Method of Levels是一种基于感知控制理论的心理治疗方法，声称可以解决从轻度抑郁到精神病的所有心理问题。作者认为该方法是唯一真正理解患者并帮助患者改变自身的方法，而其他疗法则只是将患者视为“疯子”。然而，作者的观点极具争议性，甚至可能导致患者的死亡。文章批评了Method of Levels的过度泛化和不切实际的应用，强调了临床医学的必要性以及理论与实践之间的差距。

🤔 **Method of Levels声称可以解决所有心理问题:** 作者认为Method of Levels是解决从轻度抑郁到精神病等所有心理问题的“万能”疗法，并批评其他疗法只是将患者视为“疯子”。然而，这种观点过于绝对化，忽视了心理疾病的复杂性和多样性。

🤯 **过度泛化可能导致危险后果:** 文章举例说明，作者建议用Method of Levels治疗躁狂发作的患者，而不是使用抗精神病药物。这种做法极具风险，可能导致患者病情恶化甚至死亡。

🧪 **理论与实践的差距:** 作者虽然认可感知控制理论在理解大脑方面的潜力，但强调不能将理论直接应用于临床实践。正如达尔文进化论无法直接指导细菌感染的治疗，感知控制理论也不能直接解决所有心理问题。

💊 **临床医学的必要性:** 文章强调了临床医学在治疗心理疾病中的重要性。即使感知控制理论最终成为解释大脑的“万物理论”，也需要实际的临床方法和药物治疗来解决具体问题。

🧠 **理性与感性并存:** 文章指出，即使最终找到解释大脑的“万物理论”，也需要结合临床经验和医学证据来制定有效的治疗方案。理性思考与感性经验相辅相成，才能更好地理解和治疗心理疾病。

Timothy Carey’s Method Of Levels teaches a form of psychotherapy based on perceptual control theory.

The Crackpot List is specific to physics. But if someone were to create one for psychiatry, Method of Levels would score a perfect 100%. It somehow manages to do okay on the physics one despite not discussing any physics.

The Method of Levels is the correct solution to every psychological problem, from mild depression to psychosis. Therapists may be tempted to use something other than the Method of Levels, but they must overcome this temptation and just use the Method of Levels on everybody. Every other therapy is about dismissing patients as “just crazy”, but the Method of Levels tries to truly understand the patient. Every other therapy is about the therapist trying to change the patient, but the Method of Levels is about the patient trying to change themselves. The author occasionally just lapses into straight-up daydreams about elderly psychologists sitting on the porch, beating themselves up that they were once so stupid as to believe in psychology other than the Method of Levels.

This book isn’t just bad, it’s dangerous. One vignette discusses a patient whose symptoms clearly indicate the start of a manic episode. The author recommends that instead of stigmatizing this person with a diagnosis of bipolar or pumping them full of toxic drugs, you should use the Method of Levels on them. This is a good way to end up with a dead patient.

I like perceptual control theory. I share the author’s hope that it could one day be a theory of everything for the brain. But even if it is, you can’t use theories of everything to do clinical medicine. Darwin discovered a theory of everything for biology, but you can’t reason from evolutionary first principles to how to treat a bacterial infection. You should treat the bacterial infection with antibiotics. This will be in accordance with evolutionary principles, and there will even be some cool evolutionary tie-ins (fungi evolved penicillin as a defense against bacteria). But you didn’t discover penicillin by reasoning from evolutionary first principles. If you tried reasoning from evolutionary first principles, you might end up trying to make the bacteria mutate into a less dangerous strain during the middle of an osteomyelitis case or something. Just use actually existing clinical medicine and figure out the evolutionary justification for it later.