#1: Navigating the Mindfield - Introduction

Why We Need To Separate Science from Pseudoscience in Mental Health

Welcome to Mind Menu

Mind Menu is the latest section of Psychology with Arjun where I share chapter-wise summaries from some of the most important books in Psychology.

Currently, we are summarizing, “Navigating the Mindfield” by Scott Lilienfeld, John Ruscio, and Steven Jay Lynn published in 2008.

The book is meant to act as a guide to separate science from pseudoscience in the field of mental healthcare. The book analyses practices such as

• EMDR Therapy

• Multiple Personality Disorder and its Validity

• Attachment Therapy

• Regression Therapy

and a lot more! As a starter, we are taking on the introduction of the book which should give you a taste of what’s to come.

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The world of psychology is divided into two worlds: scientific psychology and popular psychology.

Scientific psychology is full of researchers working in labs or fields to find treatments, causes, and mediators of serious mental disorders. It also has some psychologists who inform their clinical practice using research-based evidence.

On the other hand, popular psychology is full of intuition, “common-sense”, self-help platitudes, and entrepreneurs trying to sell their self-improvement products.

An uncomfortable number of psychologists find themselves in this camp. They practice based on subjective judgments rather than clinical research.

Thanks to this divide, nearly 500 forms of psychotherapy are practiced in the world, most of them untested and unfounded. It is natural for help seekers to feel lost among the litany of options they have.

Pop Psychology Of The Past

Pop psychology and the reporting of unverified claims are not new to the field of psychology.

Phrenology

In the 1800s, phrenology, the idea that bumps and troughs on your skull determined your personality was wildly popular. Thomas Edison was a passionate devotee of the practice.

The practice fell out of favor by the last decades of the 1800s.

Orgasmic Energy

In the 1950s, Wilhelm Reich, a German psychiatrist used “orgone boxes” to release the energy of the human orgasm. To him, all ailments were due to a deficiency in the orgone. Reich believed that the orgasmic energy explained the beginning of the universe and the solar system.

The Power of Yelling

In the 1970s, John Rosen, a psychologist awarded“Man of the Year” by the American Academy of Psychotherapists, treated schizophrenia by yelling at his patients, sucking at their nipples, and threatening to cut them to pieces. He called this technique “direct analysis”.

Telltale Signs of Pseudoscience

Here are some warning signs of pseudoscience to watch out for

• Promises of a simple, rapid, and dramatic cure for a complex problem

• Extravagant claims of effectiveness

• Higher focus on promotion and marketing than testing and improving

• Failure to consider alternative explanations for an observed phenomenon

• Placing the burden of proof on skeptics

• Believing that untested practices are harmless at worst

Scientist-Practitioner Gap

Due to the increasing gap between the two worlds of psychology, a huge gap has emerged between scientists and practitioners of mental healthcare. The gap does not need to, in fact, must not exist.

Just as popular mechanics is based on physical science, popular psychology must be based on psychological science.

A growing number of mental health professionals are now administering treatments that are unsubstantiated or pseudoscientific. A 2001 survey found that a substantial number of psychologists use dubious therapies such as laughter therapy/aromatherapy/massage therapy to treat clinical disorders despite having no evidence to do so.

Pseudoscience Kills

Candace Newmaker, a 10-year-old girl was smothered to death by her therapist practicing a form of rebirthing therapy (based on the belief that reliving the trauma of birth can resolve emotional issues). She was not alone.

Several other children have been killed by psychologists practicing dubious therapy modalities. Non-scientific modalities harm patients, waste time that could be spent doing proper treatment, and tarnish the image of the field as a whole.

Whose Fault Is It?

It is easy to blame society and general people for a lack of knowledge about the scientific backing of therapy modalities but it wouldn’t be right.

It is tough to keep up with nearly a thousand journals on psychology, mental health, psychiatry, and ethics. We are more prone to being convinced by emotional individual stories of change than by dry statistical reports.

Lastly, a lot of psychologists themselves don’t put in the work to update their knowledge and prove themselves wrong. While science is not a perfect safety against human error, it is the best collection of methods to separate fact from fiction.

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Like what you read? There’s a lot more coming from this book! Make sure to subscribe to Mind Menu to receive the latest updates.

PS: Which books would you like me to review next? All recommendations are welcome :)

Until next time,

Arjun