Yes it's valid. It had problems too. My gut tells me that therapy is over reaching the science at times.

Psychology is a branch of science. Some call it a "soft" science." Some of the early theories are not science. I am a non-practicing LMLP. In grad school, I used the same scientific method as other sciences and produced research. It is not the same as something like math or chemistry. People are very variable so the research uses statistics. The definition of psychology is:
the scientific study of the human mind and its functions, especially those affecting behavior in a study of the mind, the science of the mind.

Although psychology is a valid science, I think Sociology and social psychology are much more useful and applicable to real world situations and understanding general human behavior.

Are you Crazy?!

It’s considered a “soft” science, but it’s definitely relevant and useful. Just have to disregard the loads of crap studies like “Ice cream flavor preference indicates personality traits”.

Studying the human psyche is a noble pursuit. Just like any other.

Some therapists just blow smoke up your ass. I had a g/f who was an alcoholic who was going to a therapist. This idiot blamed me for not wanting my g/f to drink while she was driving. I mean literally, open beers while on the road. Maybe some are OK, but some need a punch in the face.

It's funny that you had a history teacher ask you this, because I had a history professor/economics professor who called 'psychology' suckiology. He was one of the greatest professors I had during college...the other one being my psychology instructor...haha....funny that people who deny the validity of psychology are the easiest to manipulate...hehe

Here is a pretty good lecture on some of the issues with the field.

As someone who has battled clinical depression for about 20 years I wholeheartedly say yes. I would have killed myself long ago without medication and therapy.

Yes it's a science, if you don't believe it you need psychological help.

I think it is a helpful tool but depends on who and how it is used. There are a lot of opportunists out there.

The mind is so complex

Try living with someone who is bi polar. If that doesn't make a believer out of you nothing will

Why wouldn’t it be?

I find it very interesting to try to understand what motivates people. I find Jungian psychology linking human behaviors and thoughts to archetypes such as the Hero, the Maiden, Crone, Witch, Warrior, Wizard, etc. intriguing, as well as interpreting fairy tales, origin myths and dreams. Then again, as Freud said, sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.

My dad was a pychologist, and even he admitted that it was really psuedo-science. Unusual for him to admit anything. It certainly is a valid area of study, and we need more real science to support some of the claims psychologists make. Certainly it benefits thousands or millions of individuals in need of counseling, therapy and support.

Psychology is absolutely a science, but it is a difficult science to accurately falsify. The standard hypothetico dedictive reasoning approach relies heavily upon observable patterns through data analysis and pschoanalysis rarely yields quantitative data. This makes it all too easy to fall for the correlation=causation problem. Behavioral analysis is usually more reliable than most psychological methodologies, but it relies upon long-term observations that can be difficult to translate into accurate patterns. Ultimately though, psychology attempts to find answers through a process of rationality and deductive reasoning and that's exactly what science is.

I don't believe it is as all knowning as some people believe it is.