[venusss]

You know I believe in the spiritual/existential component of MI. I think it is something that gets ignored often, but shouldn't.

Maybe if there were philosophers to talk to, some of our issues could be... easier? Maybe philosophers would be more understand about the... weird? Maybe they could be the ones to show us the light and give us the right map to navigate in madness of life?

Sure, they could not save us. But wisdom can never hurt, can it?

not a good idea! it's easy to twist the words of philosophers into meaning things the author did not. as an example, look what the nazis did with nietsche's philosophy.

i prefer that the role of modern day philosophers continue to be to debunk dogmatic religious falsehoods and to speak out against the inhuman treatment of others by out of control, greed-driven capitalists!

[madisgram]

i'm not too much into philosophy as such but i do have a powerful spiritual side that definitely helps me thru my concerns or dealing with them. good post for discussion, venus.

[splitimage]

Why not? After all most hospitals now employ bioethicists - which started in philosophy and usually a philosophy PhD. My undergrad's in philosophy and i took a couple of bioethics courses - they were really interesting.

splitimage

[lynn P.]

Some advanced hospitals are starting to realize the importance of treating the whole person ...... not just the physical part. This means opening and expanding treatment to include the spiritual side and notice I'm not saying religious - this should be an option just in case the person doesn't believe in spirituality. Some hospitals incorporate meditation, healing touch, understanding their mental outlook(means looking at their lifestyle and family relationships), humor (some doctors become entertaining clowns for the childrens cancer wing) and enhancing the hospital design with peaceful rooms etc.

I think we need to pay attention to the wise people who could be like modern day philosophers. I know I have way more knowledge than I did when I was 18 and the capacity to think outside the box. Some cultures highly value elderly people because they've learned important life lessons they can pass to us. So the answer is yes the mental health system and medical system in general would benefit from listening to the wise teachers in the world.

Those who have experienced treatment may be told finding a treatment formulation that works often involves trial and error. To get beyond the stage where clients are guinea pigs and a part of control groups for research studies, treatment teams need to know more.

The work of Neuroscientists is greatly expanding our knowledge of the brain. The concept of doing away with a dualist approach to treating illnesses I believe is a good one. It seems ever more clear to me a physical problem may cause or contribute to a mental one, and vice versa.

Another approach I favor is putting together teams of professionals from all indicated fields when treating an illness, rather than employing the somatic/psychosomatic distinction. I wish I would be seeing more research being done in areas of how the environment influences the health of individuals. With that in mind, I am perfectly content to have spiritualists and philosophers have there chance to make a difference in our lives.

This article is somewhat dated but addresses questions about treatment that still are being debated today. http://www.critpsynet.freeuk.com/MINDlecture.htm

[pachyderm]

Originally Posted by VenusHalley

Maybe if there were philosophers to talk to, some of our issues could be... easier? Maybe philosophers would be more understand about the... weird? Maybe they could be the ones to show us the light and give us the right map to navigate in madness of life?

Sure, they could not save us. But wisdom can never hurt, can it?

Wait a second! Are you saying philosophers have wisdom?

I may have missed something...

[sarek]

I'm an armchair philosopher. I am not the book learned model though, I am not very good at reading up on what others have said before me, my mind is better at producing semi-original philosophical brain farts of my own. I like to gather facts and make connections between them because the sum of the parts of so much more.

I think about the world a lot. Why its the way it is. Why that is wrong. Why it has to change and how. And about what is most likely going to happen.
I see so many patterns and processes happening. I know what I want the world to be and what it is now, but the path from A to B is to be revealed yet.