I would say this is a fair, and a-political question.
To answer it, my perceptions of the fields of psychology and psychiatry have been mainly formed through my professional and personal experience of both fields, which is substantial.
As I mentioned in a now-deleted post, my experience in legal services indicated to me that psychologists, in particular, could be relied upon to provide any expert witness opinion they were paid to provide. I believed, then, that the field had 'integrity' issues.
For the last 15 years, I have worked in close association with industrial psychologists. While I admire the accomplishments of the field, in general, I observed a number of lapses in what I will call the duty of care. I also consistently observed a disregard for local law, and public policy.
I would add to this that the Scientologists are hardly alone in their critique of the mental health industry and its over-reliance on psycho-pharmacological solutions.
Finally, and with regard to my own research regarding Human Potential (cults), I have sadly concluded that when both industrial and counseling psychologists should have been raising red flags about the technologies employed by these groups, they remained silent. A few did stand up, but the majority have looked the other way.
Bakkagirl
To answer it, my perceptions of the fields of psychology and psychiatry have been mainly formed through my professional and personal experience of both fields, which is substantial.
As I mentioned in a now-deleted post, my experience in legal services indicated to me that psychologists, in particular, could be relied upon to provide any expert witness opinion they were paid to provide. I believed, then, that the field had 'integrity' issues.
For the last 15 years, I have worked in close association with industrial psychologists. While I admire the accomplishments of the field, in general, I observed a number of lapses in what I will call the duty of care. I also consistently observed a disregard for local law, and public policy.
I would add to this that the Scientologists are hardly alone in their critique of the mental health industry and its over-reliance on psycho-pharmacological solutions.
Finally, and with regard to my own research regarding Human Potential (cults), I have sadly concluded that when both industrial and counseling psychologists should have been raising red flags about the technologies employed by these groups, they remained silent. A few did stand up, but the majority have looked the other way.
Bakkagirl