Thread by @b_m_hughes

Yesterday I (& many others) tweeted about a highly dubious proposal submitted to the Senate of the British Psychological Society, that the Soc support "an information campaign to promote a biopsychosocial approach to #LongCOVID" 1/9

#psychtwitter

https://twitter.com/b_m_hughes/status/1437533118215360515

In my view (and that of others) the bid represented yet another brazen professionally territorial attempt to "claim" #LongCOVID as a psychological illness, in defiance of fast-accumulating scientific evidence to the contrary 2/9

thesciencebit.net/2021/04/06/cho…

Such efforts to "psychologise" physical illnesses not only stigmatise the ill & marginalised, they also promote a tolerance for bad research that reflects extremely poorly on psychological science & stifles its true potential 3/9
#LongCOVID #mecfs

thesciencebit.net/2021/08/09/how…

This approach often sails under the banner of "biopsychosocial" research. But its proponents are usually scientifically illiterate with respect to real biology & look down on psych research that employs biological or psychophysiological measurement (trust me..I should know!) 4/9

This so-called "biopsychosocial" approach is just a psychosocial approach applied to sick people; that's as "bio" as it gets. An insult to people whose lives are destroyed by physical illness, who would benefit so much from targeted science 5/9

#mecfs

inews.co.uk/opinion/long-c…

The idea that #LongCOVID should be seen as primarily a psychological issue is an embarrassing throwback. It falls far short of what we need in #psychology to fulfil our field's potential as a robust science of relevance to the modern world 6/9

#MECFS

thesciencebit.net/2020/07/27/pos…

Today the BPS have seemingly established that this problematic initiative was, surprise surprise, *not* presented legitimately. Its proposers did not have required approval. It hadn't been scrutinised for merit or quality by well-informed peers. It was, essentially, snuck in 7/9

The proposal has been dropped from the ongoing policy selection exercise. Whatever the rationale, this was the right action. The BPS deserve credit for doing this publicly. No doubt they will soon be accused of caving in to "online activists" 8/9
#MECFS

thesciencebit.net/2019/03/21/if-…

Bad science is not just bad for psychology, it's bad for the world. It's essential that professional societies promote best practice even if doing so causes offence or discomfort. Promoting standards in psychology has to mean something.

So fair dues to @BPSofficial on this
9/9