An overview of the major issues

1. TOP 10 FAILS OF CONVENTIONAL
PSYCHOLOGY & PSYCHIATRY
Simon Chatzigiannis
20th Nov 2018

2. ABOUT ME
• Self-studying Intelligence and Cognition since 1999 (Curiosity about IQ)
• Self-studying Neurodisorders and Neuroscience since 2013
• Active writer on Quora
• #1 Most Viewed Writer in Cognitive Neuroscience, Intelligence Quotient,
Mental Illness, Emotional Intelligence
• #2 Most Viewed Writer in Psychometrics, Understanding Smart People
• Co-Founder & CEO of NeuCogni
www.neucogni.com
• Author
www.creativematrixpuzzles.com

3. TOP 10 PROBLEMS OF CONVENTIONAL
PSYCHOLOGY & PSYCHIATRY
#1. The Catch-22 of applied psychology
#2. Psychology focuses on Emotions and Temperaments
#3. CBT therapy is a "one-for-all" solution
#4. Psychiatry focuses only on Fluids & Substances
#5. Major illnesses in Psychiatry have not been solved
#6. Psychiatry is not Personalized
#7. Psychiatry failed to use diets and supplements effectively
#8. Practical Psychiatry: a lucrative business
#9. Psychometrics are undeveloped
#10. All studies are made on animals

4. #1. THE CATCH-22 OF APPLIED
PSYCHOLOGY
COMMON SITUATIONS
• Psychologists expect that people will visit them when they have a
problem
• If someone visits, the psychologist seems them and makes a diagnosis. If
they don’t the psychologist can’t diagnose

5. #1. THE CATCH-22 OF APPLIED
PSYCHOLOGY
• “Catch-22” was coined in the Nobel
prize winning Novel by Joseph Heller
• Describes the same situation in a
fictional military setting
• If a fighter pilot says they are mentally
ill, they can leave the battle
• If they admit they are mentally ill, they
can’t be ill because they are aware of it!

6. #1. THE CATCH-22 OF APPLIED
PSYCHOLOGY
TRUTH
• Not having a diagnosis does not mean a person is not ill
• Anosognosia makes people think they are healthy
• Most people with Personality Disorders have anosognosia
• They never visit a doctor => Most psychologists have not even
met people with NPD and relevant personality disorders
• They only know about NPD in theory
• Awareness and Solutions for Personality Disorders became
popular via independent online communities made by people who
lived with a patient
• Known as “Narcissistic Abuse Survivors”

7. #2. PSYCHOLOGY FOCUSES ON
EMOTIONS AND TEMPERAMENTS
COMMON SITUATIONS
• If someone is showing a genuine issue with their emotional expression,
the doctor has to fix their emotional expression

8. #2. PSYCHOLOGY FOCUSES ON
EMOTIONS AND TEMPERAMENTS
TRUTH
• The focus on emotions comes from
the theory of the 4 Temperaments
• Originally stated by Hippocrates (c.
460 – c. 370 BC)
• 2500 years later, there should have
been an improved approach
Classical Element Adler
Melancholic Earth Avoiding
Phlegmatic Water Getting
Sanguine Air Socially useful
Choleric Fire Ruling

9. #2. PSYCHOLOGY FOCUSES ON
EMOTIONS AND TEMPERAMENTS
TRUTH
• Psychopaths do not seem to
experience emotions
• They appear calm and normal
• Cool under pressure
• No emotional rushes
• They practice all their expressions in
front of the mirror
• But only use 2/3 of their brain!
• Many psychiatrists are psychopaths
too!

10. #2. PSYCHOLOGY FOCUSES ON
EMOTIONS AND TEMPERAMENTS
TRUTH
• The problems was not the emotions, but something underlying them
• happenings -> physical mechanisms -> emotions -> feelings
• When there is a serious problem, people stop feeling their emotions
• Done automatically by an autonomous physical mechanism
• Likely made to protect people from further damage
• Pushing people to feel their emotions again is damaging this
mechanism
• People’s emotional mechanisms work just fine! No need to fix those!
• Fixing the underlying issue could restore feeling emotions with
minimal external intervention

11. #2. PSYCHOLOGY FOCUSES ON
EMOTIONS AND TEMPERAMENTS
TRUTH
• Psychology & psychiatry failed with
Personality Disorders and C-PTSD
• Only treatments for personality
disorders
• =No cure, only stopping symptoms
• C-PTSD is misdiagnosed as psychosis,
schizophrenia, ADHD, and other
anxiety disorders
• Psychologists and psychiatrists do not
know the underlying mechanisms of
either
• Because they are not about
emotions and temperaments!

12. #2. PSYCHOLOGY FOCUSES ON
EMOTIONS AND TEMPERAMENTS
TRUTH
Psychologists who tried to treat patients with NPD can neither cure them, nor handle
them!
https://thoughtcatalog.com/lorenzo-jensen-iii/2016/09/14-psychologists-describe-what-its-like-to-treat-a-
narcissistic-patient/

13. #2. PSYCHOLOGY FOCUSES ON
EMOTIONS AND TEMPERAMENTS
TRUTH
• The function of the amygdala is much
more involved in everyday human
behaviour and reactions than feelings
and emotions
• Most psychologists and psychiatrists
do not know anything about it

14. #3. CBT THERAPY IS A "ONE-FOR ALL"
SOLUTION
COMMON SITUATIONS
• Cognitive Behavioural Therapy has
become the “Holy Grail” for any issue
• Prescribed for a wide range of
disorders, including phobias,
addictions, depression, anxiety, and
even Major Mental Illness

15. #3. CBT THERAPY IS A "ONE-FOR-ALL"
SOLUTION
TRUTH
• About Feelings, once again
• People do not blindly follow what therapists say, they copy what
therapists do
• The reasons why it is any effective cannot be proven
• Requires 20 weekly sessions at minimum
• Not a cure, but a treatment
• The majority of patients relapse after CBT!
• Hardly effective

16. #4. PSYCHIATRY FOCUSES ONLY ON
FLUIDS AND SUBSTANCES
COMMON SITUATIONS
• For years, it was believed that Major
Mental Illnesses are caused by “an
imbalance” of Serotonin and
Dopamine
• Now known that is false, yet still doctors
try to affect those neurotransmitters
• No proof that this is the cause of the
issue, and not a symptom
• The presence of waves and electrical
current on the body, which are what
excites neurons and causes behaviour
is ignored
• Neuroscience to the rescue!

