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Psychoanalysis

Entry 178, on 2005-05-31 at 14:34:30 (Rating 3, News)

When I did psychology as a student, many years ago now, psychoanalysis wasn't emphasised because the course was primarily based around more "scientific" areas of psychology such as experimental studies of animals and humans, and statistical analysis of data. Also, psychiatry was a separate course taught as part of a medical degree and psychoanalysis was more important in that area of study.

I've always been a bit uncertain about how useful psychoanalysis actually is, and how much of it is based in real fact and how much in pseudo-science and myth.

I was interested to listen to an interview with psychoanalyst, Professor Vammick Vulcan, a person of Turkish descent from Cyprus. He was interviewed on National Radio regarding his work on groups in times of crisis and in places where war and unrest are common, such as Estonia.

His comments regarding the response to the 9/11 attacks, and the subsequent, so-called, war on terror were interesting. He claims that in times of crisis people regress to a more child-like state which causes them to be less questioning of their leaders and support action which might they wouldn't normally.

The application of this to both sides of the war are obvious. Clearly many Americans are allowing their leader to do things they might not normally accept, and they are believing political propaganda which anyone can easily confirm is untrue. And on the other side, suicide attacks and other extreme actions are still occurring.

According to Prof Vulcan the US has done the wrong thing in response to 9/11 and they should not have retaliated in the way they did. Also, the US leaders deliberate denial of the atrocities and losses of the wars (for example, by not attending military funerals) has sanitised the war and become a political propaganda weapon.

Amongst the group psychology effects at work in the US are "border psychology" used to reduce individual autonomy, and using historic events and divisions between Islam and the Western world for political purposes.

Overall, it was a very insightful interview and gave me more respect for psychoanalysis.

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