Mental Health and Religion.(Yeah this is the baddest question)?

Cletus Crotts: Comeon manjun like if someone said he was jesus you would ask him to bring his followers in sounds like somebody isn't being realistic here.you would say this guy has issues and if he said he was gonna bring followers you would find some mass hysteria label or some thing else in a cult disorder, my ultimate question is can a new religion be made with out acknowledging mental health. and is this healthy for society given the real history that religion have come and gone, church of scientology is an effective example, do you think there is more going on today, that greedy doctors have put mental healthy care and insurance in jeopardy, and guys like jason were maybe some kind of whistleblowers?...Show more

Coleman Deliberato: Sapphire not to be rude but your are deriding the question of its worth by using an ineffective tactic, simple said you could make your same argument about anything, simple because its diverse come on some real intelligence required! .(here come the grammar nazi for deride phase 2) lol j/k

Ester Bryand: could we have an example of what you mean. Do I think that things done in certain religions can fell under scrutiny but not many. so I don't think its a pertinent issue.

Ira Porietis: The wording of your question is confusing to me, but I think I might know what you mean.No, I do not think it's attack on religion for mental health workers to focus on ritualized behavior that is recognized as a symptom of mental illness.The key to religious experience and ritual in a mental health context is as follows:Is the behavior appropriate to the individual's culture and/or religious tradition? If so, it is not considered a symptom of mental illness. This is true even if the behavior or belief may seem bizarre to others who do not belong to the same culture or religion. For example; many people believe in faith healing, speaking in tongues, spirit possession; but all of these are considered appropriat! e in certain religious traditions although "outsiders" may fin! d them peculiar. If the individual has a so-called religious experience that is not shared or recognized by others within his or her cultural or religious group, the behavior may be a manifestation of mental illness. For example, a man says he is Jesus Christ and has risen from the dead; but there are no other people who agree with him. I used to work for a mental hospital. One time we admitted an old man who said he belonged to something called the Church of Free Love (or something like that). People thought he was delusional but he was soon allowed to go home because staff checked it out and discovered there was indeed a group by that name and it did follow the ideas that man was talking about.Edit: "Mass hysteria label?" Sorry, but there isn't any such thing. I have never heard of any mental health professional making any statement like that except perhaps in the 1800s. "Cult disorder?" I never heard of that. You are just making arbitrary arguments. I have a copy of Jung! 's "Man And His Symbols"--nice book in terms of discussion on the significance of religious ideas and culture, but I don't see how it can be used in a practical sense for mental health treatment in this day and age. I have read Joseph Campbell and Huston Smith in terms of the hero's journey and that sort of thing. Beautiful stuff, but in actual practice, mental health treatment is focused on helping people to function as well as possible within their work, family, and daily lives. If someone is looking for some kind of religious experience, they should look someplace else other than mental health treatment. Besides, insurance companies aren't going to pay for heroic travels in the subconscious. Have a nice evening....Show more

Ginny Trickett: Things You Can't Say at Work ahhh...i see the f*ck-up fairy has visited us again... i don't know what your problem is, but i'll bet it's hard to pronounce. i see you've set aside this special time to humiliate yourself in public! . i'll try being nicer if you'll try being smarter. it sounds like engl! ish, but i can't understand a word you're saying. i can see your point, but i still think you're full of sh*t. i like you. you remind me of when i was young and stupid. you are validating my inherent mistrust of strangers. i have plenty of talent and vision. i just don't give a damn. i'm already visualizing the duct tape over your mouth. thank you. we're all refreshed and challenged by your unique point of view. what am i? flypaper for freaks!? yes, i am an agent of satan, but my duties are largely ceremonial. and your crybaby whiny-butt opinion would be...? do i look like a people person? this isn't an office. it's hell with fluorescent lighting. sarcasm is just one more service we offer. if i throw a stick, will you leave? i'm trying to imagine you with a personality. can i trade this job for what's behind door #1? how do i set a laser printer to stun? i thought i wanted a career, turns out i just wanted a paycheck....Show more

Ollie Desalvo: Also in response to sap! phire psychiatry is a modern science, psychology(therapy) can be traced far back and some argue strongly of its origin stemming from religious shamans and wise men of older age tribes.I'm very confident that psychology has been around for awhile in that sense.

Salvatore Walls: Jason I know what you mean you get the "extra" pay check for a couple weeks so you don't ask questions.

Rona Espalin: mental health person for 10 plus years. u say what u are trained to say. I am a male and stood up for me being an assistant manager at the group home where they were females (co-ed) i got fired for mentioning this to hr. religion may, in ur situation be a tool, but ultimately, it sound to me like an attempt to call their families and get around the rules. correct me if i'm wrong, but if ur female hang in there. Males get fired.and they've got the legal bribes to prove it.

