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Executive Summary: "The Essence of psychology" - Kirsten Birkett ::
Not so much a book review, but an ‘Executive Summary’, a condensing of key ideas…
Can Christians experience depression and mental illness? In our fallen world, the answer is a definite “yes”. Can Psychology help? Again, the answer is yes – as long as you choose carefully. That’s the advice of Kirsten Birkett’s well-balanced book, “The Essence of Psychology.”
Source: Perspective Vo7 No2 © Perspective 1999
Can Christians experience depression and mental illness? In our fallen world, the answer is a definite “yes”. Can Psychology help? Again, the answer is yes – as long as you choose carefully. That’s the advice of Kirsten Birkett’s well-balanced book, “The Essence of Psychology.” After demystifying the dominant psychological models and the state of modern research, Birkett offers practical advice on how understanding our minds can be helpful, even to those who are not struggling with mental illness. This book is an excellent resource for pastors.
Part 1
Psychology on the Couch
Psychology is more than a therapy – it’s the study of the mind. There are people with genuine illnesses who can be helped by applying psychological theories to real-life situations. A Psychiatrist is a medical doctor who has specialised in treating the mind, while a clinical psychologist is essentially an “experimental scientist” who has done extra training in how to apply the experimental knowledge in treating people. Both are interested in treating mind disorders, though a Psychiatrist may prescribe medication or surgical treatment, while a Psychologist will simply “talk”.
Mental illness is subjective. Who defines what is “normal” or what is “ill”? But there are effective ways of understanding and treating a person’s mind for the better. Considerable clinical success can be achieved. Depression, phobias and compulsive disorders are real, and should not be stigmatised. A number of different therapies are now available, of variable value. Psychology is a young science – lots of bits and pieces are known, without knowing how all the parts fit together. But what is known can be useful. The main approaches are described below.
1. Freud and Psychoanalysis
The most famous method of psychotherapy was developed by Sigmund Freud – a great entrepreneur – in the nineteenth century. According to Freud, the mind has three parts, the id (source of fundamental urges); the ego (which deals with reality and tempers the instinctive demands of the id); and the superego (moral standards inculcated by society, which put pressure on the ego.) A human being is a complex interplay of these three systems, which compete for a fixed amount of mental energy. Problems arise through this competition, which is almost entirely unconscious. “Fixations” can occur at different developmental stages – early childhood trauma is seen as the underlying cause of many adult neuroses. But Freud’s theories are ultimately unable to be proved or disproved. His theoretical structures have no experimental evidence for their existence. His scientific methods were flawed, and his technique had built-in mechanisms for blaming failure on the patient rather than the process.
Failure of a patient to recall a childhood trauma was taken as confirmation of the trauma, and his theories were thus self-verifying. Further, it is now considered doubtful that simply “reliving” a traumatic event will necessarily help a person get over it. Psychoanalysis Today Psychoanalysis remains popular. It attempts to remove previously repressed id impulses which are claimed to produce neurotic anxiety when they clash with the ego. The past event which lies behind the troublesome id impulses must be uncovered and remembered, then integrated into the ego where they can be controlled and modified. Are the regained memories true? This is sometimes open to question. Overall, evidence is conflicting as to whether psychoanalysis has any better outcomes than simply visiting a GP. Clear evidence of benefit is lacking.
2. Physiological Therapy
There have always been other approaches competing with Freud’s Psychoanalysis. One which has gained prominence with recent research techniques is the physiological approach, which recognises that some mental illnesses are in fact physical problems, which can be controlled by drugs or surgery. Depression, for example, can result from the failure of certain neural transmitters. Sometimes definite improvements have been shown through appropriate drug treatments. Many practitioners see mental illness as consisting of a background physical predisposition, plus a trigger that sets off the illness – for example, a chemical imbalance, which leads to depression when something goes wrong, like losing a job.
3. Behavioural Therapy
This theory is based on the notion of “stimulus and response.” Extreme behaviourists, like B.F. Skinner, insist that humans are “nothing but” a complex set of stimuli and responses. But certain insights can be gained about why people behave as they do. Abnormal behaviours have been “learned” in the same way as other behaviours, and so can be unlearned. Counter-conditioning, for example, can be helpful in treating phobias.
4. Cognitive Therapy
This is a new and growing trend, partly in reaction to behaviourism. It wants to know what’s happening “in the mind” between stimulus and response. Our minds store information according to a pre-existing schema – and it’s this “cognitive set” which may dictate, for example, a sense of hopelessness or depression. While these insights may be helpful, there’s no answer to where the “negative schema” came from in the first place – although unlike psychoanalysis, cognitive therapy is not interested in where problems originated. Cognitive Therapy tries to change thinking processes rather than behaviours. If a person believes she must perform perfectly to gain approval, the result will be a miserable, high pressured life, and probable depression. If the base belief can be changed, the problem can be relieved. Cognitive and behavioural therapies are often combined, and can be genuinely helpful.
