Bad news about published psychology studies

[ShiftyNJ]

I get confused by/doubtful about these studies, not just psych but science in general... Asperger's is a thing, then it's not a thing? Eggs are bad, no wait! Eggs are good! I get it that learning is perpetual but it's a little discomfiting when studies are completely contradictory to each other.

[Virge]

Maybe all this boils down to the fact that the human mind is just too damn complex to be pinpointed by science. Maybe we should focus on the physical, chemical, biological aspects that are more accurately studied. Makes me glad I chose clinical counseling practice rather than Psychology- it can be applied practically and therapeutically regardless of what the studies say.

Jetta,
the guy who owns my soul and body is a freak. He was in a university when he was barely 16. He has more degrees than a friggin thermometer and finally decided to being a "help to people's happiness" and focused on a PhD in psychology. He says I was the thing that changed his direction but i don't see how I did it.

Back on topic... outside of real cases of schizophrenia and medically diagnosed bipolar, my Jaybird is a sword swinging visigoth pagan against the fortresses of conventional psychology and counseling. He does it the complete opposite way and I am the living proof of that. It doesn't make him popular with people in the US psychology fortress. In fact now they have found out he's their worst enemy there's all sorts crazy mess going on. Just in the past month he's been PRE-refused practice in Illinois, Ohio and Kentucky. Ya gotta love a guy who can get new like that and snicker, " only three states? jeeeeeeeeez. I was hoping for a fair fight.... with maybe forty nine."

THAT is what he teaches.

Last week when I was in a shit hole with PTSD under a pile of blankets the sorry mother fucker was cuddling up to me saying "once you come out this you will be ten times stronger... and ten times stronger than what you think you are. No hurry. Take your time. I'm here when you come back to the top. Then we can talk about patching things."

Fuck fuck fuck.
With that pitch who doesn't grab tight instead of sucking up to the "tell me your pain" approach. The cute bitch who forces me to cook dinner has been volunteering at least 9 hours every Tuesday since February to work PTSD vets at the regional VA hospital. Two weeks ago we found out the Washington DC VA is filing suits to ban him from volunteering to help veterans

........... Ooooooooooooo Lordy god... You don't want to know what it took to talk him down from filing a 50 trillion dollar lawsuit against a friggin government that ruled itself immune to civil lawsuits..... Hahahahaha ! I had his complete attention for five nights, giving him a crash course in 8th and 9th grade civics. Now all the VA patients he was seeing are driving to see him instead of driving to the VA hospital. They do buffet lunch and never talk past tense. Fourteen of them!! I've eaten with them twice and both times was stuck for the entire bill for speaking in past tense, about the past.

But no regrets. I love playing the idiot for the shithead I'm married to. He's not all bad. He's real romantic. Just Friday night he passionately screamed, "Bitch, give me my ankles. You aren't getting them in my ears."

I hope most of you can tell where the serious stuff ends and the jokes starts.

[Bhp91126]

Serious question, Virge:
Has your hubby published any writings about his way of doing psychology? Your posts have made me curious.

[MikeW]

...
With that pitch who doesn't grab tight instead of sucking up to the "tell me your pain" approach.

What do you mean by "sucking up to" the "'tell me your pain' approach"?

In my experience (admittedly limited and not objective) what has the best chance of working in any therapeutic modality is ATTENTION. People need to be heard, seen, acknowledged, ... and not just superficially but deeply. So, in a way, any modality that focuses open and receptive attention on someone who is suffering, helps. I believe the "tell me your pain" approach has its uses. There's an even deeper level of that, the "re-experience your pain right now" approach, which, in my experience, goes even deeper and further toward healing emotional wounds through reintegration. That's not to say that such approaches are the ONLY ones that work. On the contrary, even with the same person, SOMETIMES it is best, as you seem to be suggesting, TO LEARN TO STAY IN THE PRESENT MOMENT. Or, as J seems to have done with you, to allow one to go under, to slide back into one's inner 'hell' and allow the reality that he/she WILL return of their own accord. I call it the "this too shall pass" approach.

