Great article exploring a glaring issue in our attitude to healthcare. I would suggest there is a third issue which affects psychology (and western society at large) as a whole and that is a hyper-focus on the individual. While each person has their own unique needs and circumstances, it is the isolation of the individual from their context in entirety that plagues much of psychology. If you’re interested I would direct you to look at Participatory Action Research approaches to research methods in psychology. This approach, in short, places the individual back into their larger context and community and attempts to facilitate their healing and growth in this context. It’s still quite a niche approach, but i fell in love with it my final year after feeling a lot of the issues mentioned in your article. Thanks again for a great read!
What a brilliant article. You could publish this in a wider sense. The Guardian could have you as a special correspondent feature each week. It’s absolutely spot on. It made me think. It made me smile. I love the title. Anna
This has certainly been my experience both personally and professionally. I’m a trained naturopath and 8yrs ago burnt out and was given meditation that caused me to have a manic episode. Since then I’ve seen psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, gynaecologists, and a Harley st dr that apparently specialises in all these areas - yet still I’m none the wiser. I’m now under a naturopath in Australia looking at genetic testing. Our orthodox system is very broken and too many people are suffering because of its one dimensional view of ill health. Thank you again for writing about such an important subject.
Dear Mark, I enjoyed talking to you. The NHS situation really is severe - I just heard about a friend of mine who was acutely admitted to hospital in London and had to spend a whole night and another day in a chair waiting for a bed ...
Still your joke about the orthopaedic surgeon made me smile. He needs good shoulders to shrug all day :-)
We all need connection. And humor. And your articles.
Great article exploring a glaring issue in our attitude to healthcare. I would suggest there is a third issue which affects psychology (and western society at large) as a whole and that is a hyper-focus on the individual. While each person has their own unique needs and circumstances, it is the isolation of the individual from their context in entirety that plagues much of psychology. If you’re interested I would direct you to look at Participatory Action Research approaches to research methods in psychology. This approach, in short, places the individual back into their larger context and community and attempts to facilitate their healing and growth in this context. It’s still quite a niche approach, but i fell in love with it my final year after feeling a lot of the issues mentioned in your article. Thanks again for a great read!
Yes- it’s a major theme of Johan Hari’s book Lost Connections, which is well worth a read.
Such a good article on such an important topic.
What a brilliant article. You could publish this in a wider sense. The Guardian could have you as a special correspondent feature each week. It’s absolutely spot on. It made me think. It made me smile. I love the title. Anna
V kind of you - thanks
This has certainly been my experience both personally and professionally. I’m a trained naturopath and 8yrs ago burnt out and was given meditation that caused me to have a manic episode. Since then I’ve seen psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, gynaecologists, and a Harley st dr that apparently specialises in all these areas - yet still I’m none the wiser. I’m now under a naturopath in Australia looking at genetic testing. Our orthodox system is very broken and too many people are suffering because of its one dimensional view of ill health. Thank you again for writing about such an important subject.
Dear Mark, I enjoyed talking to you. The NHS situation really is severe - I just heard about a friend of mine who was acutely admitted to hospital in London and had to spend a whole night and another day in a chair waiting for a bed ...
Still your joke about the orthopaedic surgeon made me smile. He needs good shoulders to shrug all day :-)
We all need connection. And humor. And your articles.
All the best, Simone