Friday, July 29, 2011

Shocking discovery! Psychology doesn't always help & sometimes makes it worse

Some given treatment undoubtedly benefited, researchers say, but others became annoyed or more upset. At least one commentator referred to therapists’ response as “trauma tourism.”

“We did a case study in New York and couldn’t really tell if people had been helped by the providers — but the providers felt great about it,” said Patricia Watson, a co-author of one of the articles and associate director of the terrorism and disaster programs at the National Center for Child Traumatic Stress. “It makes sense; we know that altruism makes people feel better.”

But researchers later discovered that the standard approach at the time, in which the therapist urges a distressed person to talk through the experience and emotions, backfires for many people. They plunge even deeper into anxiety and depression when forced to relive the mayhem.

Crisis response teams now take a much less intense approach called psychological first aid, teaching basic coping skills and having victims recount experiences only if it seems helpful. [...]

5 comments :

  1. Psychology as a therapeutic regime is less advanced than general Medicine for physical illness.
    Even with Pharmaceutical and surgical therapy, there are always side effects and risks involved. So should we expect with Psychology -which is a very broad spectrum of theories and approaches.
    Even diagnosis of psychological issues is not black and white,let alone applying a therapy.
    What is more disturbing, is how many rabbis, who are totally untrained or licensed in any kind of counselling take it upon themselves to give psychological advice to their students or followers.

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  2. Many Gedolim, including Rav Avigdor Miller ztvk"l, said many times that these psychologist are only good for unloading your wallet.

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  3. Many Gedolim, including Rav Avigdor Miller ztvk"l, said many times that these psychologist are only good for unloading your wallet.

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  4. @Ben_Torah There is reason to suspect any person's treatment of mental illness, either therapist or rabbi, if they lack basic bekiyus in the symptoms they expect to treat. A therapist or rabbi who lacks yiras shomayim and has no chochma will never be successful in treating mental illness.

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  5. http://blogs.psychcentral.com/therapy-soup/2011/07/leiby-kletzkys-murder-we-cannot-understand-we-can-act/

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