5. Humanistic Therapy
So called “self-help” therapy has become very popular through a growing number of books and groups. It assumes that people are basically healthy and good, with an innate drive for growth and self-actualisation. When a person is not happy and functional, that must be because this basic drive is somehow being denied. Humanistic psychology emphasises that a person has to reach self-fulfilment regardless of social judgements. Carl Rogers was a leading figure in the establishment of this movement. “Rogerian therapy” is known for its positive, accepting style; the underlying assumption is that people’s own decisions would make them happy, and turn them into good, civilised people.
This therapy model tries to help people get in touch with their “inner selves” and learn to express their true feelings without undue concern for what others think. Therapists do not impose goals, nor give advice. The patient – or “client” – must take responsibility for him or herself. Does it help? Again, research yields inconsistent results. Patients seem to need more than an accepting, loving therapist to get better. The biggest problem is that people are demonstrably not intrinsically good. Left to their own determination, people will usually want to do selfish things, which will not necessarily make them happy, or good citizens.
6. Conclusion
Of all the types of therapy on offer, cognitive-behavioural therapy has the best track record, and the most solid experimental basis. These techniques work. Identifying irrational or negative thoughts and consciously challenging them is a useful technique, not just for people who are mentally ill. Again, Psychology is more than just therapy. Understanding how our minds work is useful and helpful.
PART 2
Psychology in the Lab
At first, Psychology was seen as the “study of thought” – usually, this was done through a process of introspection. Later, it developed into study of the structures of the mind – memory, perception etc. Most recently, there has been a focus on the study of the “inner mind.”
1. Beginnings
The discipline began in the late 1800s. Important precedents involved the discovery of the mechanisms of the nervous system by Bell, Magendie and Muller. Emil du Bois-Reymond verified Muller’s work, and was a militant “mechanist” – he was determined to explain human beings in purely mechanical terms.
2. Germany and Darwinism
Most of this work was carried out in Germany, where the first Psychology lab was established in 1879. Darwinism, which originated in England, provided an impetus to the mechanistic, naturalistic ideas being developed in Germany.
3. In the United States
In Harvard, philosopher William James started teaching Psychology in 1875. German Hugo Munsterberg began teaching in the new Psychology department in 1892. An unrestricted “free-market” approach to psychological research soon developed in the US, with a distinct freedom from predispositions and methodological commitments.
4. Freud Arrives
In Vienna, Freud’s psychoanalysis was becoming extremely popular. He lectured in the US in 1909; by 1940, his paradigm was dominant.
5. Watson, Skinner, and the end of thought.
Behaviourism arose in reaction to the extremes of Freudianism and Functionalism. Mental process was ignored in favour of analysis of actual behaviour. Definable limits and procedures were able to be established. Watson claimed that “behaviour is all there is” – there is “no ‘mind’ – for ‘mind’ is not a scientific entity.” Emotions, motives, instinct, pleasure and pain were disregarded as categories, as was ‘thinking’. Skinner pursued this model and advanced it. 6. Cognitive Dissent By 1950, behaviourism controlled most psychological research. But biologists challenged behaviourist theories of animal learning. The behaviourist model was shown to be inadequate. Psychologists were again free to theorise about thought processes and mental events. The “mind” was again allowed to be seen as real – something that the extreme forms of behaviourism denied. However, there is still no over-riding cognitive theory or model.
7. From the Lab to the Couch
The first psychological clinic was not established until 1896. The real breakthrough in seeing psychology as valid “treatment” came after World War II. At the same time, intelligence and personality tests were being developed, which saw psychology spreading into industrial and organisational fields. While Psychology is still a young science, careful study of the mind can bring highly useful insights. Does the fact that Psychology has often been highly materialistic in its approach – denying the existence of anything that can’t be explained by a physical mechanism, and denying any notion of “God” or “soul” -mean that Psychology inevitably conflicts with Christianity?
PART 3
Psychology and the Meaning of Life
Christianity and Psychology have always had a tense relationship. But will Psychology always, fundamentally, be opposed to a Christian world view? Not necessarily.