But the fundamental point is, directing QUALITY attention toward a suffering subject seems to offer real help. "Quality attention" means undistracted attention. Attention not only of the mind (as in viewing the subject's words and actions through a pre-established intellectual or modality filter) but of the body and the heart; an opening that "allows" whatever is going on inside the subject to take its rightful place. To be seen and acknowledged, not avoided.

The therapist from whom I learned all this stuff (now deceased) was of the opinion that the human psyche has a natural tendency toward healing and balance, just as the body does. From this point of view, the "therapists" role is not to "heal" (impossible) but to create a space within which the natural healing of the subject can begin taking place. This "space" is the quality of attention brought to the exchange between the participants. Whether it is remembering and talking out of the past, re-experiencing the past in the present (quite different from talking), being stuck in the quagmire of contradictory thoughts and emotions, or learning to stay focused in the present -- thus separating one's immediate self from emotional wounds and memories -- all of this and more (such as role playing, dream work, gestalt and many other options) have their place.

Two weeks ago we found out the Washington DC VA is filing suits to ban him from volunteering to help veterans.

WHY? What is their justification for this action? Seems extreme to say the lest.

[Virge]

Serious question, Virge:
Has your hubby published any writings about his way of doing psychology? Your posts have made me curious.

He came on line in GS a month or so back with my ID about MoodGYM which is great. He was involved with that when it was being put together. I don't ask much at all about psychiatry and he likes it that way. In the 7 months he's been practicing here he's only mentioned one patient and then not by name, who was having real tough problems. The most I ever get when I ask how his day went is "Great" or "Long. What's for dinner?"

He's written plenty but I'll have to get with him to see what he wants to link me up with to share. He's in family practice with five physicians and the practice is transforming pretty fast with a small gym being added on, a dietitian and a specialist in child behavior. Someone coming in for a first appointment with Jay first sees a doctor for a check up, gets scheduled with the dietitian who sets them up with free everything for quitting smoking if they do. He or one of the other doctors work with people with weight problems at a gym two mornings a week at no charge.

CBT (cognitive behavior therapy) and Gestalt. Home reading and video viewing assignments with worksheets. Exercise programs for nearly everyone. He's great at motivating and coaching people to take control in dealing with problems like depression and anxiety. At the gym new member automatically think he works there because he's so animated pushing and praising his clients.

One of the first things he started here in January was with five clinic patients with bad weight problems and depression. He keeps modeling clay and sketch pads for them to piddle with while in session. with him. I was going when I could just to work out but stopped. I went with him 2 weeks ago and barely recognized the original people because they'd lost so much weight.
[MENTION=20947]MikeW[/MENTION]
Point #1 .
That was a bad choice of words. And I should have not said anything since I have never sat in and heard the way he handles things. I know his personality and how he is with and others around the house... he won't let me dwell long on a problem but I never do anyway and he always always always pushes me towards solutions... and he tells people up front 90% of the work beating mental health issues are the clients'. All he can do is put them on the right course and give them the tools.

Point #2 .
He pissed off some shitty VA doctor here. Hahahahahaha! Some of the vets he's been seeing in Wed evening group therapy have mentioned their meds and doses. Jay told some to get their doctors to lower doses and gave others names of drugs that might work better for them. One of them called him and was pretty nasty about it... on speaker phone with clinic staff listening. The office manager reported the VA doctor... who from what I understand, has a reputation for overmedicating patients. He came here from one of the hospitals in Texas I think, that was under investigation for that type crap. .... and I had to hear all that from my mother who had to hear it first from the office manager. Jay didn't mention any of to me. When I asked about it he just chuckled, "I figured the guy was having a bad day.... now he might be having lots of them in a row." There's nothing the VA can do about US vets attending free group therapy/peer support groups unrelated to what they're being treated for at the VA.

Just a case of bureaucratic bullshit trying to roll down the wrong hill.