Comments on: Mental Illness, Biblical Counseling, and the Role of the Church: A Conversation with Alasdair Groves

By: Andy

Andy — Tue, 30 Dec 2014 01:08:00 +0000

Depends what you mean by “focus on.” If the Holy Spirit is trying to get someone to actually deal with a particular sin, then in that moment it needs “focusing on” – albeit dealt with biblically and in the Spirit’s power, not in the flesh.

By: Andy

Andy — Tue, 30 Dec 2014 01:07:00 +0000

How are you defining “mental” as a category of human nature? While the term has a broad semantic range, in your particular context here, do you mean an organic or INorganic component of human nature?

By: Laurna Tallman

Laurna Tallman — Fri, 07 Nov 2014 04:44:00 +0000

I’m looking forward to continuing this conversation. I have even
stronger feelings about pharmaceuticals than I did when writing my first
book. My short study of 107 people in SSRI withdrawal suggests those
chemicals (and others) harm the ears to worsen precisely the conditions
they are prescribed to improve. An interesting study of the other forms
of harm they do to the body is Paul Andrews et al.’s study Primum non
nocere: an evolutionary analysis of whether antidepressants do more harm
than good.

By: RLJEight

RLJEight — Fri, 07 Nov 2014 03:48:00 +0000

Thank you for the response. I believe you when you say you’ve found it very effective. I will take you up on checking out your blog. We still have so much to learn about how the body works–or doesn’t, in some cases . . . 😉

I truly wish you the best of luck in finding a full cure or at least an enduring treatment for the many mental illnesses there are. If you can find one that is free from pharmaceuticals, so very much the better.

By: Laurna Tallman

Laurna Tallman — Thu, 06 Nov 2014 04:05:00 +0000

Dear RLJEight
Thank you for your refreshingly intelligent and well-informed reply to my post. I am familiar with the research into AIT. However, my own research and clinical experience suggests that Berard was correct in what he had learned about depression, and honest about being less successful in treating some other conditions. He lacked an overarching physiological theory to explain the types of behavior he treated and the changes that took place. He did not make extravagant claims: for example, he claimed to have fully cured only one autistic person, Georgiana Stehli. His adaptation of the Tomatis Method — at least in the form I sampled it — would not foster left-brained dominance the way the focused (on one ear or the other) treatment that I have used successfully on schizophrenia does. Unfortunately, the state of the art in learning about auditory processing disorders (cf., e.g., Geffner and Ross-Swain, 2007) has not improved in the 35 years since I made my profession in educational research. I, too, am highly critical of the designs of the studies I encounter in my research. However, when you see people recovering from depression, bipolarity, Asperger’s, Alzheimer’s, dyslexia, addictions, schizophrenia, chronic fatigue syndrome, and other conditions under the influence of high-frequency sound, the proof of the efficacy of that treatment is undeniable. Recently, I heard the very high-profile psychiatrist Dr. Norman Doidge (The Brain that Changes Itself) wax eloquent about the effects of the Tomatis Method on autism (infantile schizophrenia). He is just beginning to learn about the role of the ears in related conditions (e.g., adult schizophrenia) that I have been studying since 1997. Berard learned that depression usually resides in the left ear and there is strong MRI evidence now that supports his findings. But unless someone is aware of my findings about right-ear-driven left-cerebral dominance during integration he or she will not know how to interpret those findings (e.g., I do not think you will find the most useful research in support of Berard’s work on the AIT site because neither he nor his followers fully understood some of the changes taking place in the patients he writes about). The same observation can be made of Tomatis. You must realize they — and I and all others in this field — are working on a frontier. I have pieced together an overarching theory that accounts for behavior those French doctors did not understand, probably because they did not live with a schizophrenic 24/7 and did not watch an adult schizophrenic pass through other identifiable forms of mental illness in a particular order during recovery — or notice that those same patterns of behaviour are passed through rapidly in reverse order during a run-up to full psychosis. If you would like to examine some of the details of speech pathology Berard discusses but in connection with my discoveries, please do visit my blog and email me.

By: RLJEight

RLJEight — Wed, 05 Nov 2014 22:07:00 +0000

I do feel the need to respond to this. Beard’s proclamation that AIT cures depression has not been proven. Most of the studies touting the success of AIT in affecting behavior have been found to be based on flawed research methodology. The closest I can find in controlled studies is Music Therapy (which can be considered a form of AIT) does have therapeutic benefits in treatment of depression.

The Efficacy of Auditory Integration Training: A Double Blind Study (published in 1997) — “Slight improvement in behavior was seen in both the treatment group and the control group, suggesting that factors other than AIT were responsible for behavioral improvement.”

Auditory Integration Training: A Critical Review (published in 2009) — A critical review of AIT studies found numerous errors in approach and scoring, as well as an inability to replicate previous findings for the use of AIT to affect behavior. Additionally, they found only 3 studies that were appropriately peer-reviewed before published, and those three suffered from the above errors.

