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The problem with Psychology
Posted: 20 August 2011 03:55 PM   [ Ignore ]
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is that…...how does a Psychologist know whether the thoughts offered by another person are actual and genuine thoughts, and the ideas offered back by the Psychologist are just what the patient needs to hear to correct the thoughts that the Psychologist does not know are genuine to begin with?

Whew!

Is Psychology telling people what you think they want or need to hear, or is it figuring out what they are telling you is is authentic?

Double whew!

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‘In the name of intellectual honesty we should say we don’t know when we don’t know instead of making things up that fit just to give us comfort that we think we know’

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Posted: 20 August 2011 04:55 PM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 1 ]
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eudemonia - 20 August 2011 03:55 PM

is that…...how does a Psychologist know whether the thoughts offered by another person are actual and genuine thoughts, and the ideas offered back by the Psychologist are just what the patient needs to hear to correct the thoughts that the Psychologist does not know are genuine to begin with?

Whew!

Is Psychology telling people what you think they want or need to hear, or is it figuring out what they are telling you is is authentic?

Double whew!

Eud, if you knew what the shit you were talking about, besides blathering, I’d respond to you.  But you do not.

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There is my truth.  There is your truth.  There is the real truth.  Neither of us can claim that third. Maybe if we talk, we’ll both get closer.

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Posted: 20 August 2011 06:23 PM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 2 ]
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Dennis, I’d say that over the years you’ve gradually become a creep except that as far as I know, you’ve always been one. How’s that for a mildly insulting bit of honesty?

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Posted: 20 August 2011 06:38 PM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 3 ]
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eudemonia - 20 August 2011 03:55 PM

is that…...how does a Psychologist know whether the thoughts offered by another person are actual and genuine thoughts, and the ideas offered back by the Psychologist are just what the patient needs to hear to correct the thoughts that the Psychologist does not know are genuine to begin with?

Whew!

Is Psychology telling people what you think they want or need to hear, or is it figuring out what they are telling you is is authentic?

Double whew!

WHEW is right! I understand why Dennis responded to your post the way he did.  I don’t know if Dennis would agree with this but it is my understanding that all thoughts are Actual thoughts.

As for the rest of your question(s), and again I would defer to Dennis, the answer is “context”.  This is as simple as I could put it.  I think you might need a whole thread’s worth of discussion to answer you completely.


Jeff

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Posted: 20 August 2011 06:47 PM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 4 ]
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WHEW is right! I understand why Dennis responded to your post the way he did.  I don’t know if Dennis would agree with this but it is my understanding that all thoughts are Actual thoughts

.

Someone says “I think.”  I know what they said.  Assume there’s some “thought” underlying.  What they say may have something to do with whatever we’re dealing with, as in therapy, an that’s the challenge.  “Actual” makes no sense.

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Posted: 20 August 2011 06:57 PM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 5 ]
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Dennis Campbell - 20 August 2011 06:47 PM

WHEW is right! I understand why Dennis responded to your post the way he did.  I don’t know if Dennis would agree with this but it is my understanding that all thoughts are Actual thoughts

.

Someone says “I think.”  I know what they said.  Assume there’s some “thought” underlying.  What they say may have something to do with whatever we’re dealing with, as in therapy, an that’s the challenge. 


Context?

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Posted: 20 August 2011 07:04 PM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 6 ]
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It’s a legitimate question about verifying veracity. Two questions, actually. Dennis would do well to read closely before insulting the OP writer.

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Posted: 20 August 2011 07:06 PM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 7 ]
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jdrnd - 20 August 2011 06:57 PM
Dennis Campbell - 20 August 2011 06:47 PM

WHEW is right! I understand why Dennis responded to your post the way he did.  I don’t know if Dennis would agree with this but it is my understanding that all thoughts are Actual thoughts

.

Someone says “I think.”  I know what they said.  Assume there’s some “thought” underlying.  What they say may have something to do with whatever we’re dealing with, as in therapy, an that’s the challenge. 


Context?

Pretty much.

May have reacted too harshly to Eud, just get tired of inane comments.  Should have just not “viewed” his post in the first place and left it alone.

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There is my truth.  There is your truth.  There is the real truth.  Neither of us can claim that third. Maybe if we talk, we’ll both get closer.

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Posted: 20 August 2011 07:08 PM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 8 ]
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nonverbal - 20 August 2011 07:04 PM

It’s a legitimate question about verifying veracity. Two questions, actually. Dennis would do well to read closely before insulting the OP writer.

You’re quite right, his post was self-insulting and I need not have added to it.

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Posted: 20 August 2011 07:32 PM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 9 ]
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jdrnd - 20 August 2011 06:38 PM

I don’t know if Dennis would agree with this but it is my understanding that all thoughts are Actual thoughts.

It’s a question of or closely related to qualia. We may attempt to communicate our “actual” thoughts, but what we actually communicate may not be those thoughts once the words we use reach the other party and the receiver processes them. So I think Eud’s question is entirely valid (it’s not so much psychology, though he is asking how psychology manages the issue—the underlying issue, though, is pretty much universal), ironically I’m just not sure he was able to communicate his “actual” thoughts well enough to ensure that what most of us got from what we read is actually quite what he meant to communicate to us.

