Does anybody take psychology seriously? Isn't it just a load of unscientific rubbish?

Question

So called counselling is the worst manifestation of the problem. It is just a playground for do-gooders with third rate intellects

Answer 1

Yes, I absolutely agree. It doesn't pay to look too deeply inside. Counsellors, must be the most patronising people on the planet. What makes them think, particularly where severe trauma is involved, that they can even understand, let alone help or cure people who are sufferers. Psychology is a little like economics, you can debate it for hours without proving anything. Generally speaking, people need the support of family, friends, and lots of time to recover, when they have suffered trauma or emotional problems. I hate these patronising, sugary people, who seem to positively enjoy wallowing in other peoples problems.

Answer 2

Some of the findings in psychology provide the basis for so many things today. Psychologists aren't stupid - far from it - if they don't know something they'll research it until they understand it. They don't make things up. Psychology is a social SCIENCE and it's methods follow those of science. There is far more to psychology than counselling - you need to learn more about the subjects it covers before you criticise it.

Oh and third rate intellects? How clever do you need to be to study Psychology at a good uni - AAA at A level.

Answer 3

I like to describe psychology as a roadmap to the mind.
Given certain variables there are a limited number of conclusions that can result. If a person is unable to commit to a relationship for example, then at some point in his life someone convinced him that commitment is dangerous to the heart. And then you can start dwindling down the possibilities from there- broken home, boyfreind left unexpectedly, friend died unexpectedly, moved around too much as a child.... There are a few possibilities in that scenario. And each of those possibilities carries with it other specific traits.
As far as psychology being unproven theory. That's a half-truth. We can prove it by means of repititious studies of the same case scenarios but only if we can prove that the subject is being incredibly honest about the fact that there are no variables being hidden from the psychologist. That is hard to do as we are all human and we all have a fear of being over-exposed. But a good psychologist has a way of breaking thru the shell of even the hardest soul and making the subject feel comfortable divulging the most intimate facts of his life. So in theory it is unproven but in practice its not so hard to believe

Chapter 2...

Answer 4

So then, what would you suggest? That we just sit around scratching our heads, pretending that problems don't exist because counseling shouldn't exist because that's just a bunch of rubbish? Everyone would be sitting around wondering what the hell is wrong with them, and why they are feeling the way they do about certain things, most of which they wouldn't understand themselves. Oh wait, yeah, we already went through this hundreds of years ago, which is why people dedicated their lives to understanding the complexity of the human mind, to try to make some sense of this amazing "thing". It is about understanding your thoughts, your feelings, how experiences may or may not contribute to the person you are today, and how you CAN control the way you feel about yourself and life because the mind is very powerful..they have just never been able to tell exactly how powerful. Maybe moreso than we are supposed to understand. Honestly, I have been to counselors and pyschologists throughout my life (screwed up childhood..so what!only made me stronger and a better person), and I see where you are coming from. Most of them were so completely by the book, not trying to understand me, and most of the time trying to convince me of how much I was hurting and how screwed up I was because of my childhood..when I knew I wasn't. Maybe it freaked them out more that I was perfectly fine and normal, than if I had really had issues from it all. Until I met the counselor that got to know me, and what I needed and listened. 3 out of 4 were full of crap, but I guess that's just like any other "business"..the ones who's hearts are in it are the ones that really end up making a difference. I want to help people and be that one out of 4 that is able to be in pyschology for the right reason and to help people in the way they need to be. It's just like any other business though, some people have the talent, the love and heart in what they do, and some people just give it a bad name. sounds like you may have had a bad experience, but just know that there is hope out there for people that can really help others.

Answer 5

Yes I take it seriously and no it's not just unscientific rubbish. I also don't believe that counsellors have 3rd rate intellects. Psychology has helped millions of people worldwide for generations, if it hasn't helped you yet it's a pity. Maybe one day it will.

Answer 6

I take it seriously. Psychology is very in depth, it looks at neurology, sociology, philosophy as well as many other disciplines when looking for theories. I don't think any theory can be relied upon 100% but then again what things do people rely on completely? I think if it can be used to better people/society, which it has been doing, then it should be taken seriously.

Answer 7

I take psychology extremely serious because without it we couldn't understand relationships, Why we are the way that we are. It is an extremely interesting subject because you can learn how to behave & how not to just by seeing different case studies. It teaches you how to bring up a child in a correct manner & in a way in which they shouldn't become too clingy or overattatched. It is multi-dimensional as there are many different explanations for psychology, such as behavioural approach, cognative approach, psychodinamic, medical, evolutionary, etc.

Answer 8

Psychology is actually classed as a science. Experiments carried out have to be statistically analysed so the results are scientific.

Answer 9

Well, yes and no. I think it depends on the emotional or psycological status of any person. There are people that really need mental or emotional help.

But, my son said it best, "Why would anyone want to pay someone, to go talk outloud, when in the end, you still have to figure the truth out for yourself"?
What he said seems right, but then...everyone has to bring their own truth to the surface, in the way that works for them.

Answer 10

Sounds like you had a bad counseling experience. It is a profession like any other - there are those that are qualified and those less-qualified. If you took your car to a mechanic, and he couldn't fix it. Would you stop driving your car? Probably not?! You need to seek out another counselor. Try getting a referral this time.