1. Christian and Psychological views of the Mind
First, we need to remember that psychology is simply “study of the mind.” Whatever the structure of the mind is, that’s what it is. A triangle has three sides whether a Christian or a non-Christian looks at it. Similarly, the mind has certain structures that can be observed and understood by anyone. But because we know so little about the complexities of the mind, it’s possible for psychological theories to be driven largely by pre-suppositions, which cannot be refuted, as there is no available evidence. Many of these theories reject Christian concepts a priori. Another problem – what exactly is a “Christian” concept of the mind? Does it involve “soul” and “spirit”? The Bible says we have a soul – but is it something entirely different from our bodies, or not? Many of our ideas about the immortal soul come from Greek philosophy rather than from the Bible, which teaches that our bodies will be resurrected.
Is our soul something separate from these physical bodies? Maybe, maybe not. And even if we are entirely “material”, God is still the Creator and Lord of all who sustains and upholds all things by His powerful word. Psychology can never rationally deny this, because it is not in a position to speak about it. Certain psychologists “explain away” religion as “transference of the father-figure to something infinite.” But the reverse may equally be true – humans may have religious impulses because there really is a God. Psychological tests or theoretical arguments cannot determine this one way or another.
2. Christians Studying Psychology
The Psychological community – scientists, therapists – includes elements which are hostile to Christian belief. There is no essential problem in the ideas underlying psychological study – and the discovery of the real structures of the mind would be a cause for celebration of God’s creativity. Some theories – like the Rogerian claim of basic human goodness – run directly counter to Christianity, at which point we will say psychology has got it wrong. Many empirical studies confirm this. Psychology may be taught with an anti-Christian bias, but this is a social rather than a scientific problem. But Christians should not shy away from the opportunity to study the one creature God decided to have a relationship with. Non-Christians who study the mind, no matter how brilliant they are, will never appreciate the human mind fully in its marvellous createdness.
3. Integrating Christianity and Psychology
Do we need to integrate Christianity and Psychology? However our minds work, they were still created by God. And with every neurone and thought explained, there will still be no answer for “what it all means.” Our minds work the way they do because we were created by God. They have the flaws they do because we rebel against our purpose. Any integration would have to be within this fundamental framework. Doing away with notions of “sin” or “evil” in favour of concepts of “illness”, then, is no integration at all. What the Bible tells us about human minds is not an alternative to psychology – it’s the basis of any true psychology.
4. What is the Essence of Psychology?
Does psychology replace “the mystery of life” with mere mechanisms? It is likely that a prior rejection of God has led to many key psychological theories. Psychology makes the mistake of assuming if we understand how we think, we’ll understand why we think the way we do. Do people believe in God to “give stability” or to “cope with uncertainty”? It could be that people believe in God because he is really there! Maybe not everything is explainable from within a person, or the social influences at play on them – maybe morality, relationships and other aspects of humanity can only be truly understood in the context of their external reality… and their Creator.
Appendix 1 – Christians and Mental Illness
Do Christians suffer from mental illness? Yes, and it’s okay to seek counselling from a Psychologist if you do. Many Christians are uncomfortable with this… after all, the bible commands us to be joyful, to love others, and that the Christian life is not burdensome. But it’s helpful to realise that the emotional language we read into the bible sometimes may not be there. The command to love, for example, refers to actions rather than feelings. We love our enemy by doing what is best for him – sometimes in spite of our emotions. A sense of “joy” will come from truly believing the truth of the gospel. However, various things can stop us fully believing God’s truth.
The first is sin, which can only be removed by the power of the Holy Spirit. But other things get in the way as well. In our fallen world, sickness – both physical and mental – is prevalent. Mental illness is directly parallel to physical illness or injury; depression, for example, is a genuine barrier to enjoying the truths of the gospel. Christianity is not a “mental cure.” Mental illness should be treated. Psychotherapy is a problematic option, but Cognitive-Behavioural therapy can bring positive changes – especially if informed by Biblical notions of positive outcomes and right thoughts. In fact, the bible can inform cognitive-behavioural therapy in many useful ways – for example, the statement “God still values me and has a place for me in heaven regardless of whether I fail today” is a useful therapeutic challenge-statement. When dealing with Psychological treatment, the key is to be discerning, and biblically informed.
Appendix 2 – Christians and Depression
Greg Clarke interviews Professor Philip Mitchell Depression is a genuine illness, suffered by Christians and non-Christians alike. Depressed people cannot just “snap out of it” – or they would have! Depression can be treated effectively, but often recurs. Many Christians feel that God is distant during their depressed periods. This is not an indicator of weak faith, but symptomatic of depression. The church is often unhelpful, by making depressed people feel guilty. Support and encouragement can be helpful in early stages of depression, but medical help should be sought for fully formed depression.
“The Essence of Psychology” is published by Matthias Media (1999) PO Box 225 Kingsford Australia
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