Psychiatry and Psychology

[Vires Vox]

I've recently started studying psychology at university as I want to one day become a clinical psychologist, basically meaning that i want to treat people with mental disorders.
However there seems to be a lot of negative opinions when it comes to mental health. I was wondering what the escapist community thought of it as a medicine, whether it can generally help people or whether its just a load of "mumbo jumbo".

 

[Avatar Roku]

Well, my dads a psychotherapist (by my understanding, a pyshiatrist without a PhD), so I respect it.

 

[videonerd250]

I think it can help people. My problem is that a lot of times people just go for the pills.

 

[Fox1789]

that depends on alot of things...

years ago people where getting legit diagnosis for their problems.. but now it seems like alot of parents with a child that has behavior problems will decide to blame it on ADHD or Bipolar disorder instead of blaming themselves for bad parenting..

and the doctors dont care. they will do whatever the parents want cause they get a nice check at the end of the week.

 

[rottenbutter]

The only thing I don't like about it is, the fact that it lead to the creation of Neon Genesis: Evangelion (which I hate with a burning passion). Other than that, I think it's great, and can really people.

 

[Break]

Considering that I'm studying Higher psychology, am aiming to get a degree in psychology, and want to work in a psychology-related field when I'm older, it'd be problematic if I thought of it as a bunch of psychobabble nonsense.

 

[jim_doki]

i dislike psychiatrists. nothing personal, it's just i don't think its fair to charge 200 bucks to make someone lie down and talk to you. no psych i've ever been to has ever given me any more information than my freinds have, and only one even offered any kind of coping solution that made sense.

I mean i get that you can read everything im saying on several different levels, but im not that deep, sometimes there are no other levels

 

[Galletea]

I think in some cases it is necessary, for more extreme things. But I think psychiatry is used too often and doesn't always help.

 

[implodingMan]

As someone who takes psych classes in university (midterm coming up. woooo), I can attest that there is a lot more science behind it that most people seem to think. You learn all about genetics, evolutionary processes, neuron structures and a bunch of other chemically complicated stuff. Its not all "well, its your mother's fault".

 

[crimson5pheonix]

that depends on alot of things...

years ago people where getting legit diagnosis for their problems.. but now it seems like alot of parents with a child that has behavior problems will decide to blame it on ADHD or Bipolar disorder instead of blaming themselves for bad parenting..

and the doctors dont care. they will do whatever the parents want cause they get a nice check at the end of the week.

This. But some doctors take the initiative in trying to hand out the skittles medicine. I went to a shrink in the 6th grade. I hadn't been doing my math homework because they stuck me in a regular math class when I didn't want to be there (a very childish and stupid thing to do, but I was childish and stupid so I forgive myself). My Mom took me the the psychologist for 4 weeks so he could "figure out what was troubling me" when I bold faced told her and the psychologist exactly why I wasn't doing it. He concluded I had ADD and I should be on medicine. Thankfully me Mom didn't accept that.

 

[Caliostro]

Sophomore psychology student here.

And it's 2 am...and I'm finishing a work... And I gotta get up at 6 tomorrow... to present it at 9:30...and it's not done yet...


...Fucking hell...



...But I do love psychology. Unfortunately, like a lot of other things nowadays, it's sometimes misunderstood... And sometimes people get "bad vibes" from it because, like in any other practice, there's people who are in this just for the money...

 

[black lincon]

Are you going to work for the police? Perhaps in a mental ward or a hospital? if so, congratulations you've just become an important member of society, if not and you end up treating soccer moms because they are pissed that their teens disobey them, you have just become a bottom feeder who is no better to society than injury lawyers, or Jack Thompson.

Seriously some psychologists are useless, I had one once, I decided I wasn't particularly interested in cooperating so I convinced him I was an emo, fun times, fun times.

 

[theklng]

i don't study psychology other than the research that i conduct (software development major), but i was born into a family of psychologists. my interest in the human mind and general psychology is bordering to the extreme.

as for treating people with mental disabilities; it is entirely dependent on what you call a disability or condition. there isn't a medicine for each condition, but the mind is likely to adapt to the way that the mind works (recursively). if you want to say, "you've got this condition, you need x and y, they will cure you", then psychology is not for you.

the human mind is a complex entity and what we know about human psychology today is very little. if i had to go into psychology, it would probably purely in the interest of expanding it, and merging borders with other close-by humanitarian sciences.

that being said, people in my family have some renown for their practice, and i have witnessed the reception of numerous letters/gifts from clients, all in return for the service provided.

 

[superbleeder12]

I think the fields are good to help those that are mentally ill.

but therapists who help people with their issues are really just making money off people who can spend the money. I mean, if a person can just sit back, and take a look at their life, they can deal with the issue themselves.

 

[Lucifus]

Im training to be a psychologist and im in my last year now. I just don't see how people can shove arbitrary labels and suddenly its a new condition. Ive also had experience in dealing with my own mental health problems and ive found psychiatrists to be the most useless and overpaid people in history. In GB they do nothing apart from play with peoples medication and most come out worse than when they went in, hell i ended up correcting my psychiatrist and ended up walking out as he was useless and only wanted to change my dosage of candy. Thankfully psychologists are a bit better as they actually use scientifically proven behavioral and cognitive therapy's.

 

[Aardvark]

Just remember, you'll be the first to be put to the atomic sword when the Evil Intergalactic Warlord Xenu returns to earth to harvest all the body thetans to power his Evil Intergalactic Doom Cannon.

 

[crimson5pheonix]

Just remember, you'll be the first to be put to the atomic sword when the Evil Intergalactic Warlord Xenu returns to earth to harvest all the body thetans to power his Evil Intergalactic Doom Cannon.

Of course, that should go without saying...

 

[mkb07a]

The people that are in it for the money and those doctors who prescribe meds people don't need are terrible. That being said, I have a large amount of respect for actual psychology. It gives a lot of insight into why we are the way we are. My boyfriend, for a time, was a psychology major and loved it (though he changed because he didn't want to be a therapist or anything like that). However, his knowledge of it makes it a lot better when I'm going through rabid, mouth-foaming manic phases and can't entirely control myself (I'm not medicated, nor do I have any desire to be medicated. He and I have worked out that regular sleep and reduced stress do wonders for preventing mania or depression in myself.)

Psychology has its place, but just as there are those in other fields who give the whole career a bad name (politics, anyone), there are those in the psych field that make everyone hate what they do.