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Organized Scientology has a big problem with the mental health industry. We see the stars of Scientology lobbying our politician or making absurd statements on talk shows. “You don’t know the history of Psychiatry” burbles Tom Cruise on the Today Show, “I do.”
Cruise; a man who evidently knows very little about the mental health industry is simply spouting the “party line” of his chosen faith. This sentiment is echoed all over Scientology – in elaborate displays, in slick videos, pamphlets and in massed protests. All are condemning the mental health industry as an evil, world dominating cult. One stopped from its dastardly plots by the few brave “loyal officers” in Scientology. Hamlet Act 3, scene 2, 222–230 immediately comes to mind.
One of the stated goals of Scientology is to eradicate the mental health industry in every form. According to Scientology, most if not all problems in society, from drug abuse, to terrorism and wars can be traced to the evil manipulations of mental health professionals, “psyches“ as they call them. In fact, according to Scientology, Psychology and Psychiatry are the two biggest problems society faces today. They are, not simply to be reformed. They are (in Chairman David Miscavige’s words,) to be “globally obliterated.”
Why they take such a stand involves Founder L. Ron Hubbard’s original idea, Dianetics. Very briefly, Dianetics proposes that human behavior is a kind of programming learned over time in an individual’s life. For example if a person is afraid of heights it is probably due to an incident earlier in their lives. This, according to Hubbard locks in an engram , what he calls a memory into the “reactive bank” of the mind. This “engram” causes the person to react instinctively as opposed to intellectually. According to Hubbard, a person can only be cured if he or she gets Dianetics therapy.
Clearing these engrams according to Hubbard will make a person far more capable and more intelligent. Not simply more intelligent, most diseases and sickness is caused by engrams and when they are properly cleared (only by Dianetic therapy) a person will never get sick. Those that do get sick after Dianetics are simply examples of the “therapy” not being applied correctly.
It’s notable that Dianetics and by extension, Scientology is described in absolute terms of being perfect and unfailing. It is also notable that no branch of conventional medicine can be described as perfect and certainly not the field of mental health!
Naturally, since Hubbard’s Dianetics writings make many medical claims, there were complaints. When various government agencies heard the complaints they took a long hard look at what Hubbard was doing and began slapping restrictions on him. At first,Hubbard claimed that the Commies were after him (it was the 1950s after all.) Later it was the evil psychologists.
To this day, Scientology has demonized the mental health industry to absurd levels – to the point where they actually accuse the mental health industry with causing all mental illness. Whenever someone on medication does an antisocial act (such as commit suicide) a horde of Scientology believers say in effect “see SEE!? It was the evil “Psyches” that caused this person to take their own life!”
The causality of a mentally ill/depressed person committing an antisocial act because they were mentally ill/depressed is completely out of the question.
So; one stated goal of Scientology to eradicate the mental health industry in order to somehow further their goal of eliminating all mental illness. This is like wanting to eliminate heart disease by getting rid of all heart surgeons. The mental health industry did not create mental illness; it’s a response to mental illness.
Scientology belivers claim they are justified because of the horrible things (they claim) Psychology and Psychiatry have done to people. Psychiatric treatment become “sadistic forms of torture.” Methods that involve pharmacology become vast conspiracies to drug people into submission and line the pockets of drug manufacturers. It would be like our hypothetical heart surgeon haters claiming that surgeons are vile monsters because they hack into people’s chests using power tools.
According to Scientology; Psychiatrists all seem to have thick German accents and an innate desire to strap people to tables to conduct electro-shock treatments. Failing that they want to lobotomize people with ice picks. Evil Psyches want to drug small children and they desire nothing less than world domination. At least they don't hack into helpless people's chest cavities like surgeons do.
Additionally; did you know that Osama Bin Laden actually directed the events of 9/11 on the urgings of his Psychologist? Did you realize that the Jewish Holocaust of the early 1940s was orchestrated by evil psychologists? This is news to any historian but accepted cannon by many Scientology belivers.
Their feeling towards mental health professionals can be summed up by an add they distribute from time to time, the words “Great Lie #38 EXPOSED “flash up on the screen as a professor in a lab coat holds up a scale model of a human brain and screams “Man is nothing more than a brain….A BRAIN!!!!!”
They cite that Psychology is not a physical science (Like say medical arts.) Psychology is the study of behavior. Statistical behavior modeling is as close as they get to hard science in Psychology. A trained Psychologist can make educated predictions of behavior based on observation. It’s more like an art form or a skill than a hard science. Psychiatry on the other hand is the study of the actual brain tissue. Psychiatrists have to be medical doctors first.
You can think of Psychiatrists as people who work with hardware (or wetware) and Psychologists as folks who deal with the software or behavior. Psychiatry is therefore a branch of the medical field where Psychology is about behavior counseling.
This seems to be lost to Scientology whose adherents do not seem to understand the difference between the two. To Scientology it doesn’t much matter, Psychology and Psychiatry are competitors with Scientology and therefore must be eliminated. It’s really that simple!
Scientology in contrast is allegedly a “perfect” substitute for all ills even though it is not peer reviewed and it is based solely on the writings of Science Fiction author L. Ron Hubbard. Since the practices of Scientology are taken as an article of faith by its adherence they are (so they believe) justified in using whatever methods are at their disposal to (my words) “run Psyches out of society.”
Lets conveniently forget that humans are malleable and almost any kind of treatment no matter how wacky will work with some people. Dunking folks in cold water was once thought to be an effective “medical” treatment for some kinds of mental illness. That’s because it worked with some people.
One may ask, why is it a problem for Scientology to believe whatever they like? Why get bothered by an organization that chooses to attack the mental health field?
I can think of one or two reasons. One is that the mental health industry is just a convenient enemy One is that by subtle manipulation of their believer's fears, Scientology is able to get money and influence. Another reason is that Scientology does not offer a viable alternative to the mental health field.
Additionally; Scientology has a major platform other than destroying the” psyches”. Their stated goal is to “clear the planet.” That is to apply Scientology to every man, woman and child on the Earth.
In other words, they want to force Scientology on everyone.
Psychology and Psychiatry are not perfect, not by a long shot. However they are peer reviewed and evolving fields where as Scientology and Dianetics are arbitrary, unscientific, untested and static faith based systems. Scientology and Dianetics are not fields of medicine, they are at best, belief based forms of faith healing. At worst they are large confidence games that are designed to extract money out of people.
Next; Dianetics in a Nutshell.