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Posted: 20 August 2011 07:41 PM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 10 ]
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Oh come on Dennis. Of all people here I would think you would be the one with a little bit of thick skin.

Your Illustrious career is done and your life is near over, why care so much about what is said, partly in jest, on a internet forum.

All I can think is that I must have struck a chord, eh? What else would warrant such a response from you, other than maybe a few too many drinks on Saturday night?

Seriously though, how do you think you know when someone is telling you how they feel is really how they feel?

Do you take the position that nobody with a Phd in Psychology can possibly, or has ever been hoodwinked?

Really now.

And FWIW, of course all thoughts are actual thoughts, but are they authentic thoughts? Can’t somebody mislead somebody, even a Psychologist, on what they really feel. Come on, you are the one who interviewed Jeff Dahmer.

Give us some insight.

[ Edited: 20 August 2011 07:44 PM by Avogadro's number ]
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Posted: 21 August 2011 04:57 AM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 11 ]
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eudemonia - 20 August 2011 07:41 PM

Oh come on Dennis. Of all people here I would think you would be the one with a little bit of thick skin.

Your Illustrious career is done and your life is near over, why care so much about what is said, partly in jest, on a internet forum.

All I can think is that I must have struck a chord, eh? What else would warrant such a response from you, other than maybe a few too many drinks on Saturday night?

Seriously though, how do you think you know when someone is telling you how they feel is really how they feel?

Do you take the position that nobody with a Phd in Psychology can possibly, or has ever been hoodwinked?

Really now.

And FWIW, of course all thoughts are actual thoughts, but are they authentic thoughts? Can’t somebody mislead somebody, even a Psychologist, on what they really feel. Come on, you are the one who interviewed Jeff Dahmer.

Give us some insight.


Eudomonia,

Clinical psychology is not about determing if someone is telling the truth.  I don’t really know how to begin to explain…
Maybe a better way of describing how a clinical psychologist might interact with a patient would be to say that:

they listen to the patient,
learn about the patient,
and then point out discrepancies about what they say and what they do, or descepancies between they’re body language and the words they’re using.


Psychologists act like a mirror. In order for someone to get something out of psychotherapy, they need to have some intelligence, some insight.


for example:

Your my therapist, and I say to you (in a mean voice), “I love my patients”, while saying it, I fold my arms across my chest (defensive posture), and I turn my body away from you sideways.

And you say to me “Jeff, you say you love your patients, but you say it in a gruff voice, you fold your arms across your body and you turn away, whats with that”...

in other words, there is a descrepancy between what I say and what I do. The psychologist, you in this case, learned a little about me and mirrored it back.  Now that this descepancy has been pointed out to me, I have to determine what I am going to do about it… maybe I don’t really want to be a doctor.  Alternatively, maybe I do, but certain types of people make me angry (and I need to overcome that to continue to function as a doctor).  But most importantly, once I recognize what I’m doing, its up to me to decide whether I want to change or not.

 

  In my interactions with my psychologist, I might knowingly lie, I might distort the truth, I might actually believe the lie I am saying (e.g. I love my patients), as the clinical psychologist interacts with me over time these anomalies come to the surface and its the psychologists job to point them out.

Your initial question is one dimensional, and Dennis’s initial reply to you about your level of understanding, although admittedly indelicate, is in many ways accurate.


Jeff

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Posted: 21 August 2011 06:58 AM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 12 ]
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jdrnd, to eudemonia - 21 August 2011 04:57 AM

. . . Dennis’s initial reply to you about your level of understanding, although admittedly indelicate, is in many ways accurate.

Indelicate? What about rude and inappropriate? Have you crossed over to the other side, Jeff? You used to take issue with rudeness on this forum.

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Posted: 21 August 2011 07:06 AM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 13 ]
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nonverbal - 21 August 2011 06:58 AM
jdrnd, to eudemonia - 21 August 2011 04:57 AM

. . . Dennis’s initial reply to you about your level of understanding, although admittedly indelicate, is in many ways accurate.

Indelicate? What about rude and inappropriate? Have you crossed over to the other side, Jeff? You used to take issue with rudeness on this forum.


But Dennis didn’t use any magically offensive words.

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Posted: 21 August 2011 07:23 AM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 14 ]
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I’m declaring FAIR BALL here and not just because I enjoyed Mr. & Mrs. Campbell’s warm and filling hospitality Friday night.

I found Dennis to be a swell and thoughtful guy and if pressed to point to his weakness here, I would say that it is to “slow down and see the tangent” and not be so quick to see common folk talking over their professional level. There. I said it.

We had a fun time talking forum-related stuff and beyond. I know I’ll read his post better now and perhaps, he’ll have better luck wading through mine.

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Delude responsibly.

