It May Be True That World Is Crazy, But Don’t Expect Sanity In An Instant

Sun., Aug. 10, 1997

By Dan Webster danw@spokesman.com

It doesn’t take a degree in sociology to see where our fast-food culture wants to take us.

Our intended destination is a frame of mind. It’s a place where instant gratification is considered not just a commodity but a right.

Want to lose weight? Someone will sell you a plan whereby you can eat all you want and still lose 10 pounds a week.

Need to make money? Shelves are packed with books that promise to make you a millionaire by age 30.

Bent on attracting the mate of your dreams? Virtually any lifestyles magazine offers an easy-to-follow plan, results guaranteed.

Here’s the point: You can have it all and you can have it all NOW.

At least that’s the promise.

Given this world-view, it was only a matter of time before therapists got into the act. Just listen to what one of the authors of something titled “The 60-Second Shrink: 101 Strategies for Staying Sane in a Crazy World” are saying.

Clifford N. Lazarus, Ph.D., and Arnold A. Lazarus, Ph.D., admit that “people who are profoundly disturbed do need years of treatment.” But, they contend, such people “are by far the exception and not the rule. Most therapy today is brief - six to 10 sessions - and focuses on solutions rather than problems.”

“Long-term therapy,” says Clifford N. Lazarus, “may actually be unethical.”

Sure it could. Just as surgery could be in certain cases. Or some types of chemotherapy. Or any treatment that doesn’t fit the specific problem it’s meant to cure.

But let’s be candid. The fact is that health-insurance plans tend to discourage their clients from engaging in therapy that isn’t short-term. It isn’t cost-efficient, you know.

And besides, just like a diet expert, an investment counselor or a magazine publisher, the authors Lazarus aren’t exactly objective sources. After all, they have a product to sell. It’s a service they call “60-Second” therapy.

So just remember this: Nothing worth having comes easily, and that is especially true when it comes to emotional health.

After all, you can learn how to ride a bike in five minutes, but it takes a lifetime to learn how to live.

, DataTimes MEMO: Common Ground is written on alternating weeks by Dan Webster and Rebecca Nappi. Write to them in care The Spokesman-Review, Features Department, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210-1615. Or fax, 459-5098.

Common Ground is written on alternating weeks by Dan Webster and Rebecca Nappi. Write to them in care The Spokesman-Review, Features Department, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210-1615. Or fax, 459-5098.