is it to do with shrinking your brain?
2007-01-26 07:47:27 · 16 answers · asked by Anonymous in Social Science ➔ Psychology
i meant psychiatrist!
2007-01-26 08:01:55 · update #1
"Shrink", taken from "head shrinker", is a slang term for a psychiatrist or psychotherapist, sometimes treated as derogatory or offensive.
To cause to shrink.
n.
The act of shrinking.
The degree to which something shrinks; shrinkage.
Slang. A psychotherapist.
[Middle English shrinken, to wither, shrivel up, from Old English scrincan.]
2007-01-26 07:53:30 · answer #1 · answered by Confuzzled 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
In a mythcial way, yes.
First of all, psychologists do not usually get called shrinks. People confuse the PhD's with the MD's.
Only MD's can prescribe drugs for mental illness.
And the old drugs that were used...
well, they were thought to shrink the brain. Kind of the way that very ancient civilizations used to believe that boring a hole in the head would relieve the pressure (or demons) of a headache.
But the MD's never really believed this, the people did.
Now, of course, we are no longer experimenting with LSD and cocaine for mental health treatment. (Both of the these drugs were tested and discontinued for terrible side effects; they were not actually widely used.)
Now, we have radiological trace elements that can show up in a brain scan and confirm whether a drug is having certain effects on specific neurotransmitters...
a far cry from brain shrinkage, no?
2007-01-26 07:54:42 · answer #2 · answered by starryeyed 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is psychiatrists, not psychologist that are tagged with that term. It comes from the 50's. They were known as headshrinkers, (shrinks), because of the mysterious nature of their work. They messed with the inner workings of the mind.
2007-01-26 07:56:28 · answer #3 · answered by broken1 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Cause they get inside your head and "shrink it" like a "head shrinker"
Actually, psychiatrists are the shrinks. Psychologists are minor league shrinks. lol
2007-01-26 07:53:52 · answer #4 · answered by Dr. T 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it is an abbreviated version of "head-shrinker" - which refers to an ancient custom of head-hunting tribes that consists of taking the heads of your enemies and mummifying them in such a manner that they shrink in size, usually displayed in and around the village to terrify trespassers.
"Shrink
Why is a psychiatrist called a shrink? The term is a clipping of headshrinker, a US slang term that dates to 1950. It is based on a metaphor that evokes the image of a head-hunter who preserves shrunken heads. The idea is that a psychiatrist or psychoanalyst messes or screws with your head."
2007-01-26 08:05:15 · answer #5 · answered by SmartAleck 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They are called 'shrinks' because a lot of the patients believe that their problems are so big, that after consulting a psychologist, they find that their problem isn't really that big after all.. hence shrink...
2007-01-26 07:56:09 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
The idea is that most people who need to see therapists/psychoogists are people with huge egos. When the ego comes down to normal size, most problems disappear. The psychologist helps the person shrink his/her ego to correct size.
2007-01-26 07:56:11 · answer #7 · answered by Anpadh 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
psychologists are called shrinks for the simple fact that they use techniques designed to put people in touch with their feelings. in the case on male patients this results in a shrinking of their manhood.
2007-01-26 07:57:37 · answer #8 · answered by jim G 2 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Because it is an act of shrinking away fear, anxiety or the feeling of horror from that person......therefore they are called shrinks.
2007-01-27 12:07:12 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Because they shrink your brain back down to where it can think clearly again.
2007-01-26 07:53:28 · answer #10 · answered by josified 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