[Vision2020] The newest, and by far the worst scam in town

[Art Deco]

Rosemary,

There are so many things to say about this kind of so-called "therapeutic"
"counseling" endeavor that one doesn't know where to start.  But just to
keep a discussion going, here's a couple.

Many years ago, almost a geological era in my life, a co-worker, who was a
a diligent, likeable, quite normal person, started having episodes of outre
behavior.  As the episodes gained more frequency, some of us suggested that
she see a mental health professional.  The only person she listened to was
a salesman who was an avid "One Way" advocate.  (One Way was/is? a fanatic
Christian group who held that the only way to live and the only path to
redemption/eternal life/etc was their very narrow and crackpot way.)

The co-worker was talked into meeting with a religious counselor from One
Way who told her that she was having these problems because her
relationship with God was all wrong -- she had lost her way.  Despite
numerous "counseling sessions" -- more than usual, I suspect because she
was a very, very attractive woman -- she became more and more depressed,
her episodes increased in frequency and strangeness.  One day at lunch with
several of us she became unconscious.  A LA City ambulance arrived, we
briefed the attendants on her recent history who then briefed the attending
ER physician.

The short story:  she was diagnosed with a brain tumor.  She was
transferred to the neurological center on the UCLA campus, had a successful
operation, and after many months of recovery and therapy was able to return
to work, much to our delight.

The moral:  mental health problems can have purely organic causes or even
partial organic causes.  Even well trained professionals can miss the signs
at the beginning.  However, correctly schooled and certified mental health
professionals are trained to always consider the possibility of some
underlying organic causes, and there are many.  A few hours of Bible-based
training can hardly prepare anyone to discern if organic causes may be at
work even for simple, apparently-less-serious mental health problems.
Besides the tragedy to the counseled at risk here, the enormous financial
liability of the so-call "counselors" in case where things go radically
wrong ought be a detriment -- unfortunately, it seldom is.

Therapeutic psychology/psychiatry is not an exact science, and it is a
relatively young science.  Even with years of training, conscientious,
well-intentioned therapists can make mistakes.

Amateur, snake oil "counselors" not only lack the depth and kind of
knowledge needed to diagnose and to attempt to treat the thousands of kinds
of known mental health problems, they naively rely on doctrines/beliefs
which are in fact unverifiable, and based purely on superstitious
mythology.  The result of such counseling can be tragic sometimes resulting
in the suicide of the counseled.   Many of such Bible-based therapies
include the infliction and amplification of  guilt and conflict in the
counseled.

As a nonbeliever who has observed many incredible, irrational, and
no-supporting-evidence-for beliefs of credulous believers, it doesn't
surprise me that some people think that a few hours of training at a very
low cost could enable them to solve problems that billions of hours of
research and training still do not grapple with successfully in many
cases.  Such a belief is on a par with that of believing that the righteous
will be sucked up through space in a whirlwind to heaven and eternal life
at the so-called Rapture (See the letter to editor from Larry Kirkland in
yesterday's *Daily News*.)

A fool and her/his money are soon parted.  In the case of losing money in a
shell game at a carnival, only money and a little pride is lost.  In the
case of Bible-based counseling for mental health problems, the risk of just
losing a little money and pride is small compared to the very real dangers
of causing egregious harm to the counseled and even loss of life.  A little
Googling can confirm this -- an example: the the Bible-based "counseling"
used to attempt to change a person's sexual orientation.

There is no magic elixirs for mental health problems.  They are many times
difficult to diagnose and to successfully treat.  Even with the best of
therapists, successful treatment is not guaranteed in many cases.

There are several other issues with Bible-based "therapeutic counseling",
among them the legality of practicing and/or training Bible-based
"therapeutic counseling"; the very real danger that information given by
the counseled during a "counseling" session with such a counselor will be
used against them in some very devious ways to forward the ends of the
counselors and their religious organizations, one of which is to suck more
money out of the counseled and to create a dangerous, parasitic dependency
not unlike drug addiction.

w.

On Mon, May 14, 2012 at 2:05 PM, Donovan Arnold <
donovanjarnold2005 at yahoo.com> wrote:

