It is supposed to heal people. I don’t care what others do with it, it was created to heal.
Part of healing is describing and predicting, and controlling, sparingly. I think that the control aspect of it needs to be deeply respected and that paternalism is nothing to be taken lightly in the very least.
Some people do not know what is best for them and need someone to intervene, yet intervention should be strictly for when someone is very ill or when something is very wrong.
I do not endorse psychology as a tool to manipulate others for ones own benefit. It can be used this way, but that is sacrilege.
I want to perhaps teach and contribute to research for a while, but I ultimately want to directly work with the mentally ill, the severely mentally ill. I have insight into the depths of psychosis and want to make something good out of it…without making something out of it, it is simply a tragedy.
Psychology can be and is used incorrectly. There is nothing wrong with social, industrial/organizational psych, ect., but even those disciplines are supposed to facilitate well being.
I think that I am speaking mainly about clinical and counseling.
I do not even know what cognitive psych is exactly supposed to do. It seems to just be an adjunct for neuroscience. Neuroscience is all about healing. Cognitive psych is also related to learning, which is a noble thing to contribute to.
I don’t care. I know what my intentions are and I do me.
I have a peer from high school who is studying psychology as well. He’s an arrogant piece of ■■■■ and does not want anything but power. I have several friends from high school studying psych and neuroscience and they mean well.
There are three people I know from my high school who are deeply hurt and work hard with the intention of helping others. One has major depressive disorder and has scars from cutting, he’s studying neuro, one is neurotic, has had issues which are not for me to disclose and is one of the most positive people I have ever met and wants to be a counselor, he is also a musician, and the other is me.
We all went to a bar over winter break, just the three of us, we went with everyone else other times too, but this one night we all sat down and talked.
I have other friends studying psych who are either curious or deeply empathetic or both, but the other ones are from before my illness who knew me well and still know me.
Wounded healers. We all have GPA and GRE scores and research experience, we make the cut.
How could I not come back to reality and want to help others find their way back? Just turn my back on people who I very well have the ability to help? I might be disturbed but I am not void of empathy. I used to be at rock bottom, how could I ignore the people who are where I was?
Few and far between do schizophrenics become psychologists. How could I not at least try to bring insight into the field?
Give me a better reason for studying psychology.