My Introduction to Psychology 15: Faith

My Introduction to Psychology 15: Faith

This is the topic that touches the root of many people... I see a big, old tree-- higher than the tallest building in the village; wider than a humble house; deeper than the stream of water underneath.

A sleepy Sunday morning...hopefully the tea will kick in soon...

My Introduction to Psychology 14: A Doubt

My Introduction to Psychology 14: A Doubt

You have worked hard; now you have something to do and something to write about. But you know that you have joined with a million other writers, anxious to get noticed.

How do you know that you will stand out? You know that you are connected with everybody: if everybosy is connected each other, what is the point of your talking about the universal connection?

Say you are alone: you are walking on the sky at night. The air is like black water; it is dark and warm. Feel the comfortable, mercurylike, water that is touching your cheeks. You are flying...

My Introduction to Psychology 13: Change

My Introduction to Psychology 13: Change

We can’t really change people…in the foundational way…Yes, people do change when then want to…they become something they want to be…yet people “rebound” to their old self. (Just like after losing weight.)

So, what are we helpers doing here? Some say that we are waiting for people to change, the other say that we are really able to change people. Let’s say that we are able to do so. In that case, are the people (the product of our intervention) genuine? Aren’t they creepy, therapied, politically correct, sanitized, MacDonald’s hanger-version-of-processed-human-soul?

Let’s say that we therapists struggle between the two sticky edges of the swords—changing a person for treatment and keeping the something terrible yet fantastic characteristics of him/her…

My Introduction to Psychology 12: A moment

My Introduction to Psychology 12: A moment

Sometimes- it is rare- sometimes a core of a person, concept, system…etc shows itself…right in front of me. This is quite difficult to describe what I have seen..some folks prefer to say that something is revealed to me by the higher power.(As usual, the term “highter power” does not sit well with me…)

I have been writing about this moment; and I will write and talk about this for a while…

My Introduction to Psychology 11: Tom Cruise and Mental Health

My Introduction to Psychology 11: Tom Cruise and Mental Health.

Tom believes that anybody, including Brooke Shields---who had been obviously depressed after birth of her newborn child—should not take antidepressants nor psych-meds. In my view, Tom is half right and half wrong…Here are the two conflicting points of view.

Tom should not condemn every single psychiatric medication; some people would die or seriously injured when they don't seek a course of treatment, which may include taking antidepressants, untipsychotics like Haldol, and stimulants like Ritalin. When I was a student counselor, I treated children with hyper-activities and inattentiveness in a hospital setting. The hyperactivity of the children was so serious that they needed medical attention most of the time. Although Tom might read some journal articles of psychiatry, obviously his reading list is not comprehensive- maybe his neurological condition is less serious than those who I encountered in the hospital..Yes, there is a room for some improvement based on personal effort. But Tom pushed the envelope too far…Didn’t he learn the middle way?

Second, Tom’s frustration with psychiatry is, at least partially, understandable. Psychiatry (and clinical psychology, counseling…etc) has been dealing with unclear topics-- What are mental illnesses? What are the right treatments? (And, what's normal behaviors anyway?" How the medications and psychotherapy work? Almost all of these critical questions are answered ONLY by hypotheses. I repeat. As of today, most of mental illness are diagnosed WITHOUT hard-evidences, such as brain imageries and results of bloodworks. We don’t even track the hormonal levels of a psych patient on regular basis (unless the medication requires it for safety purposes). We diagnose and track the “progress” of patients simply by talking, physically examining (if you have medical background), and using paper-and-pencil tests (such as Beck Depression Inventories). I do not call the treatments “pseudo science”, but if I were a consumer, I will check where is the bases of a diagnosis and a course of treatment. Let’s go back to the common sense and the middle way…Tom…