Concerns regarding auditory integration training (published in 1996) — “Until such time that AIT methodology meets the standards of scientific efficacy, it is best considered to be an experimental treatment that should be entered into cautiously.”

From the BlueCross BlueShield of Vermont Medical Policy Manual — “The data from the available studies on AIT showed no improvement in behavior, leading to the conclusion that AIT is not efficacious in the treatment of ECDD. “

Official policy on AIT from the American Speech and Hearing Association == “After a careful review of available research findings gathered after years of experience with AIT, the Working Group on Auditory Integration Training did not find sufficient evidence that AIT improves the behavior of individuals who undergo this procedure. Therefore, the working group concluded that AIT does not meet scientific standards for efficacy that would justify its practice by audiologists and speech-language pathologists. This position is now the Association’s official policy on AIT.”

By: Laurna Tallman

Laurna Tallman — Tue, 28 Oct 2014 21:17:00 +0000

Hi, Dan, You can get the older edition of Dr. Guy Berard’s (accent on the e) Hearing Equals Behavior cheaply from ABE books. Most audiologists don’t know that peaks and valleys (hyperacusis and hypoacusis) WITHIN “the range of normal” can be signs of serious mental disturbance. (Berard offers examples of audiograms that demonstrate those relations between specific frequency deficits and certain types of behavior. Nor do they know why. Thus, they are not ready to assume the responsibilities associated with that knowledge. My discoveries are unique, although they relate to the work of Tomatis and Berard. I am certain sound could produce seizures; one of the most severe forms of epilepsy was cured with sound stimulation (stated by Dr. Jeff Bradstreet in the “Foreword” to Annabel Stehli’s Sound of Falling Snow: Stories of Recovery from Autism . . . ). That means treating the ear stops seizures. The corollary to that is: ear dysfunction causes seizures. Our son Dan had seizures associated with the damage done by psychoactive meds prescribed in hospital; eventually, listening to music healed that damage. You can contact me directly through my blog Mental Health through Music.

By: Dan Williams

Dan Williams — Tue, 28 Oct 2014 15:53:00 +0000

OOO! Hey, thank you! I’ve been dealing with major manic depression for most my life, and other major anxiety problems–to the point of seizures–, and have also had problems with my left ear. I’ve been very sensitive to sounds, especially in the left ear. I’ve been wanting to get into an audiologist, but it takes a lot of time to get referrals and appointments; but with this I might have some direction to be looking at when I go in, and before. I made the connection with sound to the seizures, but if sound processing issues can cause depression, it can cause the anxiety, etc. This could point me to a solution.
Thank you!
HUGS :’)

By: Jonathan

Jonathan — Wed, 08 Oct 2014 14:14:00 +0000

I’m not saying you complain too much, just observing that you’re sensitive about conflict.

I agree I don’t want to jab Otro and Frank, especially that they’re not even in this conversation so it makes it doubley weird.

So, your end paragraph is now highlighting that I am potentially being hypocritical. Let’s be free.

I say the sermon on the mount because the culmination of Redletter Christianity or it’s manifesto is the sermon on the mount, and non-violent dialogue is a fruit of this movement.

I’m saying that it the sermon on the mount and non-violent dialogue can be like the new law.

I agree we shouldn’t be sniping, gossiping, slandering… worrying conversations… rude conversations…

But having Kingdom conversations isn’t the new law. You could have all righteous conversations and it is rubbish.

We all need a savior in Jesus Christ.

I consider all my righteousness and moral efforts to be trash in light of knowing Jesus Christ.

Does this give me a free gift to be rude n0, but do I need to be in bondage to always wondering whether or not I’ve have non-violent empathetic dialogue no.

Be free brother. I love you. I like what you write. I like your heart. You are a great brother in Christ.

Small minded people talk about others. 🙂 I know we are bigger than that.

Fanatics won’t change their minds and they won’t change the subject. I will always encourage people who sound like a record to say something with weight and meaning.

The spirit of something with weight and meaning is the testimony of Jesus Christ. All of this other stuff is just philosophy.

RLC could have great ideas about all sorts of problems in the world, but not all of it is straight up testimony of Jesus Christ.

So as Martin Luther said, In the Essentials unity. In the testimony of Jesus Christ let as have unity Brother Joe, I celebrate Jesus with you.

You are my friend, and I like you. I’m sorry if I’ve offended you.

And I don’t want to banter meaninglessly with you. Amen.

May the Lord Jesus Christ be our bond of peace, because He is.

By: Joe

Joe — Tue, 07 Oct 2014 17:08:00 +0000

Responding to your edit: I guess my counter-challenge would be, if it’s insubstantial and not in response to anybody, why even bother acknowledging it at all? Complaining about it is clearly doing nothing constructive*, and it’s not like otro’s responding to you or anything. Wouldn’t it be better to just ignore it?

*edited in