Lds Source Material On Psychology

[EllenMaksoud]

Just looking for some source material on Psychology. Some things have become really clear now and I would like to resume study, but what ever I study needs to be acceptable to LDS folk and not a threat to faith. The most powerful tools that the LDS have are love and prayer and I think that oh so many issues would be minor if the ill got those things in the first place.

At my age, it does not seem to be a rational choice to return to college, but people have said I should before. You can be certain that my Bishop will be in on it.

[blackstrap]

My son is currently working on his " Piled Higher and Deeper " in psychology. I think he is doing it because he want to understand his 'different' father.

[Calm]

I might have a manual from my days (actually I think it's my husband's copy) at BYU on psychology from an LDS POV. Let me see if I can dig it up.

I will also look to see if any of my old professors and others I know who are LDS psychologists have any texts out there. Remind me if I don't show up with anything in a couple of days in case I get distracted and forget.

[tyler90az]

I might have a manual from my days (actually I think it's my husband's copy) at BYU on psychology from an LDS POV. Let me see if I can dig it up.

I will also look to see if any of my old professors and others I know who are LDS psychologists have any texts out there. Remind me if I don't show up with anything in a couple of days in case I get distracted and forget.

http://www.psychologytoday.com

[Calm]

http://www.psychologytoday.com

Where is the LDS specific material in that link?

add-on: I see that she asked for general material, but LDS friendly....my mistake.

Edited May 15, 2013 by calmoriah

[EllenMaksoud]

Where is the LDS specific material in that link?

add-on: I see that she asked for general material, but LDS friendly....my mistake.

Well, without going into great detail, I've spent a lot of time listening to Psych people and have come up with the conclusion that I am my own best care giver. Depending on what you screen for, a woman can get about any guidance you want, I think. LDS counselors are vastly different from secular, or GBLT, or Christian counselors. Having cast my lot with the LDS, I just don't value the opinion of hostile characters. The first time one of them pulls out DSM-5, I might just run for my car.

So, having surmounted as many of my own issues as I can, and having become quite adept at it, I'd like to learn about the issues others face and see if I can torment them.

[bu11fr0g]

There is an organization for lds psychiatry that would be very helpful.

[Calm]

So, having surmounted as many of my own issues as I can, and having become quite adept at it, I'd like to learn about the issues others face and see if I can torment them.

Totally understand.

[ERayR]

Just looking for some source material on Psychology. Some things have become really clear now and I would like to resume study, but what ever I study needs to be acceptable to LDS folk and not a threat to faith. The most powerful tools that the LDS have are love and prayer and I think that oh so many issues would be minor if the ill got those things in the first place.

At my age, it does not seem to be a rational choice to return to college, but people have said I should before. You can be certain that my Bishop will be in on it.

Hey go back to school I went back at age 48. A very dear friend and Bishop who I served with gave me some very sage advice. I said to him I had thought about going back to school and said it sounded like a good idea. I said "But do you know how old I will be in 4 years when I graduate". He then asked me "How old will you be in 4 years if you don't go back to school"? I went and 5 years later graduated with a Masters.

Go for it.

[thesometimesaint]

Just looking for some source material on Psychology. Some things have become really clear now and I would like to resume study, but what ever I study needs to be acceptable to LDS folk and not a threat to faith. The most powerful tools that the LDS have are love and prayer and I think that oh so many issues would be minor if the ill got those things in the first place.

At my age, it does not seem to be a rational choice to return to college, but people have said I should before. You can be certain that my Bishop will be in on it.

Depends, on what level you were at when you left school. I don't know of any that are a threat to LDS specific beliefs. However Abnormal Psych may have you questioning your own sanity.

Nowadays there are a number of good online schools for Bachelor Degree work, including BYU. Some require on campus time so do check it out.

No one is immune to psychological problems. But having a support system is a help in dealing with them.

When I first started college there was a 70 year old lady in one of my classes. Don't let anyone, including yourself, tell you that you are too old to return.