17. #5. MAJOR ILLNESSES IN PSYCHIATRY
HAVE NOT BEEN SOLVED
An incomplete list
1. Schizophrenia
• 1.2% of population = 1-2 in 100 people
• Term coined in 1910. 100+ years after
there is no cure!
• Possibility to abandon the diagnostic
term
2. Bipolar Disorder
• 2.6% of population = 2-3 in 100 people
• Term coined in 1980 on DSM 3. No cure
after 38 years!
3. Autism
• 1 in 59 people
• Hard to detect in early age
• Eventually some call it as a new
neurotype and not an illness

18. #5. MAJOR ILLNESSES IN PSYCHIATRY
HAVE NOT BEEN SOLVED
4. 10 x Personality disorders
• Affect 11% of population = 1 in 9
people
• They are out in everyday life
• No cure for any of disorders
• Some treatments available for some
• Most patients think they are fine, and do
not visit a doctor
• The catch-22 of psychology
5. Psychopathy
• 1% of population
• Higher in business and leadership
• No known cure
• Extremely hard to even detect
• The majority of the prison population
have ASPD or sociopathy
• Some think it is “beneficial”, and even a
human evolvement

19. #6. PSYCHIATRY IS NOT PERSONALIZED
COMMON SITUATIONS
• Psychologists use the DSM for
diagnoses
• A book listing generic symptoms and
criteria
• If a person appears to be showing
them, they diagnose them as having
the related illness

20. #6. PSYCHIATRY IS NOT PERSONALIZED
TRUTH
• Every brain is different
• Traumatic brain injury expresses similarly to mental disorders, but goes
undetected
• Diagnosing people using clusters of symptoms is inaccurate
• Confirmed by 83,000 brain scans
• See Dr. Daniel Amen’s TedX presentation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esPRsT-lmw8&vl=en
• Psychology and psychiatry cannot achieve this only with human
inspection of patients
• Doctors need to use technology
• And doctors do not know how to

21. #7. PSYCHIATRY FAILED TO USE DIETS
AND SUPPLEMENTS EFFECTIVELY
COMMON SITUATIONS
• Nutritional supplements are available
to purchase in Pharmacies,
Supermarkets and Sports shops
• Dosages based on an RDA
(Recommended Daily Allowance)
• Usage instructions provided on the
bottle based on gender and age
• Approved or disapproved by the FDA
/ EMA

22. #7. PSYCHIATRY FAILED TO USE DIETS
AND SUPPLEMENTS EFFECTIVELY
TRUTH
• There is no “one-size-fits-all”
• Effectiveness always comes with a risk
• Anything that works is usually also dangerous. Anything that is safe usually
doesn’t work!
• Dosages protect the FDA / EMA from getting in legal trouble
• No proof that age and gender are the most important criteria
• Even though using them appears handy
• Ageism and sexism at their best
• Many drugs are made from the same substances sold in the
supplements

23. #8. PRACTICAL PSYCHIATRY: A
LUCRATIVE BUSINESS
COMMON SITUATIONS
• Psychiatrists prescribe medication for
mental illness
• It seems as if a better doctor can do a
better job

24. #8. PRACTICAL PSYCHIATRY: A
LUCRATIVE BUSINESS
TRUTH
• The best doctor in the world cannot cure Major Illnesses
• No known cure!
• Psychiatrists do not make this clear ie “you will have it forever”
• In the US it costs $200, $300+ / visit to see a psychiatrist
• To prescribe antipsychotics
• Those with Major Mental Illness cannot afford the best doctors
• People who become ill with a major illness often think that spending
more will give a better solution
• Direct exploitation of those who can’t even afford it
• Majority of people mistrust psychiatry

25. #9. PSYCHOMETRICS ARE UNDEVELOPED
COMMON SITUATIONS
• Humans have existed for millions of
years, and said to survived and
succeeded due to their intelligence
• People speak about intelligence in
every day conversations
• Companies spend a lot of money to
find the smartest candidates to hire
• Tech companies are trying to make
super-intelligent humans

26. #9. PSYCHOMETRICS ARE UNDEVELOPED
TRUTH
• No one can define what intelligence is fully and accurately
• Nor the full spectrum of human cognitive abilities
• No universal agreement
• EI theory officially proven false
• IQ is insufficient to provide the answers most people need in real life
• Man does not know how his mind works!
• So how can anyone prove people will become more intelligent?

27. #10. ALL STUDIES ARE MADE ON
ANIMALS
COMMON SITUATIONS
• Medical experiments most often start
on rats, monkeys and other animals
• Group theory with leaders and
followers comes from studying
animals
• Many people enjoy the idea that they
can learn about humans by studying
animals

28. #10. ALL STUDIES ARE MADE ON
ANIMALS
TRUTH
• Human intelligence is unique
• Animals do not have human cognition
• Animals do not have a personality
• Monkey intelligence is far from human intelligence
• Taking examples from animals teaches humans to be like animals
• A downgrade
• Not something to feel proud about
• Take examples from humans!

29. CURIOUS? TRY NEUROSCIENCE
THANK YOU!