Article: Psychiatry and Scientology

Psychiatry and Scientology
by L. J. West , M.D.
originally published in The Southern California Psychiatrist, July 1990, pp. 13-16.
The Church of Scientology began as a pseudo-scientific healing cult, Dianetics, described by L. Ron Hubbard, a science fiction writer, in his best-selling book “Dianetics: The Modern science of Mental Health” (1950). At first, Dianetics [...]

Article: Terra Incognita: The Mind

The comanome1, a period of unconsciousness which contained physical pain and apparent antagonism to the survival of the individual, has been isolated as the sole source of mental aberration. A certain part of the mind seems to be devoted to their reception and retention. In Dianetics, this part of the mind is called the [...]

Book: Dianetics Today (2)

Dianetics, like any other true treatment, was designed to handle the apparent basic cause of psychosomatic illness. The first research was intended to help allied prisoners of war degraded by the Japanese and Chinese prison camps and who after V-J Day were transferred to Oak Knoll Naval Hospital. Later, in 1954, [...]

Letter: Hubbard to the American Psychological Association

Box 1796
Savannah, Ga.
April 13, 1949
The American Psychological Assn.
1515 Massachusetts Ave. NW.
Washington, D.C.
Gentlemen;
Working in private research, I have apparently made certain discoveries which I would like to communicate to you for your interest and consideration.
I am accumulating additional data to safeguard this work from undue and unfounded optimism and am preparing [...]

HCOB: Dianetic Assists

There is a conflict between Dianetics and political practices such as psychiatry since electric shock, brain operations and general degradation of the person may prevent the patient’s recovery by Dianetics.
As answers exist now for insanity there is no reason to continue Medieval or Fascist solutions to the problem of the psychosomatically ill or the insane [...]

Book: Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health (9)

There is, however, a peculiarity in psychosomatic illnesses which is chronic: the aberree’s reactive mind exercises a power of choice to the extent  that only pro-survival engrams become chronic. It could be said, on a reactive level, that the aberree will not permit himself to suffer illness from his engrams unless that illness has a [...]

Lecture: The Importance of Getting Engrams (2)

This is assuming that we don’t want to work with this patient more than 15 minutes; he has come in doubled up, and all we want to do is give him some relief. We can give him relief by giving him phenobarbital, or telling him that he should lead a calmer life, [...]

Lecture: Handling the PTS

Remember, we’ve already seen a psychotherapy go by the boards. I’ve gotten results with that psychotherapy; it’s called psychoanalysis. Why didn’t it ever take the world? I think they were so busy trying to handle PTSes and SPs on an individual-practitioner basis, with absolutely no rundown, that they could never complete their research. Now, they [...]

Book: Scientology 8-8008 (1)

The whole of the data covered in this volume is utilized in Creative Processing. When one has mastered the component parts of the mind and the interrelationships of space, energy, items and experience, he will find Creative Processing surprisingly easy to apply and productive of very swift results. The goal of [...]

Article: Departure in Dianetics (1951)

The cult of dianetics, which was going strong a year ago (TIME, July 24, 1950), has some of the features of a new religion. Its founder, Science-Fictioneer L. Ron Hubbard, claimed that his “science of the mind” could cure all mental and most bodily ills, make supermen1 of truly devoted converts. Today, dianetics is suffering [...]

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