 day strategic planning workshop…the flippen’ worst project ever! (wtf!!))
Counselling, which deals with helping people make decisions, interviewing and testing clients or possible candidates for employment, and even helping people process major life changes.
School psychology focuses on school-aged students in order to help them succeed in school and navigate their social and academic life in the face of major life events.
Industrial/organisational (the only group who actually work with ‘normal’ people in the work environment)
To become a psychologist you need a Masters/PhD degree and two years internship.
A Psychiatrist is a diffrent animal: MB ChB (med dr) plus I think 5 years specialisation and internship for something like 13 yrs study…I still have to meet a ‘normal’ psychiatrist! ???