> Mr. Hansen
>
> Don't be dissing water cooler talk by comparing it to Biblical Counseling
> from the made up teachings of the far religious right. One of these has a
> bit more foundation in fact and relevance.
>
> Donovan J. Arnold
>
>   *From:* Tom Hansen <thansen at moscow.com>
> *To:* Don and Rose Huskey <donaldrose at cpcinternet.com>
> *Cc:* Moscow Vision2020 <vision2020 at moscow.com>; "<office at christkirk.com>"
> <office at christkirk.com>
> *Sent:* Sunday, May 13, 2012 9:32 PM
>
> *Subject:* Re: [Vision2020] The newest, and by far the worst scam in town
>
>  Coincidentally, the Center for Biblical Counseling (518 S. Main, Moscow)
> is located next door to the Nuart Theater (516 S. Main, Moscow).
>
> The Center for Biblical Counseling
> http://www.ccmbooks.org/index.cfm?i=14114&mid=4&ministryid=25930
>
> Rose does bring up an interesting question . . .
>
> What credentials do ANY of those listed within Rose's email possess that
> qualifies them for anything beyond water cooler gossip?
>
> Seeya round town, Moscow.
>
> Tom Hansen
> Moscow, Idaho
>
> "If not us, who?
> If not now, when?"
>
> - Unknown
>
>
>
> On May 13, 2012, at 19:59, "Rosemary Huskey" <donaldrose at cpcinternet.com>
> wrote:
>
>   Greetings to Christ Church and Trinity Reformed Elders: Jeremy Bunch,
> John Carnahan, Bill Church, Dale Courtney, John Grauke, Matt Gray, Ed
> Iverson, Fred Kohl, Mike Lawyer, Csaba Leidenfrost, Ben Merkle, Matt Meyer,
> Jim Nance, John Sawyer, Wes Struble, Matt Whitling, Douglas Wilson, Gordon
> Wilson
> Deacons: Andrew Crapuchettes, Jim Crapuchettes, Greg Ditton, Tom
> Garfield, Jonathan McIntosh, Joe Myers, Rusty Olps, Marc Rust, Mark Wintz
>
> Is there ever going to be an end to the trouble and error the elders and
> deacons of Christ Church bring to the people of our community?  When I
> learned about your newest scam, *The Center for Biblical Counseling<http://www.ccmbooks.org/?i=14114&mid=1000&id=376911>
> ,* my heart plummeted.  What in the name of God, and I mean that
> literally, leads you to believe that you are qualified to counsel
> distressed people, or worse, train others – in a three day, forty dollar
> course - to do so?  Your ludicrous claim to “training”<http://www.cbcmoscow.com/contact-us/counseling-in-a-week/>(your own and the moronic people who will pay forty dollars for it) does
> not stand up under  scrutiny.  The damage you will do is *incalculable.*
> Clearly, you don’t give two hoots in hell about the people, their families,
> and the community that you will harm with your pseudo-counseling.  How do
> you plan to maintain the confidentiality of your clients? It is to be hoped
> that they will not in the files of Anselm House where any Tom, Doug,  Ben,
> or Greyfriars student might have access to them.  Spare me from pretending
> a NANC credential <http://www.nanc.org/Certification> is convincing to
> anyone but the most credulous.   Let’s be honest, genuine counseling
> credentials are more than exchanged emails, phone conversations, open book
> tests, and videos.  Good Lord, in comparison  ITT Tech look like an ivy
> leage university.
> What twisted, egocentric, lust for self-importance drives the men of the
> Kirk (and their like-minded allies<http://www.facebook.com/events/216223811815889/?ref=nf>- click on the “see more …” to learn who else is involved) to believe they
> are competent to tackle any professional area that arouses their interest?
> It’s no wonder that your befuddled wives (who are not even R.N.s) deliver
> babies at home in a look-a-like child’s wading pool<http://www.fruitfulvinemidwife.com/services/>.
>  I wonder, can surgery on a kitchen table be far behind? Have you
> considered the distinct pattern of behavior among Kirkers – men and women -
> who consistently substitute swaggering (or sashaying) hubris for actual
> expertise.
> You have chosen a fearful path to walk.  Do you understand the damage you
> can do?  Do you care? How many desperate people, lured into your office by
> the claim of *free counseling*, will be further damaged by your ignorance
> and presumption.  Why can’t you appreciate the difference between praying
> with a troubled person and then sending him/her with your blessing and
> support to a proficient, academically credentialed, and state licensed
> counselor who has received an education including subjects like
>  neurobiology, psychiatric illness, personality disorders, human
> development, and organic brain damage?  And, in an act of true Christian
> charity, the Kirk can pay the bill.   How do your counselors plan to
> differentiate between personality changes due to a malignant tumor or just
> a run of the mill sociopathic personality disorder (which, incidentally is
> not generally believed to be curable – prayerfully or otherwise)?  Will you
> also be praying the gay away?  Given Doug’s penchant for mocking, hateful,
> homophobic language, I suspect it will be high on the agenda.
> The entire community is aware of the Christ Church “cure” for pedophiles –
> arranged marriages.  (Is that a Christ Church / Biblical Counseling example
> of a treatment plan?)  Or, are you planning to beat the devil out of your
> patients – a Reformed exorcism – the way you spank your sinful children?  Whoops,
> I forgot, spanking is funny<http://www.credenda.org/archive/issues/16-2childer.php>.
>  Is Tom Garfield, aka Mr. Spanky<http://logosschool.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Application12-13.pdf>and Superintendent of Logos School, the leading candidate for that chore
> based on his expertise with a paddle or has a new child whacker taken over
> that job at Logos? (I’m betting not.) Doug Wilson is the unblushing author
> on how spanking is just what God ordered, and it should hurt<http://www.credenda.org/archive/issues/8-4childer.php>so maybe he will be a switch hitter.
> But of course, your free counseling isn’t just charity work, is it?  Once
> again the old Pyramid Scheme peeks around the corner and gives us a smirky
> wink and a slimy nudge.  The old tried and true formula
>  “You-too-can-start-a-Classical–Christian-school  and you don’t need any
> silly government school degrees to do it “ has morphed to “For-the-meager
> sum- of-forty-dollars-and–three-days–of- training-you–can- become- a
> -Christian counselor” and here’s the best part, you don’t need a silly,
> worthless degree in Psychology to set up shop.   What *is *the matter
> with you?  Do you need money so badly that you will peddle snake oil and
> pretend it is of value?  Have you no shame – oh, wait we know the answer to
> that question.  You have moved from the jackass category which is
> sufficiently awful to the toxically dangerous category.  And while, I don’t
> believe that we have heard the last from the leaders of Christ Church and
> Trinity Reformed Church, I can’t imagine you could sink much lower.
> Rose Huskey
>
>
>
>
>
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>           <Vision2020 at moscow.com>mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com<Vision2020 at moscow.com>
> =======================================================
>
>
> =======================================================
> List services made available by First Step Internet,
> serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.
>               http://www.fsr.net
>           mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com
> =======================================================
>
>
> =======================================================
>  List services made available by First Step Internet,
>  serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.
>               http://www.fsr.net
>          mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com
> =======================================================
>



-- 
Art Deco (Wayne A. Fox)
art.deco.studios at gmail.com
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