Posted by Mitchell on January 19, 2003, at 10:04:04
In reply to Re: therapeutic conversational techniques, posted by Mitchell on January 19, 2003, at 9:23:58
I quickly searched the web to validate my long held impression that most psychology tutorials are academically oriented. The tutorials are designed to help people pass classes, so they can get a credential then improvise techniques from what they have learned.
http://psych.hanover.edu/Krantz/tutor.html
Of these on-line academically oriented tutorials, Eliza is the classic, IMO.
http://www-ai.ijs.si/eliza/eliza.htmlThe Eliza computer system is about as stupid and uncaring as is the worst therapist, but the very nature of the language returned by the therapeutic software can evoke therapeutic thought. Practice with Eliza might help self-appointed peer counselors learn to use evocative questions rather than provocative comments.
My take is that most published psyche techniques are either directed at an academic professional audience, are dumbed down and sugar coated to improve book sales of popular authors or reflect the culture of the current federal health regime (as in the DHHS clinical protocols).
Others advance unique techniques (for example http://www.rc.org/ ; http://www.mindbodyconsult.com/protocols/ ) but the interests of their individual authors cloud the techniques. Some web resources are on-line summaries of classroom lessons ( http://learn.sdstate.edu/share/Module2Section4.html ). In most cases, to learn conversational skills to help our neighbors and calm our communities we still must buy into some sort of religious or pop-psyche sect or pay good money to authors who probably earn far more than many of us.
I don't find on the web a well-informed tutorial of therapeutic techniques based on meta-analysis of research investigating a variety of therapeutic conversational techniques. In a culture flooded with both information and with psychological distress, I find that beyond sad. It is no wonder that we divest our power to the greedy and self-serving. In a nation equipped with weapons of mass destruction and which has used chemical weapons against its own people, the lack of credible conversational training for non-enrolled students is tragic.
poster:Mitchell
thread:8766
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/admin/20021128/msgs/8874.html