Estaban:
Very, very nicely put. You express your position succinctly, and
convincingly. I would be tempted to say that your expression of position is so
clear and so cogent, I would wonder why others so easily evade that position.
Yet, I know that in the current academic ambience, this position is not easily
reached.
As an example, I am working on a paper on the construction of a diagnostic
narrative - the ADHD narrative. I recruited a very, very scholarly young woman
to help me with some of the reference work. When I tried to explain to her what
I am doing, the best question she could ask -- after a brilliant undergraduate
career -- was, "So, you don't believe that there is a biological base for
ADHD?" My response was, "On what basis should I entertain that question?"
First off, as psychologists, we MUST entertain questions such as: Why are the
hegemonous self narratives imposed? Should every six year old child in the
world be expected to adopt the same self narratives? Does every child have the
personal construct system to adopt those self narratives, etc., etc. Why would
one what to introduce a diagnostic narrative to explain children who do not
accept as their self narrative the self narratives which the educational systems
attempt to impose?
Solong as we psychologists allow the diagnostic narratives to dominate the
departments of psychology, we will be second rate hacks, serving the power
structure of the societies who pay our salaries.
Jim
Mancuso
Esteban Laso wrote:
> Hi everybody
>
> Yesterday, Jim Mancuso wrote about the psychology/psychiatry bussiness. I
> agree with him. We must, as psychologists, try to create new ways to look at
> disengaged behavior -and to go beyond the disease narrative with its
> implications of non-accountability, biological causes which need chemical
> treatments, etc. We shouldn't try to negotiate or share the psychiatric
> point of view -there are lots of ways to understand the same things.
> I dare to say that the main reason for all of this is our own dislodgement
> from our hypothetical role of psychologists. Maybe we are afraid (and
> envious!) of the social power assigned to the medical profession and
> medicine as a science -a pretty neat one, also! Our psychological
> explanations sound like fantasies and daydreams, while the "lack of A
> substance" and "presence of B gene" are tangible enough to become
> unquestionable. And if he who is behaving weirdly is just sick, then to say
> that his behavior is a quest for good answers to wrong questions is, if
> anything, useless and nonsensical.
> So, if psychology is to be of any use, we have to build its place in
> society -as well as within our minds.
>
> Comments?
>
> Regards,
>
> Esteban
--
James C. Mancuso Dept. of Psychology
15 Oakwood Place University at Albany
Delmar, NY 12054 1400 Washington Ave.
Tel: (518)439-4416 Albany, NY 12222
Mailto:mancusoj@capital.net
http://www.crisny.org/not-for-profit/soi
A website related to Italian-American Affairs
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Estaban:
Very, very nicely put. You express your position
succinctly, and convincingly. I would be tempted to say that your
expression of position is so clear and so cogent, I would wonder why others
so easily evade that position. Yet, I know that in the current academic
ambience, this position is not easily reached.
As an example, I am working on a paper on the construction
of a diagnostic narrative - the ADHD narrative. I recruited a very,
very scholarly young woman to help me with some of the reference work.
When I tried to explain to her what I am doing, the best question she could
ask -- after a brilliant undergraduate career -- was, "So, you don't believe
that there is a biological base for ADHD?" My response was, "On what
basis should I entertain that question?" First off, as psychologists,
we MUST entertain questions such as: Why are the hegemonous
self narratives imposed? Should every six year old child in the world
be expected to adopt the same self narratives? Does every child have the
personal construct system to adopt those self narratives, etc., etc. Why
would one what to introduce a diagnostic narrative to explain children
who do not accept as their self narrative the self narratives which the
educational systems attempt to impose?
Solong as we psychologists allow the diagnostic
narratives to dominate the departments of psychology, we will be second
rate hacks, serving the power structure of the societies who pay our salaries.
Jim Mancuso
Esteban Laso wrote:
Hi everybody
Yesterday, Jim Mancuso wrote about the psychology/psychiatry bussiness.
I
agree with him. We must, as psychologists, try to create new ways to
look at
disengaged behavior -and to go beyond the disease narrative with its
implications of non-accountability, biological causes which need chemical
treatments, etc. We shouldn't try to negotiate or share the psychiatric
point of view -there are lots of ways to understand the same things.
I dare to say that the main reason for all of this is our own dislodgement
from our hypothetical role of psychologists. Maybe we are afraid (and
envious!) of the social power assigned to the medical profession and
medicine as a science -a pretty neat one, also! Our psychological
explanations sound like fantasies and daydreams, while the "lack of
A
substance" and "presence of B gene" are tangible enough to become
unquestionable. And if he who is behaving weirdly is just sick, then
to say
that his behavior is a quest for good answers to wrong questions is,
if
anything, useless and nonsensical.
So, if psychology is to be of any use, we have to build its place in
society -as well as within our minds.
Comments?
Regards,
Esteban
--
James C. Mancuso Dept. of
Psychology
15 Oakwood Place University
at Albany
Delmar, NY 12054 1400 Washington
Ave.
Tel: (518)439-4416 Albany, NY 12222
Mailto:mancusoj@capital.net
http://www.crisny.org/not-for-profit/soi
A website related to Italian-American Affairs
--------------19A3076059E60E0962AC201E--
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