Stories About Psychotherapy as a Science and as a Religion

A religion can be defined as any systematic set of beliefs that set forth factual and moral truths that purport to solve various human problems in living. The factual and moral beliefs of a religion, referred to as its dogma, are created by some respected and/or feared authority and are expected to be accepted on faith alone. A religion can either be secular or theistic, the latter in which the authority is some form of higher power claimed to be a single or multiple gods. Science is a relative newcomer in human history and is based on the idea that factual truths are derived from the direct observation of the world in and around us which are referred to as facts. Explanations of observed phenomena are referred to as theories rather than as dogma and held to be valid as long as they do not deny or ignore the facts upon which they are based. Unlike a religion, anyone is capable of being a scientist as long as they base their facts on observations and call their explanations theories, or educated guesses. Religions tend to be authoritairian and hierarchical while science tends to be democratic and less hierarchical. Psychotherapy presents itself to the public as being based in science but an examination of is underlying concepts and its modes of operation suggest that the field acts much more like a faith based, authoritarian religion. The medical model of psychiatry and the numerous theories supposed to treat "mental illnesses and disorders" demand that they be accepted on faith rather than observed evidence and educated guesses.  The result is a professional enterprise composed of cult like groups more than of enlightend scientists that makes invisible the real values of psychotherapy and replaces it with magic and often fanciful ideas.