Psyberspace

More from Robert Firestone.  His analysis of what happened to depth psychology is pretty good.  I have never quite thought of this as the Dark Ages, but it names well the despair I feel at the ACC attacks on people who have been sexually abused.

The Death of Psychoanalysis and Depth Psychotherapy | Psychology Today:

Malevolent societal forces have succeeded in almost completely suppressing important knowledge concerning the widespread incidence of emotional, physical, and sexual child abuse in “normal” families and the ensuing long-term harmful effects. Currently, cultural attitudes of indifference and denial continue to exert a powerful influence on the field of psychotherapy and have, in large part, transformed it from a creative, compassionate enterprise to a weak and frightened community of mental health professionals irresponsibly dispensing drugs or other quick fixes that support the status quo.

Like other attempts that have been made throughout history to suppress knowledge and insight, these efforts were on a par with book burning and other egregious forms of censorship. When this type of revelation is stifled, in spite of all of our amazing technological advances, we are thrown back into the Dark Ages.

This is from a psych blog I quite like – rare!  Robert Firestone was a mate of the anti-psychiatrist R D Laing.  I was a fan of Laing in the day, but sadly his own behaviours etc did not do his cause much good.  I should write more on this diagnosis stuff as it is highly relevant to todays ACC (NZ) attacks on the psyche.

I like the post except for the title.  Don’t is never a useful word, and calling something people do unconsciously a Game is counter-productive, it feeds the feeling of inferiority.

Lets call it Take constructive action when you think you are being wronged.  Not as catchy is it.

Don’t Play the Victim Game | Psychology Today:

Many people think they are entitled to good treatment. The truth is that they are neither entitled nor not entitled to it. The significant issues are what is going on and how do they feel about it. This woman would have been better off actively facing the facts of the situation and acknowledging her emotional reactions rather than personally judging it and feeling victimized by it.