Welcome to From Insults to Respect. Regular readers to this blog know that I have some serious concerns about dealing with emotional experiences referred to as depression or melancholy with the so called antidepressants. Certainly, people should be free to make their own decision regarding whether or not to take these types of pills, and I recognize very intelligent people decide to take them. That said, because…
Welcome to From Insults to Respect. In today’s world, if you are experiencing melancholy or depression, the pharmaceutical industry very much wants to sell you on the idea that you have an abnormal condition that is deemed an illness. You would think with the popularity of the blues type of music, periods of bluesy feelings would be viewed as normal as trees in a forest;…
Welcome to From Insults to Respect. As the title of this blog indicates, here we are interested in respect. The topic of respect is quite broad, and for a fairly complete coverage of its different definitions I recommend the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy’s article on respect that can be retrieved for free HERE. The article covers not only the different meanings of the respect concept, it…
Welcome to From Insults to Respect. For many of us who have endured a brutally hot summer, the approaching of autumn sure is a welcome. This past weekend, I happened to be checking out some stuff on YouTube and came upon a wonderful version of the song, “Melancholy Mood,” sung, believe it or not, by Bob Dylan. The amazingly prolific song writer and musical…
Welcome to From Insults to Respect. Today, we take a look at the question, Can psychologists come up with a kinder, more respectful, healthier approach for dealing with the types of concerns people seek mental health services? The current approach, often referred to as the “medical model” or the “mental disorder model,” is promoted by the American Psychiatric Association (APA), the World Health Organization (WHO)…
Welcome to From Insults to Respect. Let’s start off this post with a brief tale that illustrates some of the strong feelings that come about when religion is discussed: A rabbi and atheist are heatedly arguing over whether or not god truly exists. After a whole hour of this, finally the rabbi cries out in a rage, “How can you be so absolutely certain that there is…
by Jeffrey Rubin, PhD When I got the phone call informing me that I was accepted into the University of Minnesota’s Psychology/Philosophy PhD program I experienced a happiness as grand as the Mighty Mississippi. With it came a charge of energy, and a hint of anxiety as my mind raced to think of what I needed to do to get ready for the move to…
Welcome to From Insults to Respect. We’re now into that early summery month of June. I think I’ll glance over here at my calendar. Hmmm, Father’s Day–June 18th–is rapidly approaching. For Mother’s Day, I utilized aspects of Bob Dylan’s entertaining Theme Time Radio Hour episode on mothers to have some fun commemorating it. I think I’ll do likewise for Bob’s Father’s Day episode. Let’s go see…
Welcome to From Insults to Respect. In a recent post, I shared some of my views about the pros and cons of the mental illness concept. I’m retired now, but derived my way of looking at these issues when I was employed in various settings as a PhD level psychologist. During my career, I often interacted with people who, upon accessing mental health services, came…
Welcome to From Insults to Respect. I hope you all are all having a splendid week, especially you mothers out there for my calendar indicates Mother’s Day is just around the corner. Regular readers of this blog well know that from time to time I like to utilize aspects of Bob Dylan’s entertaining show, Theme Time Radio Hour, to highlight some important issues regarding the nature of…
