Tom Cruise Exposes Psychology as a Fraud
Psychology suffered a crushing blow yesterday as Tom Cruise announced he did not believe in it. Psychologists and psychiatrists across the world shrugged their shoulders, admitted defeat and packed their couches and salivating dogs away. Jerome Dane from the University of Slough was particularly distraught, "I had hoped this day would never come, but you've got to accept it when you're rumbled," said a sobbing Dane. "I knew I couldn't go on once he'd exposed us. What power do we have compared to the mighty Tom Cruise? He knows so much."
So what does the future hold for these out of work psychologists? Dane told us, "My problem is that all I know how to do is fabricate experiments and lectures. Perhaps I'll just go ahead with my first love of creative writing and do the novel I've been thinking about."
A psychiatrist who refused to be named told us that Cruise was probably smarting from the incident last week when he was squirted in the face by a water-filled microphone for a TV comedy show. After that kind of humiliation, the discredited psychiatrist explained, it's not surprising that he lashed out at the social sciences - but it may not end there.
Unconfirmed reports are coming in that Robert De Niro has indicated he is little sceptical about parts of radiochemistry while Paris Hilton thinks that physics might just be 'all made up'.
CNN
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12 comments
Ooooh, that last paragraph was in their just to bait me wasn't it Dean?
I think we all need to recognise that celebrity denouncement of our field of expertise could bring the end of our careers at any time.
Cruise has opened a can of worms now - and now that the worms are on the loose there is no knowing when those worms might turn, or even when the early bird might catch them.
It could happen at any time.
Be prepared.
Even if you're a radiochemist...
Bummer! I was just getting started as well :-(
I fail to see why you can't distinguish between psychology and psychiatry. I would prefer you speaking about scientology's anti-psychiatry crusade. I recognize they are lumping many clinical health workers together, (and that they should feel threatened by much in psychology) but prefer to distinguish psychological science from clinical work. Tom Cruise probably doesn't know the differentce, but he was referring to the mental health establishment and not the field of psychology as your title implies.
Hi Gary, you're right in the sense that he mostly seems to be going after psychiatry. Still, here's what he actually said:
"Before I was a Scientologist, I never agreed with psychiatry...and when I started studying the history of psychiatry, I understood more and more why I didn't believe in psychology. ... And I know that psychiatry is a pseudo science."
The fact that he said that he didn't believe in psychology was exactly the part that made me laugh.
So uh, do you think there is objectivity behind the DSM? I think it's fine if psychology as a profession helps people through the human condition, but to condemm people with DSM labels that are stigmatizing, is too much. I think the challenge is distiguish yourselves from the DSM or you proffesion will extinguish itself. Ha!
My view on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) is pretty well summed up in this post on Brian Blackwell and Narcissistic Personality Disorder. In addition, Cat makes a great related point in the comments that is particularly relevant here in the UK.
Wonder how much of a threat tom cruise could be to exposing psychiatry?
Truely a lame, sad and above all, immature original post. It is clear as day that the author totally missed the point of Tom's message and has gone out of his way to join the bandwagon in exagerrating (more like lying about) Tom's claims to make it like Tom was talking about medicine and science in general.
I'm sure Tom knew he would not destroy psychiatry and psychology in one fell swoop in a national morning talk show, but he did get a message out, despite the numerous mischaracterizations and what have you, such as demonstrated by the creep who wrote the "funny" little article.
In regards to the actual issue and the following comments (on this page), obviously the APA does feel threatened by Tom's comments, or at least feel that he is causing their patients/consumers harm. I doubt they are scared they will go out of business but they are a little concerned at least.
There is a difference between psychiatry and psychology. Scientology and Hubbard are against both. The reasons for this are mostly from a secular viewpoint. There are reasons that they have these views in terms of psychiatry and psychology going against their religious beliefs, but these secular beliefs are the same ones held by others, whether of a religious affiliation or not, that are against psychiatry/psychology.
But I would say they have put more emphasis on their anti-psychiatry views because psychiatry is where most of the abuse happens. Here you have the drugs, electric shock, lobotomies, involuntary committment, etc. Their views on psychology stem from the ideas psychologists/counselors/psychoanalysts put in people's heads, including the demoralization as in that values determination program (I can't remember the exact name for it, sorry) they have osme kids do in school. There is also the factor of patient rape by the doctors but that is present in psychiatry as well.
But there is a difference between the two, but Scientologists are against both as they both operate on similar principles and share a lot in common.
In regards to the objectivity of the DSM, this goes back to the whole theory behind mental illnesses. And do any of you know exactly how they add a mental illness label to the DSM. Hint, hint, it involves voting.
Oh Tom - sorry 'anonymous' - thanks for your kind words and for taking the time out of your busy acting schedule to reply to the thousands of people shamelessly sniping at your gnomic comments on psychiatry and psychology.
I would recommend that rather than dealing with all the comments yourself, you should hire a team of people to scour the web and clear up this misunderstanding which seems to have arisen between you and...well...the population of the Earth.
That way you'll be able to further reinforce your chronic disconnection from reality and gargantuan sense of humour failure to as many people as possible.
Ok, let's see if I've got this. Tom Cruise believes in this crap but does not believe in psychology.
1. Does he think people are lying to him when they point and say "Oh look, there's a Psycologist!"?
2. Is this a preemptive manuever to discredit those that would identify Scientologists as "loony" in a more exact and authoritative way than the rest of us?
3. As in all cults, it seems the members are objecting to what they have been told by their handlers about psychology, and not the broader reality. Sorry, no joke for that one excepting possibly "anonymous" himself.
Well done by the way. Worthy of "The Onion". That "creep" comment was no doubt projection.
Gee whiz TomKat I guess my 4 years of Psych school should go down the old toilet since you say it is a krock, hey have you taken a look at your scientology i was reading up on it and seems to me that it is all about mind and body and the way to a better self. I don't know I feel like I've seen that somewhere in my psy books, oh I know that is the whole freakin point of psychology! get over yourself, and at least get a degree in something before you blow it off!!!