12 Comments

« Seeing a therapist may relieve inflammatory bowel disease»

Why bowel? Why only bowel? At a bargain price of $200/week and mind screwed up … 😂

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It need not be only bowl. The study focused on IBD, but I expect the benefits extend to other ailments. Certainly, bad therapy at any cost is a waste of money.

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Dr, if you can suggest how one can identify bad psychologist, doctor, dentist, engineer or, for that matter, a plumber, write a detailed piece, please.

I made it an annoying habit to talk to every psychologist I cross paths. So far, only 1 showed that she knew what she was talking about. Most failed at basics.

Then, have you verified the methodology and quality of data? As editors of the New England Journal of Medicine acknowledged some 10(?) years ago, NO modern day research can be trusted (replicated) …

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I would encourage people to ask potential therapist how much personal therapy they have had. I am in Psychoanalyst and had 10 years of four times a week treatment before I could qualify, and I have treated many patients with irritable bowel (and migraines and digestive problems) whose symptoms abated once they could access the unconscious influences. Take a look at the studies [Jonathan Siedler] which show psychodynamic treatment even more effective than CBT.

Thanks for this great blog!

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If only years of personal therapy were an accurate indicator of competency as a therapist...

During my decade of involvement in psychoanalysis, I found many of the most experienced analysts to be incompetent, along with many of the trainees. Some were lazy, others treated by incompetent analysts, and the remainder simply characterologically disordered.

Shedler's 1990 publication on psychodynamic psychotherapy is a classic. I only referenced CBT here because it was the therapeutic modality (along with mindfulness) studied.

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I agree with you that there is a great deal of incompetence in the psychoanalytic community. My understanding comes for more from my own analysis, where I lucked out and found a therapist who was really able to help me understand my unconscious conflicts and this gave me great relief (and good health)

I also want to mention the work of Harvard catalyst scholar, Irving Kirsch, who discovered placebos, are as effective as antidepressants.

I offer every patient whois interested and who comes to me on antidepressants Kirsch’s YouTube video so they may be informed. Most decide to come off their meds and experience the ups and downs of life and TALK about it.

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Thanks, Dr. M, when I got my Masters Degree in Counseling Psychology 34 years ago, the studies were steeped in what I now realize was Marxist theory. Hostility to religion and traditional values were the norm, as was victim ideology. As much as I enjoyed working with my clients, it wasn't a profession I could work in. I don't know how one would go about finding therapists that aren't inflicting harm (I think you are being generous in estimating 20%). Here in California, they lose their license if they don't go along with the zeitgeist and affirm sexual deviation.

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Unfortunately, Social Work has been thoroughly corrupted. Much of Psychology (clinical and non-clinical) has been as well. Same with medicine, teaching, physical therapy. All the "helping professions" have been utterly ruined.

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Inflammation is the root cause of all diseases

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If only talking could make my inflammation go away. My rheumatologist would be unnecessary. Oh yeah and I’d have no pain. Wish in one hand…

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Might not worth for rheumatoid arthritis...

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I also have Sjögren’s and fibromyalgia. So they say. It all happened after vaccines years ago when I worked as an OR scrub nurse. Diet helps some, and supplements. Avoiding pharma as much as possible. But there’s no available cure anywhere it seems.

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