Do a search for Firpo Carr (an author) on Amazon.com. He is a would be reformer of the Watchtower and has written an interesting book
Jerry Bergman
JoinedPosts by Jerry Bergman
-
109
Dr. Bergman
by Jerry Bergman ini have now read the section that deals with me.
all i can say is i am amazed!!!
don't my critics have any concern about the facts???
-
-
-
109
Dr. Bergman
by Jerry Bergman ini have now read the section that deals with me.
all i can say is i am amazed!!!
don't my critics have any concern about the facts???
-
-
Jerry Bergman
It has worked with a number of my clients (their vivid hallucinations were gone) and in one third of all schizophrenic patents (although now days a lot of these used medical treatment as well). I wish it was as easy as you imply to dichotomize psychotic and neurotic patients. It is often not hard, but many cases is very difficult. You must read "A Mind that Found Itself" by Clifford Beers and "The Eden Express" by Kirt Vonnegut, both now classics on how one was totally healed from clear psychosis and remained so for decades afterward, only by reasoning therapy, not medical treatment. A ton of similar literature exists along the same line. Another well known case is a Judge (I can not remember his name now) who was totally psychotic and got better and again became a leader in his community (this was before drugs). My experience is certainly not unusual. Let me know what you think of these books. Many of these books point to the environment as critical (but I agree with you, genes are critical, at least in many cases. After all I now teach genetics).
-
109
Dr. Bergman
by Jerry Bergman ini have now read the section that deals with me.
all i can say is i am amazed!!!
don't my critics have any concern about the facts???
-
-
Jerry Bergman
Check out www.dianewilson.net and click the word "articles" True, if someone can not make it in society or at the Kingdom Hall, does not mean they are psychotic but I have found psychosis is not very easily defined and measured. Many of my clients hallucinated and/or were delusion but talking therapy was successful with a number of them. Also, another thought. In teaching abnormal psychology for over 15 years I (and the text) consistently stressed that one-third of all schizophrenics get better with therapy, one-third stay the same the same, and one-third get worse no matter what you do. If biology was destiny, this would not occur. A major point I stressed with all my patients, even those diagnosed as schizophrenic, was you are the master of your ship, only you have control of the rudder which takes it through the water. Some, even those that were psychotic, got better with therapy alone. If it was purely genetic, the talking cure would not work in any case. You can not talk someone out of dark skin or blue eyes or other genetic traits. I always stressed that genes determine potential limits but only you determine how close you reach those limits. Also, witness the common situation where 2 famous psychiatrists testify a person accused of a crime was insane when he murdered the victim and 2 equally famous psychiatrists with as many books to their name testify he was sane when he committed the crime. True psychosis does not always equal insane but they are not different sides of the same coin either.
-
109
Dr. Bergman
by Jerry Bergman ini have now read the section that deals with me.
all i can say is i am amazed!!!
don't my critics have any concern about the facts???
-
-
Jerry Bergman
Check out www.dianewilson.net and click the word "articles" True, if someone can not make in society or at the Kingdom Hall, does not mean they are psychotic but I have found psychosis not very easily defined and measured. Many of my clients hallucinated and/or were delusion but the talking therapy was successful with a number of them. Also, another thought. In teaching abnormal psychology for over 15 years I (and the text) consistently stressed that one-third of all schizophrenics get better with therapy, one-third stay the same the same, and one-third get worse no matter what you do. If biology was destiny, this would not occur. A major point I stressed with all my patients, even those diagnosed as schizophrenic, was you are the master of your ship, only you have control of the rudder which takes it through the water. Some, even those that were psychotic, got better with therapy alone. If it was purely genetic, the talking cure would not work in any case. You can not talk someone out of dark skin or blue eyes or other genetic traits. I always stressed that genes determine potential limits but only you determine how close you reach those limits. Also, witness the common situation where 2 famous psychiatrists testify a person accused of a crime was insane when he murdered the victim and 2 equally famous psychiatrists with as many books to their name testify he was sane when he committed the crime.
-
109
Dr. Bergman
by Jerry Bergman ini have now read the section that deals with me.
all i can say is i am amazed!!!
don't my critics have any concern about the facts???
-
-
Jerry Bergman
I meant the wine literally becomes blood as the Catholic Church teaches. These people really do have problems and are not locked up because they believe Christ returned in 1914.
-
109
Dr. Bergman
by Jerry Bergman ini have now read the section that deals with me.
all i can say is i am amazed!!!
don't my critics have any concern about the facts???