[EllenMaksoud]

Depends, on what level you were at when you left school. I don't know of any that are a threat to LDS specific beliefs. However Abnormal Psych may have you questioning your own sanity.

Nowadays there are a number of good online schools for Bachelor Degree work, including BYU. Some require on campus time so do check it out.

No one is immune to psychological problems. But having a support system is a help in dealing with them.

When I first started college there was a 70 year old lady in one of my classes. Don't let anyone, including yourself, tell you that you are too old to return.

I am still trying to decide if going to College will help me reach my goals. In my experience, it has been a painful lesson to find that Doctors and Mental Health people are at least as human as everyone else, and they make mistakes, sometimes huge ones. Others prescribe a lot of mind altering drugs in an indiscriminate manner.

So the question is: how does a non professional effect change? Is becoming one of the enemy necessary? Some practioners give bad counsel and keep some coming because more patients equals more cash flow. In the end, it is the patient who must decide. Many people in our culture are not taught distress tolerance skills in the home, and that is sad.

Maybe it would be better to simply write a book?

[Calm]

I would suggest finding a doctor or whatever whom practices in the field you would like to delve into and talk with him. Might be easier to find holistic physical doctors who treat the whole body using more natural products. My mom and dad have long liked Mark Sorenson (IIRC) he has done some major research on wellness medicine in the past and helped many neighbours, friends and family over the last several decades. They are going out to his health resort in June for a few weeks to see what he can do for them. (both are having a lot of pain and just not functioning well.) You could see what it is like from the body side of the equation and then see where it might lead for more the mind and spirit. If you like it, maybe get some training from whomever you choose to be your mentor if they are agreeable (if they don't have to pay you, they probably would be ).

They could at least give you advice about how to successfully move out of the mainstream.

[EllenMaksoud]

I would suggest finding a doctor or whatever whom practices in the field you would like to delve into and talk with him. Might be easier to find holistic physical doctors who treat the whole body using more natural products. My mom and dad have long liked Mark Sorenson (IIRC) he has done some major research on wellness medicine in the past and helped many neighbours, friends and family over the last several decades. They are going out to his health resort in June for a few weeks to see what he can do for them. (both are having a lot of pain and just not functioning well.) You could see what it is like from the body side of the equation and then see where it might lead for more the mind and spirit. If you like it, maybe get some training from whomever you choose to be your mentor if they are agreeable (if they don't have to pay you, they probably would be ).

They could at least give you advice about how to successfully move out of the mainstream.

It is a fairly narrow area I'm interested in, and I emphatically disagree with what happened to me, and what I see happening to others. The solutions they offer cause them to become social outcasts, and the suicide rate is high. Someone needs to put a stop to it. Thankfully, the LDS are particularly compassionate; not what I was previously told; in that area. I think the treatment protocols secular practitioners follow only exacerbate things like PTSD and BPD, and may in fact actually cause them.

[thesometimesaint]

I am still trying to decide if going to College will help me reach my goals. In my experience, it has been a painful lesson to find that Doctors and Mental Health people are at least as human as everyone else, and they make mistakes, sometimes huge ones. Others prescribe a lot of mind altering drugs in an indiscriminate manner.

So the question is: how does a non professional effect change? Is becoming one of the enemy necessary? Some practioners give bad counsel and keep some coming because more patients equals more cash flow. In the end, it is the patient who must decide. Many people in our culture are not taught distress tolerance skills in the home, and that is sad.

Maybe it would be better to simply write a book?

It would be nuts to claim that we're not subject to the same imperfections that are common to man(woman). The upside, if there is one, is we don't get to bury our mistakes. Of course there are SOME that over-prescribe, just as there are SOME patients whom think that if I order one pill, taking two pills will be twice as effective, or more commonly that taking half as much would work the same.

