PSYCHOLOGY  IN  THE  2000’S

            Recently, Megan Johntz was asked to predict the future of psychology for a major television network. What directions would the profession take in the 2000’s? Some trends remained similar to those from the last 100 years, but there were some surprises. Check in at the end of this millennium to see how accurate or off-base she was…

More drugs

In the new millennium every distasteful emotion or bad mood has a biological reason and the corresponding scientific study to back it up. Nature wrestles Nurture in the WWF of science, and Nature wins: every psychological trouble is linked to chemical chaos in the brain, and drug manufacturers race madly to supply medication options to a quick-fix public. Mom gets off the hook for all our ills.

More God

At the turn of every century and millennium, humans freak out and ask the big questions. Therapists in the 2000’s will be fielding spiritual questions and tackling existential issues, as people fear the worst, question the best, and ask what it’s all for.

Water-cooler Acceptance

Much like physical illness now, mental illness in the next millennium becomes acceptable social conversation, and in some communities positively chic. People compare their manic-depressive symptoms as they would trade stock tips today. Our grandparents blush as issues once reserved only for a therapist’s ear become polite conversation at dinner parties. “Oh, yeah? I was sexually abused by my uncle too…”

Therapy Rebellion

Managed care squeezes therapists and consumers alike, and shortly into the new century, Americans rebel. They demand to have more than 3-5 counseling sessions to get past being suicidal. They get fed up hearing headlines of another teen overdose because the local psych hospital was only being paid for a three-day stay. People in the 2000’s love their drugs, but also go back to the human touch, and demand adequate time with competent counselors who teach them how to do life better. It’s rent-a-friend for the masses.

Assessment Harassment

Psychological tests are used for everything from hiring and firing, to screening first dates. The trend toward quantifying everything hits human relationships, and people depend on psych tests to develop trust at work and at home. When you ask a woman out on a date, she may ask you your Meyers-Briggs Personality Type. Or when applying for a home loan, the bank may run a check of your psychological profile, helping them determine whether you’re a good risk. There will be quite a few Americans who criticize this use of psychological information as Big Brother-ish, but most Americans believe your psych test predicts your behavior, and they crave the information. The fear factor is high around the turn of the century, and people fear their neighbor might be a Columbine killer or a Jeffery Dahmer, so they grasp a hold of psych tests as their crystal ball.

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