-
-
Jerry Bergman
Psychologists do use these criteria, but it is a violation of ethics and most know (or should know) that most religions hold beliefs that are similar to the Witnesses such as the belief that the end is near or the water literally becomes wine, and such. The studies that I referenced, from what I could gather, used life adjustment as the primary or only criteria (could they hold a job, interact without violence with family, did they assume cationic states etc.). In the Australian study the patients were committed by themselves or the family (often whom were Witnesses). The criteria was not religious beliefs but the ability to live in society. The many people I worked with were judged psychotic not because of religious beliefs but purely because they could not make it in society (both the Witness and secular society) without serious help. The same is true of many of the studies that I researched.
-
109
Dr. Bergman
by Jerry Bergman ini have now read the section that deals with me.
all i can say is i am amazed!!!
don't my critics have any concern about the facts???
-
-
Jerry Bergman
As to the observation that "schizophrenia remained at a constant one percent regardless of war or peace. This is pretty good evidence that the major psychoses are not due to environmental stress" my concern is I have spent a lot of time trying to diagnosis mental illness and it is not always so straight forward. In the case of one client, several psychologists diagnoses him as psychotic but judging from my time with him, I judged him as neurotic. When I asked him about this he said that he felt a lot more comfortable with me (he was a Witness) than the other doctors and this is why he behaved so differently with me. He got on mental disability (all his bills are now paid by the state) and I objected (I felt he could survive in society with help). The other doctors just never saw this side of him so could not understand my conclusions. They judged him a full blown schizophrenic Actually I liked him and felt that he had much potential, yet he is now in some type of group home setting for psychotic patients. I had many experiences like that. Some clients were fairly normal much of the time, but were in a psychotic state at times. How do we judge these? Many of us go into a psychotic like state at times as well, so are we psychotic? Some researchers do not even like to use the psychosis neurotic dichotomy (or at least use it with extreme caution). I often felt that the schizophrenia category was a catch all term that was useful but far from perfect. Also, my research on schizophrenia is coming along good. Some experts think a major (or at least an important) factor is diet! One study concluded that heredity predisposes but is not destiny. To become schizophrenic often requires both heredity and the environment (this is my experience). If it was purely heredity, all without exception of those with the gene would become schizophrenic, yet the twins studies show less than half do. Just some thoughts. Also, some therapists resist using any label, but describe only symptoms.
-
4
Dr Bergman
by YERU2 inhey, can ya point me to statistics of suicide rates amongst witnesses as opposed to the population as a whole?
-
-
Jerry Bergman
My book reviews this (send my your address and I will send you the revised chapter) Jerry Bergman
-
9
Question for Jerry Bergman
by clash_city_rockers insince i have become a bible christian (reformed presbyterian) i now believe that the scriptures alone are suffesient to counsel.. q: do you hold to a biblical nuthetic counseling ie.
jay adams and his counseling manuals?.
awaiting your answers,.
-
-
Jerry Bergman
I do not do any formal counseling with anyone. I was burned so badly by the Watchtower in trying to help people that I never again will enter this field!!! I do not even want to teach psychology (I teach molecular biology, genetics and related classes). I have even sold most of my psychology books. I applaud your faith though (and good luck, ER fortune (sorry). Jerry Bergman
-
109
Dr. Bergman
by Jerry Bergman ini have now read the section that deals with me.
all i can say is i am amazed!!!
don't my critics have any concern about the facts???
-
-
Jerry Bergman
A brief clarification. I did not draw the conclusion that the Freeman boys committed patricide due to their religion but that religion was very important in this case (I consulted on this case so was able to look at not only the court records but many documents). I strongly encourage everyone to read the book and then judge. A major point was that had the Freeman's belong to another religion that was not so highly controlling and they could have obtained the needed mental and chemical treatment, things may have turned out differently. Early intervention with psychopathic personalities (and I am not so sure that all the boys had psychopathic personalities, although one of them probably did. The court found them all sane and not psychopathic. But this could be due to the legal and medical standard, and these are not always the same) sometimes do work (and those in the business like to believe it often works).
Also, I did not assert primarily that psychosis was more prevalent in the Witness culture but that mental illness was (and the line between psychosis and less severe forms of mental illness is often not easy to draw). Also, the boys were all off drugs after they became skin heads so it shows that they could have been helped. It is true that David and Bryan had more problems than just their religious upbringing that led them to the horrendous murders, but I am only saying that their religious upbringing and the high control effect of the witnesses contributed in a major way to what they did.
Thanks for the vote "Thank you for clarifying your thoughts here, Jerry. I hope to hear more from you" Judging from some of the posts on here I was disliked even more than the Watchtower!!! .The Watchtower has done all they can to paint me as a super bad guy and it all st arted when I tried to help the witnesses with mental health problems! Does anyone know anything about Firpo Carr?