The only difference between me and the nonprofessional is I get to charge for my services, based on the idea that I am supposed to know what I'm talking about. Would you take your car to be fixed by someone whom didn't know car repair, and wasn't accredited(licensed) to do so? Sure SOME do give wrong advice, but on the whole, we don't go into the Biz for the money. There are plenty of easier, less demanding, ways to do that. If my advice is ineffective then my patients find someone else that gives them good advice. If it is bad enough I can be held to my professional code of ethics, loose my license to practice, and face serious prison time.

I have only one true enemy and that is ignorance. Learn everything you can about the subject and then we both can talk knowledgeably about changes that SHOULD be undertaken. Believe me there are plenty to talk about.

It's a double edged sword, the biggest rewards/problems with home training is that we usually don't get to see the results until our children have left our home.

Write the book. It is more emotionally satisfying, even if it never makes any money.

[thesometimesaint]

It is a fairly narrow area I'm interested in, and I emphatically disagree with what happened to me, and what I see happening to others. The solutions they offer cause them to become social outcasts, and the suicide rate is high. Someone needs to put a stop to it. Thankfully, the LDS are particularly compassionate; not what I was previously told; in that area. I think the treatment protocols secular practitioners follow only exacerbate things like PTSD and BPD, and may in fact actually cause them.

We do ourselves no favors by always casting ourselves in a positive light, while disparaging others. Narcissistic Personality Disorder is not a good thing, whether it is applied to one person or a group of people. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narcissistic_personality_disorder

Here is a statistic that should give us pause. 1/3 of our patients will get better if we do nothing at all; another 1/3 will get worse no matter what we do; It is the last 1/3 that interests us the most. Going in we never know whom that 1/3 that is.

Give William Glasser a look. http://www.wglasser....h/choice-theory

Edited May 15, 2013 by thesometimesaint

[EllenMaksoud]

We do ourselves no favors by always casting ourselves in a positive light, while disparaging others. Narcissistic Personality Disorder is not a good thing, whether it is applied to one person or a group of people. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narcissistic_personality_disorder

Here is a statistic that should give us pause. 1/3 of our patients will get better if we do nothing at all; another 1/3 will get worse no matter what we do; It is the last 1/3 that interests us the most. Going in we never know whom that 1/3 that is.

Give William Glasser a look. http://www.wglasser....h/choice-theory

Lol, and the diagnosis is sometimes used on those you wish to shut up.

[thesometimesaint]

Lol, and the diagnosis is sometimes used on those you wish to shut up.

As you can tell by my post count that is a hard thing to do.

[EllenMaksoud]

As you can tell by my post count that is a hard thing to do.

So, um where did you get that funny smiley? Oh, found them!

[EllenMaksoud]

Lol, and the diagnosis is sometimes used on those you wish to shut up.

Oh that. NPD has been removed in DSM-5, what's up with that?

[BlueDreams]

At my age, it does not seem to be a rational choice to return to college, but people have said I should before. You can be certain that my Bishop will be in on it.

I'd highly recommend it. I've seen plenty of women who have.

My major is psychology and I'll be going into Marriage and Family Therapy soon enough. I also happen to study at BYU and took a good class on lds perspectives in psych last semester. I'll see if I can scrounge up some articles from it later on.

Personally I've never had a problem with faith in psychology. I personally joke that it's the one study to me that proves there is a God...or at the very least how little we know about what's around us. In most sciences a number of basic things/principles can be followed. You drop and apple, it'll fall. Mix red and blue you'll get purple, etc. Human thought, feelings, etc...not so much. With every research design there are exceptions. You put two people in the same situation, they may act completely different. There's theories as to why, but each theory has its own list of complications and holes. Various methodologies to treatment are often based less on some rote pattern and more on the subjective investment of the people involved. The same data in a study can be used differently to bolster completely different claims.

Personally, I think there's plenty of room for those of any faith in psychology....and a needed increase for those interested in psychology from a religious background.

