The Judge and "Quackery" in Health Care
(from Shrinking the Judge: Freeing the Inner Child by Rick Malter, Ph.D. & Rosalie Malter, M.A., 1996)
In our current health care crisis, there is so much at stake economically and in terms of people's health care and health maintenance that the debate often involves exaggerated and distorted claims from political, economic, business, clinical, and even scientific perspectives. Most lay people are not surprised by exaggerations and distortions from politicians and health insurance/managed care business spokespersons. What may surprise many lay persons is the extent to which health care professionals (medical doctors, psychologists, and psychiatrists to name a few) will exaggerate and distort health care realities for self-serving purposes. Some scientists may engage in the same practices for political and/or financial purposes.
Of particular importance in this context are those health care professionals who set themselves up as self-appointed "experts" on medical or mental health issues. The mission of these self-appointed experts is to "protect" the health of the public from the ministrations of those practitioners whom they judge to be "quacks". The manner in which these experts operate has the classic characteristics of an extremely codependent Judge-dominated person. They claim to "know" what is best for everybody else. They set themselves up as the supreme authorities on health conditions and health care. They act as if they really know all there is to know about medicine, psychology, and health maintenance. After all, from their perspective, nobody else could possibly have any valuable and effective health related knowledge or experience that is outside of the rigid dogmatic realm that they represent.
The grandiosity and arrogance of these self-appointed "quack-busters" suggest that some important psychological characteristics are operating, primarily a Judge-dominated personality. This type of personality is very rigid and operates with simplistic polarized notions of right/wrong, good/bad, true/false, healthy/sick, legitimate/quack, acceptable/not acceptable . They may even have impressive professional credentials -- the right degree from a prestigious university, an impressive faculty appointment, a prestigious government or business position. Sometimes, they appear on Night-Line or some other TV news show. They talk with great authority and they typically are hostile to any alternative health care approaches that do not reflect the dogmatic views of mainstream medicine or psychiatry.
People with a Judge-dominated personality cannot tolerate uncertainty -- not knowing things "for sure". They tend to fall back on clichés, making certain types of health issues much more certain than they actually are in the real world. These individuals possess a rigid orthodoxy and dogmatism in their thinking. They are easily threatened by anything or anyone that questions their authority and expertise. They act as if there is absolutely no doubt in what they believe, say, and do. In fact, they tend to deal in absolutes. When you listen to them, it is sometimes difficult to tell whether they are talking about health or religion.
“People with a Judge-dominated personality cannot tolerate uncertainty -- not knowing things ‘for sure’. They tend to fall back on clichés, making certain types of health issues much more certain than they actually are in the real world.”
Although they may be talking about health and scientific issues, their bias and dogmatism belie an understanding and appreciation of the scientific and clinical enterprise. Their view of traditional medical and psychiatric practice is that they are practiced with 100 percent certainty and are entirely scientifically founded. In their view, anything outside of the domain of traditional medical and psychiatric practice is, by definition, "quackery". By judging and labeling any non-traditional or different health care practice as quackery, these "experts" elevate themselves and the viewpoint they represent to the level of unquestioned authority. They exude such contempt and disdain for any other point of view that no reasonable discussion is warranted. This is a commonly used ploy and manipulation by a controlling Judge-dominated personality. It is found in alcoholics, dysfunctional families, and in dysfunctional organizations. The main purpose of this ploy is either to distract or to intimidate other people in a power play.
It is useful to view the activity of the "quack-buster" in terms of the Freudian concept of "projection". By spraying the term "quack" in such a global shotgun manner on non-traditional or alternative health care practitioners, the judgmental "quack-busters" may be revealing much more about their own clinical knowledge and competence than that of others. The term "quack" may really be more reflective of the knowledge and competence of the one who judges and labels others in such a cavalier manner than that of the people so harshly judged.
The nature of the psychological and physical phenomena reflected in health and disease (the mind/body connection) is so complex that it is unrealistic to believe that the narrow, rigid, simplistic views of "quack-busters" could really adequately account for these complex health-related phenomena. The knowledge and techniques that have been developed in both the mental and physical domains of health care may be good approximations of clinical reality, but they are still inherently limited and imperfect. They don't work flawlessly for everyone. In some cases, doctors can achieve impressive and even miraculous results through techniques in emergency medicine and in certain kinds of organ transplants. But we need to also recognize our limits and imperfections. As author Richard Tarnas so eloquently states in his book The Passion of the Western Mind,
"...scientific knowledge is a product of human interpretive structures that are themselves relative, variable, and creatively employed..." However, the "quack-busters" talk as if they have access to a body of perfect knowledge and techniques that require no such interpretation. This perfectionist stance in regard to a domain as complex as health functions and dysfunctions should be a signal to the listener that a Judge is operating under the guise of scientific and clinical expertise. The agenda of these highly codependent "quack-busters" is total control of health care practice with little or no choices open to the consumer.
As in other situations, the health-care Judge operates in such a manner as to dominate others and to exercise power and control. The term "quack" is used by health-care Judges to put down alternative -- and competing -- views and techniques as tainted with heresy. They also insinuate that the motivations behind alternative health care theories and techniques are unsavory, that greed is the real motivation. This ploy is used to plant seeds of doubt about the possible validity and legitimacy of alternative approaches. By using these ploys, the health care Judges seek to discredit alternative approaches and to block other health enhancing developments. From a financial and economic perspective, they also seek to maintain tight monopolistic control of the health care marketplace in which there are vast sums of money at stake. Under these conditions, the health care Judges operate as "quack-busters".
“…the health-care Judge operates in such a manner as to dominate others and to exercise power and control. The term "quack" is used by health-care Judges to put down alternative -- and competing -- views and techniques as tainted with heresy.”
In regard to these issues, recent developments in science and mathematics help us to understand some of the inherent limitations and imperfections when we are dealing with complex natural and health care phenomena. These new developments have been beautifully described by author James Gleich in his book Chaos. Tarnas’ book helps us to see the broader historical and philosophical foundations for modern science and health care practices.