Sadly, I think that option # 2 is the most likely one. Quoting from the article: "Ms. Tang, a 40-year-old librarian from Astoria, Queens, had an even bigger problem: Her therapist was on vacation. “Whenever she’s gone, I struggle with feelings of emptiness,” she said." This seems to imply a long term relationship which has no clear end goal. This is not good therapy (if, indeed, it is therapeutic at all). It is akin to the difference between medical doctors and chiropractors. Fortunately for the quacks there seems to be no lack of "worried well" with little or no critical thinking skills. The people who offer these "services" appear to have missed the lecture on Ethics 101. -Don.
----- Original Message ----- From: Mike Palij Date: Tuesday, September 1, 2009 5:13 am Subject: Re:[tips] Answers to Life?019s Worries, in 3-Minute "Speed Shrinking" Sessions - NYTimes.com To: "Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS)" Cc: Mike Palij > On Mon, 31 Aug 2009 20:18:10 -0700, Sue Frantz wrote: > > Just like speed dating, you get 3 minutes with a psychiatrist or > > psychologist before moving on to the next one. > > > > People looking for a quick fix? Or a good way to shop for a new > > therapist? > > > > http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/31/nyregion/31therapy.html > > I'd really like to hear what the clinicians on the list (or elsewhere) > think of this activity. I can only see two positive aspects to doing > this: > > (1) It serves as an ersatz screening process for detecting severe > psychopathology in the persons attending these activities. It > is > hoped that the psychiatrists and psychologists engaged in "speed > shrink" recognize who is seriously ill and make accommodations > to get them into appropriate care. > > (2) If most of the people attending these things are among the > "worried well", then perhaps what they will hear during the 3 minutes > will calm whatever "neurotic" complaint they have at the time. > > Of course, the purpose behind these activities is to sell books, > CDs, and other media that the psychiatrist/psychologist has produced > as well as "soliciting" for new clients, but aren't there > ethical issues > regarding this kind of conduct? I realize that people like Dr. Phil > and other "TV therapists" have left the impression in the general > population that many problems can be quickly solved by someone > who "appears" to be a sympathetic, wise, and compassionate > listener (the automated versions of which have been presented in > the movies THX-113 by George Lucas or the action-adventure > "Demolition Man"). Perhaps this may be true for some segments of > the "worried well" but isn't it part of a clinician's > responsibility to > take a history that would help them understand what the person's > problem is (e.g., is it really what the person is complaining about > or is it something that the person isn't aware of such as being > passive agressive, deliberating engaging in self-defeating activities, > etc.). Having had some experience in taking such histories for > psychiatric research, how can the appropriate information be > collected in three minutes while still resisting the effects of the > representativeness, availability, and other heuristics/cognitive > biases? > Send me something. > > -Mike Palij > New York University > m...@nyu.edu > > > --- > To make changes to your subscription contact: > > Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) > Don Allen Dept. of Psychology Langara College 100 W. 49th Ave. Vancouver, B.C. Canada V5Y 2Z6 Phone: 604-323-5871 --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