With luv,

BD

[ERayR]

Narcissistic Personality Disorder is not a good thing, whether it is applied to one person or a group of people. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narcissistic_personality_disorder

I thought it was a requirement to post on internet boards.

[Yep]

Just looking for some source material on Psychology. Some things have become really clear now and I would like to resume study, but what ever I study needs to be acceptable to LDS folk and not a threat to faith. The most powerful tools that the LDS have are love and prayer and I think that oh so many issues would be minor if the ill got those things in the first place.

At my age, it does not seem to be a rational choice to return to college, but people have said I should before. You can be certain that my Bishop will be in on it.

I studied behavior as an undergraduate, and took a number of graduate courses while an undergrad in the field of psychology. Even though I did not pursue psychology in my graduate work per se, I am a behaviorist by personal philosophy, and applied such in my thesis and dissertation. I believe that most of psychology is LDS friendly. All truth is truth friendly. If something in psychology is true it will fit in the Gospel. I believe that the behaviorist principles are eternal principles. Given that much of the popular psychology is cognitive and, from the behavioral position, is fiction lain on top of data, it should be noted that much of psychology is inference when it comes to explaining the internal workings of the "mind". The pure science of psychology, without the mush of touchy-feely fiction, fits well with the Gospel, and in my opinion gives further evidence of the truth thereof.

Edited May 15, 2013 by Yep

[Yep]

One thing I do when studying any topic on my own is visit a local college bookstore and start with their beginning texts. Simply buy the text for psych 1010, then when you finish, buy the next logical step text. I found in my psychology undergrad that typically psychology is misunderstood and most people have either romanticized, vilified, or made it much more than it really is. It was similar to my studies in computer science, if you step back and look at our wonderfully complex hardware, you will usually find it isn't all that complex and it's simply a series of simple items connected. Now that I've gone into that, I believe the same is true of religion. People like to think everything is complex and needs some grand codex or cipher to understand, and they dislike the idea that everything isn't as complex and mystical as they had supposed.

Edited May 15, 2013 by Yep

[rpn]

Last year I read about an lds student in a PhD psych or social work program, who was thrown out of the program because he was unwillling to tell his professors that he would counsel those with ssa that there was nothing wrong with the lifestyle. He was perfectly willing to refer those patients to another therapist, but he did not feel that he could help them become and act on on the lifestyle. He was not allowed to finish the degree. (I may be remembering details inaccurately, as I recall there were two such stories that made the national press and one was of a different faith.)

Anyway, when it comes to professional educational experiences leading to licensing, a person of faith may need to be careful to find a program that acknowledges freedom of religion, and acknowledges something less that certainty about what is appropriate for a professional to believe and act upon.

There is a big need for cognitive behavior therapy in our world. Lots of people claim to provide it, but few actually do. It is short term therapy, research proven for teen depression, one of two proven interventions for PTSD, used successfully for a number of other issues because it simply teaches how to think in healthy ways.

[Yep]

Last year I read about an lds student in a PhD psych or social work program, who was thrown out of the program because he was unwillling to tell his professors that he would counsel those with ssa that there was nothing wrong with the lifestyle. He was perfectly willing to refer those patients to another therapist, but he did not feel that he could help them become and act on on the lifestyle. He was not allowed to finish the degree. (I may be remembering details inaccurately, as I recall there were two such stories that made the national press and one was of a different faith.)

Anyway, when it comes to professional educational experiences leading to licensing, a person of faith may need to be careful to find a program that acknowledges freedom of religion, and acknowledges something less that certainty about what is appropriate for a professional to believe and act upon.

There is a big need for cognitive behavior therapy in our world. Lots of people claim to provide it, but few actually do. It is short term therapy, research proven for teen depression, one of two proven interventions for PTSD, used successfully for a number of other issues because it simply teaches how to think in healthy ways.

I don't doubt it. Professors have always controlled those they teach in some manner. Early on in the history of psychology you had to smoke to study with a few of the most prominent professors.