Dear Friend, Welcome to the October 2007 issue of the Psychology Debunked newsletter! Making the never-changing, eternal-in-the-heavens Word of God the standard rather than our experiences--which are frequently feelings-based and subjective--is critical in keeping us doctrinally sound. It is human nature, however, to develop beliefs based on personal and cultural experience, and not what the Bible says. This is one of the major reasons why many in the church--even pastors--have such difficulty accepting the simple yet powerful truth that God is enough for our souls (Col. 2:10, 2 Cor. 12:9), and has given us everything we need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3). They say there is nothing wrong with psychiatric drugs or psychological therapies because "it made them feel better" or they know a friend or relative who is on a drug and "needs it to function normally." We are so easily tempted to allow our personal experiences to form our beliefs, rather than testing everything to the Scriptures. The Bereans of Paul's day were considered noble for their biblical discernment: | Act 17:11 | | These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. |
The Bereans didn't look to the experiences of their families or friends for answers; they looked to the Word of God. May we do the same! In this issue, more psych professionals coming out of the closet about the myth of chemical imbalances; a Theophostic Counseling expose by James Sundquist; and an introduction to the Association of True Biblical Counselors. In Christ's sufficiency, Lisa and Ryan Bazler
Psychologist: Chemical imbalance theory long-dead, but still believed today This clinical psychologist and author attributes perpetuation of the chemical imbalance myth to profit seeking, and poses other, more common-sense explanations for depression. He states: It was news to many Americans when Newsweek's February 26, 2007 cover story, "Men and Depression," mentioned that scientists now reject the theory that depression is caused by low levels of neurotransmitters such as serotonin. Thomas Insel, director of the National Institute of Mental Health, told Newsweek that "a depressed brain is not necessarily underproducing something." This rejection of the neurotransmitter deficiency theory of depression should not in 2007 be considered news. In 1998,… more » Lilly finally adds label warnings to blockbuster antipsychotic Zyprexa
It took Eli Lilly, maker of the $4+ billion generating, toxic antipsychotic Zyprexa, 12 years to do what the company should have done when they introduced Zyprexa to the public: warn patients that the drug is known to cause high cholesterol, high blood sugar, weight gain and diabetes. Label changes will now reflect this. But this isn't stopping Lilly from preparing to market this drug to children, thanks to recent FDA approval for treating this population for bipolar and schizophrenia--the FDA knowing full well that Zyprexa's effects on youth are even more severe. In just the last three years, Lilly has paid out $1.2 billion to 28,500 Zyprexa victims, but the Zyprexa profit train rolls on nonetheless. more » FDA considers direct drug sales from pharmacists - no Rx required! If you think our country is overdrugged today, just wait until consumers can get drugs from their local pharmacy without a drug prescription. The drug company-controlled FDA sees this as an opportunity to maximize drug sales: since no medical testing for psychiatric drugs is done anyway, remove the doctor middleman, and give consumers what they want from watching drug ads of miserable people turned happy. more » Pharma youth suicide claims miss the mark In early September, major media publicized results of a study funded by a drug company and drug company front group, and authored by drug company consultants. The study claimed that youth suicides shot up the same year that black box suicide warnings were added to all SSRI antidepressants, and gave industry an excuse to complain that millions of kids were being scared away from the treatment they desperately needed. But the New York Times analyzed the data further and discovered the real truth behind this drug company propaganda. more »
CBS 60 Minutes: What killed Rebecca Riley?
In this CBS 60 Minutes interview, Katie Couric interviews Carolyn Riley, who overdosed-to-death her 4-year-old with psychiatric drugs given to treat her supposed bipolar disorder. more » Theophostic Counseling: Christian healing technique or psychology? Is Ed Smith's Theophostic Counseling--where one visualizes Jesus while reliving a past traumatic experience in order to find healing--a Christian healing technique or psychology wrapped in biblical terminology? Christian apologist and watchman on the wall James Sundquist reviews Theophostic Counseling using the lens of Scripture in this excellent, detailed critique (requires Adobe PDF Reader). more » For a brief critique we wrote back in 2003, click here. Breakdowns are good for you!
You read this right. Dr. Robert Law and Malcolm Bowden, UK authors of the wisdom-packed, purely-biblical counseling book by this title, contend, "all non-organic 'mental illnesses' are due to self-centeredness and self-pity." Dr. Law has direct experience in curing schizophrenics "simply by training patients to take increasing responsibility for their actions without drugs." You can review the book, listen to free audios, and join the Association of True Biblical Counselors at their informative true biblical counseling web site. Q&A This reader asks, "I have a brother who is a paranoid schizophrenic and is not in touch with reality, yet his medication has helped him dramatically. I know people who are sincerely in love with the Lord who are terrified to leave their homes from panic attacks, yet medication has helped them. There are people who have committed suicide or can't function due to these things. Who are you to say that God can't use these medications to help people who truly have these disorders?" See our answer here. Letters This reader saw more improvement with Jay Adams' Bible-based Nouthetic Counseling in a year and a half than in 20 years of secular counseling. more » | | New Web Sites | | Psychiatric Drug Withdrawal/Recovery Sites - http://www.psychologydebunked.com/drugwithdrawal.htm Psychiatric Drug Info -
http://www.pdrhealth.com/drug_info/index.html Association of True Biblical Counselors -
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/malcolmbowden/bibcoun1.htm | Notable Quotes | | "Drugs never cure disease. They merely hush the voice of nature's protest, and pull down the danger signals she erects along the pathway of transgression. Any poison taken into the system has to be reckoned with later on even though it palliates present symptoms. Pain may disappear, but the patient is left in a worse condition, though unconscious of it at the time."
Daniel. H. Kress, M.D. "What hope is there for medical science to ever become a true science when the entire structure of medical knowledge is built around the idea that there is an entity called disease which can be expelled when the right drug is found?"
John H. Tilden, M.D. |
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