Thoughts on Psychoanalysis

[Devil]

I see formal psychoanalysis as being for stupid people. People who are intelligent and introspective don't need other people to tell them about themselves.

Whenever I've been subjected to psych tests for work, in college etc. it has always been a load of bullshit. Not that the evaluation is incorrect necessarily. It's just that they tell me **** I already knew. For instance, I did some fucking test for work. The test summary told my boss she should stand at least three feet away from me at all times when talking to me. Hahahahaha! ****, I could've told her that.

[lordbd]

Psychological testing is even a separate issue. I have experience in neuropsychology but not much experience in other forms of assessment. I would comment that psychoanalysis, in theory, aims to bring things to your attention over time that you, by definition, cannot know about yourself. If you only learn things you are aware of you haven't really been psychoanalyzed in the traditional sense.

[Devil]

If you only learn things you are aware of you haven't really been psychoanalyzed in the traditional sense.

It's a bit arrogant to automatically assume you can teach me something about myself, don't you think? That attitude would be similar to religious quackery IMO.

[lordbd]

I agree with you, it certainly can be an arrogant style of therapy, or at least has the potential to be. I've seen some analysts in action, and read transcripts from some others who are on the paternalistic side in terms of how they interact with patients. I suppose some people respond well to a confident, charismatic therapist who sort of tells them how it is.

In my experience, however, most psychodynamic therapists are pretty warm and caring, and not necessarily arrogant at all. The attitude isn't really that I can fix YOU because YOU are inferior, so much as it is an acceptance that EVERYONE has motivations and drives that aren't accessible to them. Those sort of therapists form a relationship that is more collaborative with the patient (e.g. things aren't working out for you etc, let's work together and explore why). So the theory isn't that an analyst is better than you and is a wise man who can cast out your demons, all the theory says is that we all have parts of ourselves that we ourselves cannot see, or at least see clearly.

I wouldn't argue that the Freudian unconscious exists per se, but just an interesting aside that the field that really has demonstrated the power of the unconscious the most has been social psychology, and the study of implicit attitudes. Fascinating stuff!

[Son of Thunder]

I see formal psychoanalysis as being for stupid people. People who are intelligent and introspective don't need other people to tell them about themselves.

Whenever I've been subjected to psych tests for work, in college etc. it has always been a load of bullshit. Not that the evaluation is incorrect necessarily. It's just that they tell me **** I already knew. For instance, I did some fucking test for work. The test summary told my boss she should stand at least three feet away from me at all times when talking to me. Hahahahaha! ****, I could've told her that.

I'd be interested to see your score on the Narcissistic Personality Inventory. :Hehehe:

[Son of Thunder]

I agree with you, it certainly can be an arrogant style of therapy, or at least has the potential to be. I've seen some analysts in action, and read transcripts from some others who are on the paternalistic side in terms of how they interact with patients. I suppose some people respond well to a confident, charismatic therapist who sort of tells them how it is.

Going by the general client response to Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy, I'd say there's a substantial portion of the population that responds very well to therapeutic arrogance.

(For them what don't know, REBT is kind of the bullshido of therapies. Cultivating a warm relationship is not necessary, profanity is encouraged, mocking your clients is permitted, boosting self-esteem is not even on the list. If I had known more about REBT, I might have become a therapist instead of a social psychologist)

[Omega Supreme]

I'd be interested to see your score on the Narcissistic Personality Inventory. :Hehehe:

Your Total: 16
Between 12 and 15 is average.
Celebrities often score closer to 18.
Narcissists score over 20.


http://psychcentral.com/cgi-bin/narcissisticquiz.cgi

[Cullion]

Can I inquire as to the book you found helpful for smoking cessation? I do CBT for quitting smoking with patients at a hospital and am always looking for resources to recommend. Interestingly, in the therapy model that I work from (Primary Care Psychology/Behavioral Medicine) we prefer that people transition into a self-help sort of lifestyle as quickly as possible. The brief counseling we try to practice draws from a population-based help-a-lot-of-people-a-little-bit philosophy.

Allen Carr's Easyway method. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Allen-Carrs-.../dp/0140277633

The guy who wrote it wasn't a trained professional, he was a layman who pieced together a method from his own research, but it worked a treat for me. Once I finished the book, I didn't feel like I was going to be 'strong willed' about not smoking.. I just didn't want to smoke any more. There was no conflict.

[lordbd]

Going by the general client response to Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy, I'd say there's a substantial portion of the population that responds very well to therapeutic arrogance.

(For them what don't know, REBT is kind of the bullshido of therapies. Cultivating a warm relationship is not necessary, profanity is encouraged, mocking your clients is permitted, boosting self-esteem is not even on the list. If I had known more about REBT, I might have become a therapist instead of a social psychologist)

I don't know that EVERY REBT therapist was as abrasive as Ellis, but the approach is based on being straightforward and confronting people's "irrational" thinking with reason and socratic questioning. If you want to see Ellis in action (and it sounds like you might already be familiar with him) watch the "Gloria Interview" below. He was a hell of a personality. Did not mellow out with age either.

[Son of Thunder]

I don't know that EVERY REBT therapist was as abrasive as Ellis, but the approach is based on being straightforward and confronting people's "irrational" thinking with reason and socratic questioning. If you want to see Ellis in action (and it sounds like you might already be familiar with him) watch the "Gloria Interview" below. He was a hell of a personality. Did not mellow out with age either.

Thanks. I'm only familiar with Ellis from his writings; this was the first time I saw video of him. So, if I was a client of his, in addition to the abrasiveness, I'd have to get used to that grating nasal tone of voice.