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Posted: 21 August 2011 07:53 AM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 15 ]
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By way of apology, I was rude and insensitive.  I should’ve just ignored Eud’s post.  By not doing so, I gave it more weight than it deserved.  Posts that ask questions about an admittedly popular but complex area can be sometimes addressed; posts that express conclusions absent factual basis and w/o being apparently open to questioning that basis, should be ignored.  “And when did you stop beating your wife?” implies more than a question.

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There is my truth.  There is your truth.  There is the real truth.  Neither of us can claim that third. Maybe if we talk, we’ll both get closer.

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Posted: 21 August 2011 08:08 AM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 16 ]
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Dennis Campbell - 21 August 2011 07:53 AM

Posts that ask questions about an admittedly popular but complex area can be sometimes addressed; posts that express conclusions absent factual basis and w/o being apparently open to questioning that basis, should be ignored.  “And when did you stop beating your wife?” implies more than a question.


I think the impression you got from Eud’s post was more an artifact of the difficulty he had in articulating his point, and, I suspect, some worn patience with lay pop psychology (similar to my worn patience with buelshite tactical “arguments” re gun control, though you’re far more of an expert on psychology than I am on tactics).

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Posted: 21 August 2011 08:10 AM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 17 ]
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SkepticX - 21 August 2011 08:08 AM
Dennis Campbell - 21 August 2011 07:53 AM

Posts that ask questions about an admittedly popular but complex area can be sometimes addressed; posts that express conclusions absent factual basis and w/o being apparently open to questioning that basis, should be ignored.  “And when did you stop beating your wife?” implies more than a question.


I think the impression you got from Eud’s post was more an artifact of the difficulty he had in articulating his point, and, I suspect, some worn patience with lay pop psychology (similar to my worn patience with buelshite tactical “arguments” re gun control, though you’re far more of an expert on psychology than I am on tactics).

Could well be. Nevertheless, this is basically my fault and error, as I should know better.  Eud does not.

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Posted: 21 August 2011 08:18 AM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 18 ]
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Well, part of what I’m saying is that I’m not at all confident we really have a solid handle on what issues he was actually trying to raise in the OP.

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Posted: 21 August 2011 09:52 AM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 19 ]
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nonverbal - 21 August 2011 06:58 AM
jdrnd, to eudemonia - 21 August 2011 04:57 AM

. . . Dennis’s initial reply to you about your level of understanding, although admittedly indelicate, is in many ways accurate.

Indelicate? What about rude and inappropriate? Have you crossed over to the other side, Jeff? You used to take issue with rudeness on this forum.

Yes, it was harsh.

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Posted: 21 August 2011 09:56 AM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 20 ]
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You’re one of us now, Jeff, if only by proxy.

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Posted: 21 August 2011 10:01 AM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 21 ]
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SkepticX - 21 August 2011 07:06 AM
nonverbal - 21 August 2011 06:58 AM
jdrnd, to eudemonia - 21 August 2011 04:57 AM

. . . Dennis’s initial reply to you about your level of understanding, although admittedly indelicate, is in many ways accurate.

Indelicate? What about rude and inappropriate? Have you crossed over to the other side, Jeff? You used to take issue with rudeness on this forum.


But Dennis didn’t use any magically offensive words.


Byron,

I agree Dennis didn’t use, foul language… but Dave is right we should keep the conversation civil.  If we represent reason (whoever “WE” is), we should interact reasonably.

Jeff

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Posted: 21 August 2011 10:16 AM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 22 ]
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nonverbal - 21 August 2011 09:56 AM

You’re one of us now, Jeff, if only by proxy.


when do I get to learn the secret hand shake?

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Posted: 21 August 2011 10:31 AM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 23 ]
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jdrnd - 21 August 2011 10:16 AM

when do I get to learn the secret hand shake?

(Andrew):  As soon as you pay your dues.

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Let us pray that we have the wisdom to choose correctly”—Woody Allen

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Posted: 21 August 2011 11:08 AM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 24 ]
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jdrnd - 21 August 2011 10:01 AM

I agree Dennis didn’t use, foul language… but Dave is right we should keep the conversation civil.  If we represent reason (whoever “WE” is), we should interact reasonably.


I was, in fact, being facetious—mocking your position on the matter of “magically” offensive words by pointing it out in a situation that illuminates why it’s misguided.

... if you really wanted to know.

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Posted: 21 August 2011 01:19 PM   [ Ignore ]   [ # 25 ]
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SkepticX - 21 August 2011 11:08 AM
jdrnd - 21 August 2011 10:01 AM

I agree Dennis didn’t use, foul language… but Dave is right we should keep the conversation civil.  If we represent reason (whoever “WE” is), we should interact reasonably.


I was, in fact, being facetious—mocking your position on the matter of “magically” offensive words by pointing it out in a situation that illuminates why it’s misguided.

... if you really wanted to know.

Byron,

The term “magically offensive” is your phrase.  and I don’t have a position on words that are “magically” offensive because I don’t believe in magic… but before this all escalates…

I get your point, I consider myself MOCKED.


Jeff

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