psychology OR Christ? do you think...

[Christ_empowered]

Mental health is worthwhile? I mean, some of it seems to run counter to The Word of God. I'm no expert (I was a sociology major), but...a lot of it seems to be big on Self-(actualization, fulfillment, discovery, esteem). I dunno. Sometimes, I think mental health represents a competing belief system.

I had this one counselor, briefly...she does hypnosis and Deepak Chopra stuff, and gets paid for it. Insurance, medicare. Is that right? I mean, if she was offering prayer and Bible based counseling, insurance and medicare probably wouldn't give her a dime. But its semi-secular New Age "wisdom," so she's considered a "good" counselor. She's actually quite narrow minded and heavy on the psychobabble.

That's just one example. My current shrink always asks me if I'm in a gay relationship. We even had a talk about homosexuality, and how he thinks its compatible with Christianity :-(

I just get the sense that a lot of mental health is belief-based, not science-based. I dunno.

Your thoughts?

 

[Milk-Drops]

My first thoughts are that Mental Health is just the statistic of the person itself. As in how a person is socially capable, able to think logically, Self-image, and whether or not a person has extreme delusions.

The field is a great source of information when it comes to studying behavior, brain function, and logic.

Now I think you have some confusions on the differences between psychology and psychiatry. Psychology is the study of the mind, while psychiatry is a medical practice.

Psychology would be where people study the effects of cognition, mental disorder, social disorder, and how we tic.

Psychiatry is in the practice of using psychological information to prescribe treatments.

I wouldn't call psychology a hard science because it deals with the subjective human experience, but neurology ( studying the brain and nervous system) is a hard science. Psychiatry isn't a hard science because it deals with medicine and not study directly.

As for your comments about using prayer and meditation, It would depend on what exactly the psychiatrist/life coach/ councilor was trying to do or was wanting to see.

 

[GrannyJ]

I'm no expert, but I kind of see it like this. Some of the values held by most psychologists, presumably taught to them in University, are decidedly not Christian - a kind of anything-goes mentality. On the other hand there is a lot of real science taught along with it, and some good techniques that really do help people. I guess it's up to the individual psychologist how far he or she goes along with whatever values may have been encountered at University.

I am lucky enough to have had only good experiences with psychologists.

 

[DarkWalker]

Mental health is worthwhile? I mean, some of it seems to run counter to The Word of God. I'm no expert (I was a sociology major), but...a lot of it seems to be big on Self-(actualization, fulfillment, discovery, esteem). I dunno. Sometimes, I think mental health represents a competing belief system.

I had this one counselor, briefly...she does hypnosis and Deepak Chopra stuff, and gets paid for it. Insurance, medicare. Is that right? I mean, if she was offering prayer and Bible based counseling, insurance and medicare probably wouldn't give her a dime. But its semi-secular New Age "wisdom," so she's considered a "good" counselor. She's actually quite narrow minded and heavy on the psychobabble.

That's just one example. My current shrink always asks me if I'm in a gay relationship. We even had a talk about homosexuality, and how he thinks its compatible with Christianity :-(

I just get the sense that a lot of mental health is belief-based, not science-based. I dunno.

Your thoughts?

There's mental health, and then there's bat crap crazy bull--oney. Hypnosis as a spiritual practice is a bad bad bad bad bad idea. Therapy has helped me to realize the truth about myself and others, while avoiding pitfalls of egotism or blaming others. My therapist has asked me where I want to be, and how I plan on getting there. He brings me down to earth with my goals if needed, or encourages me to aspire to more if he feels I can. He adjusts my plan of action or suggests adjustments if he feels they are dangerous or need to be reworked in some way. My therapist is a Christian, and I am open to talk about faith all I want, and Medicaid covers it.

That having been said, there's a lot of secular bat crap in mental health as well. It has taken me three tries to find a good therapist; it took my mentor twelve different therapists over ten years to find his. The truth is, in the condition of mental healthcare (especially in the United States), you have to be your own best advocate and speak up for yourself when you aren't happy with the care you're receiving. As far as medication, I'd rather commit myself to a padded cell than not take my medications. For all the problems they give me, they help my mind so much.

 

[Kathi]

Mental health is worthwhile? I mean, some of it seems to run counter to The Word of God. I'm no expert (I was a sociology major), but...a lot of it seems to be big on Self-(actualization, fulfillment, discovery, esteem). I dunno. Sometimes, I think mental health represents a competing belief system.

I had this one counselor, briefly...she does hypnosis and Deepak Chopra stuff, and gets paid for it. Insurance, medicare. Is that right? I mean, if she was offering prayer and Bible based counseling, insurance and medicare probably wouldn't give her a dime. But its semi-secular New Age "wisdom," so she's considered a "good" counselor. She's actually quite narrow minded and heavy on the psychobabble.

That's just one example. My current shrink always asks me if I'm in a gay relationship. We even had a talk about homosexuality, and how he thinks its compatible with Christianity :-(

I just get the sense that a lot of mental health is belief-based, not science-based. I dunno.

Your thoughts?

Mental illness is an illness of the brain as the two words explain.Alot of it is the chemical imbalance of the brain.The same as having many other disorders of the body which causes an imbalance.Diabetes is one of those disorders.I would never let someone do hypnosis on me and messing with the conscious thought of my brain.God has allowed illnesses of our body.Mental illnesses is just one of those.God has allowed psychiatrists and psychologists to enter our medical profession to help those with mental illnesses.Mental illness has nothing to do with being demon possessed like some people think.You have an illness in the brain instead of the liver,heart,gallbladder etc.