Elva Batie: I am a mental health counselor and you really have some valid questions. First, yes ! I think that those that are treated can and often do become the analyze! rs, especially if they began therapy when they were young. Kids, teenager, or young adults often "catch on" really quick to the process of cognitive behavioral therapy and "give the therapist what they want to hear" so they can leave. That's why it is so important to change things around. There are several theories to use and it is important to use them all.The second part of your question struck me as being true a lot of the time, but it shouldn't be. Unless the therapist is advertised as being religion related, the therapist view of a religion should not enter the picture. When it comes to ritualistic behavior, very often, in my practice, religious ritualistic behavior IS the problem. I don't work with the ritualistic behaviors unless they are extremely harmful (like self harmers) or the person if seeking therapy because ritualistic behavior is effecting their lives to the point that they cannot function as an "average" person would. Religion should not be part of therapy! because every person's view of religion is different and no therapist has the right to force their beliefs on someone else, least of all their patients. So yes, I believe that it is unethical to put religious values on trial in all situations, unless, again, the therapist is of a particular religious background and the patient knows that going in.Additional:While psychology did not emerge as a separate discipline until the late 1800s, its earliest history can be traced back to the time of the early Greeks. During the 17th-century, the French philosopher Rene Descartes introduced the idea of dualism, which asserted that the mind and body were two separate entities that interact to form the human experience. Many other issues still debated by psychologists today, such as the relative contributions of nature vs. nurture, are rooted in these early philosophical traditions. So what makes psychology different from philosophy? While early philosophers relied on methods such as ob! servation and logic, today’s psychologists utilize scientific methodo! logies to study and draw conclusions about human thought and behavior. Physiology also contributed to psychology’s eventual emergence as a scientific discipline. Early physiology research on brain and behavior had a dramatic impact on psychology, ultimately contributing to the application of scientific methodologies to the study of human thought and behavior. Psychology Emerges as a Separate DisciplineDuring the mid-1800s, a German physiologist named Wilhelm Wundt was using scientific research methods to investigate reaction times. His book published in 1874, Principles of Physiological Psychology, outlined many of the major connections between the science of physiology and the study of human thought and behavior. He later opened the first world’s first psychology lab in 1879 at the University of Leipzig. This event is generally considered the official start of psychology as a separate and distinct scientific discipline. How did Wundt view psychology? He perceived the s! ubject as the study of human consciousness and sought to apply experimental methods to studying internal mental processes. While his use of a process known as introspection is seen as unreliable and unscientific today, his early work in psychology helped set the stage for future experimental methods. An estimated 17,000 students attended Wundt’s psychology lectures, and hundreds more pursued degrees in psychology and studied in his psychology lab. While his influence dwindled in the years to come, his impact on psychology is unquestionable. Structuralism Becomes Psychology’s First School of ThoughtEdward B. Titchener, one of Wundt’s most famous students, would go on to found psychology’s first major school of thought. According to the structuralists, human consciousness could be broken down into much smaller parts. Using a process known as introspection, trained subjects would attempt to break down their responses and reactions to the most basic sensation and percep! tions. While structuralism is notable for its emphasis on scientific re! search, its methods were unreliable, limiting, and subjective. When Titchener died in 1927, structuralism essentially died with him. The Functionalism of William JamesPsychology flourished in American during the mid- to late-1800s. William James emerged as one of the major American psychologists during this period and the publication of his classic textbook, The Principles of Psychology, established him as the father of American psychology. His book soon became the standard text in psychology and his ideas eventually served as the basis for a new school of thought known as functionalism. The focus of functionalism was on how behavior actually works to help people live in their environment. Functionalists utilized methods such as direct observation. While both of these early schools of thought emphasized human consciousness, their conceptions of it were significantly different. While the structuralists sought to break down mental processes into their smallest parts, the func! tionalists believed that consciousness existed as a more continuous and changing process. While functionalism is no longer a separate school of thought, it would go on to influence later psychologists and theories of human thought and behavior. Next: Psychoanalysis - The Psychology of Sigmund Freud...http://psychology.about.com/od/historyofpsychology... Actually the study of the psychology, in the beginning, was considered quite antireligious and anyone who subscribed to it was an outcast. As far as Freud, he thought that everything having to do with the psyche related somehow to sex. Not to cut down his theories, he contributed a lot, but he was preoccupied with sex. Jung's inclusion of dreams, mythology and philosophy also hurt his credibility, especially among the religions, which is why he eventually included relgion in his theory. Those with mental problems were thought to be possessed and a person did not go through "Therapy." They were exorcised and most wound up dea! d.In the end, as with everything else, it depends on the therapist or "! counselor" as to what eventually happen in psychoanalysis. You're putting all the eggs in one basket but it's not the status quo, it's the individual....Show more

Hye Caulley: My ultimate concept is that psychiatry promotes massive disbelief and psychology in a jungian sense is better, and primarily because of the difference in freud and carl jung with in the idea or how they tolerated religions, freuds didnt as much, jung was open to it.