I am fascinated by the human mind. I have always built my psychological constructs on the belief that in the absence of genetic complications, and maladaptations to environmental stressors people tend to grow and develop normally. When we introduce problematic genetics and stressors the equilibrium could change depending on the individual’s reaction to the stressor. I believe that life is 10% what happens to you, 90% how you react. Lots of people have beef with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM). This book is the psychological bible; it’s a catalog of all the mental disorders currently recognized by the American Psychological Association. They list the symptoms and criteria to diagnose someone with Schizophrenia, Bipolar, Anxiety Disorders, Obsessive-Compulsive, Eating disorders, and the list goes on and on and on. The problem is that all it really does is help a diagnostician to look at an individual’s symptoms and try to make the person fit into either a round hole, a circle hole, etc.
It’s a funny thing, but you could line up 10 clients I see at work, each one diagnosed with Oppositional Defiant Disorder (for a child it is what it sounds like- reason it out) and each one of the 10 would be very different. The only similarity I see is that each one did some rowdy things: maybe stealing cars, graffiti, disrespecting parents, teacher, etc. Seems like the diagnosis of ODD is just a description of their symptoms (in this case, past behaviors) and says little about the REASON or CAUSE for their disorder (problematic behavior). I say little instead of none because that’s where the diagnosis can be helpful. While there exists incredible variation in the causes of mental ‘unhealth’, there are sometimes patterns and heuristics that make recognizing a person’s problems much easier. As humans we always look for ways to make decisions easier for ourselves. That’s why we form nice neat little categories in our minds. If we see a lady with a baby carriage we think “Mother” (See Plato’s Forms) and contingent schemas are evoked. When you see a Hispanic man wearing a cowboy hat in a truck with a lawnmower in the back, you make assumptions about the gentleman without ever having met him. Why? Because if we had to start from scratch with every situation we encounter, or with every person we met, life would be very tough indeed. You could even say we rely on those preconceived notions to help us get through the day. However, I bet you’d agree that the best way to approach a new situation or person is with an open mind and being non-judgmental (until something happens at least).
Well I’d say the same applies to therapy. When someone comes in, it’s easy to look at their symptoms and just immediately make assumptions about the person. It does nothing to look into the causation (and therefore the correct course of treatment). I am reading a book called The Boy Who Was Raised As A Dog written by a child psychiatrist. In it he gives the example of a little girl who had been sexually abused over two years. She was described as “inattentive, a discipline problem, impulsive, noncompliant, defiant, oppositional, and has problem with peers. She meets diagnostic criteria for Attention Deficit Disorder and Oppositional Defiant Disorder.” The psychiatrist said “it didn’t feel right to me . Tina was experiencing something more or something different than what was described by those diagnostic labels. … Wasn’t labeling Tina “defiant” misleading, given that her “noncompliance” was likey the result of her victimization?” It was at this point that I put the book down to scribble out this blog post. Point is—if we treat symptoms then we may very well just end up masking them. If we find the cause then we can possibly unroot the ailment.
Example I use: if a man comes in with bags under his eyes and says, “I’m stressed out, I’m having an affair and I can’t sleep at night”. A psychiatrist may look at it and say hmmm… stress is a symptom… affair is a moral, not a medical issue… and not sleeping at night… hmm.. I bet that’s both caused by and causes the stress (circular thinking- classic logical fallacy)!! I’m a great doctor! “Um sir, taken this ambient and valium before you sleep and you’ll be all better.” The guy comes back later saying he’s sleeping like a baby and feels all better. Amazing, he’s cured. This of course assumes he has no conscious. If he did, then he’d come back and say he’s still stressed. The doctor would be shocked. Anydangway, that’s enough for tonight.
Filed under: PSYCHOLOGY
