Friday, August 08, 2003

Clinical Psychology: Another Totalitarianism of the Left?

There is at the moment a fascinating post (dated August 4) by a clinical psychologist on the blog of the National Association of Scholars about how clinical psychology is taking a back seat to political correctness. They appear to have no archives so I have mirrored the current state of the site here and here. That way the post will not get “lost”. Excerpt:

“We see psychology as a science and rely on it as a source of truth about the human experience, especially in matters concerning the socialization of the young. In many ways, it has supplanted the religious, cultural, and social traditions that used to be dominant in our society. But psychology is not a science, critically examining tentative hypotheses about human behavior in the light of new data. Psychology is becoming a totalitarian force, reshaping our society in the image and likeness of orthodox liberalism.

Why is there no awareness of this pervasive bias within the field of clinical psychology? Are we as clinicians so caught up in our work with patients that we give little thought to the broader implications of our thinking? Have we become so liberal that we are unaware of any other ways of understanding society aside from the race, class, gender triad? Do we see the human experience as a perpetual therapy session, in which being "judgmental" about anything is forbidden? Are we no longer educated in the true liberal sense, and thus lack the critical skills to challenge "politically correct" thinking?”


There is other good stuff on the site too. Definitely worth a read. Thanks to Tom Scott for the heads-up.

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