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Q. It is a good idea to say I want to go to medical school on my application to an engineering school (I want to be a chemical engineer)?Will the fact that I won’t want to say in the chemical engineering field be a “con” on my application? I plan to apply to some big name schools, including Harvard, Stanford, and Columbia.A. Some schools offer Engineering Pre-med curriculum and keep students on track of the needed prerequisites, MCAT, EC’s etc for successful application (for example the University of Arizona.)Columbia University also has a robust engineering pre-med program. Harvard has strong premed advising office. So does Stanford. Although neither geared towards engineering/premed aspirants.The question is: Why do you want a Chemical Engineering Degree and how useful will it be to you in the long run? Second, knowing engineering grade deflation, are you willing to have your GPA suffer and possibly self deselect from pursuing a medical career?For most people, getting accepted to medical school is the ultimate goal. This often requires stellar GPA and decent MCAT scores.A high engineering GPA is difficult to achieve. Although medical school admission committees make an allowance for the difficulty of the major, a low GPA despite best effort will jeopardize any hope of acceptance to medical school.Most people cannot do both. It’s either engineering/no med school or medical school and a more lenient major (perhaps humanities).Engineering to Medicine: The Road Less TraveledPosted by Jonathan Haughton onJanuary 12th, 2014Making the CommitmentGetting an MD isn’t like obtaining other advanced degrees such as a PhD, MS or MBA. You cannot study part time or get it paid for by a company. It is a full-time affair for which you must be completely committed for at least four more years after your undergrad (and probably more for residency/fellowship training). Medical school isn’t cheap either, so you must be prepared to take on (or add to your undergrad) debt.How to Do itYour undergraduate engineering classes (usually) will not cover all of the general course requirements for medical school. This means you’ll have to carefully plan your coursework in order to satisfy the engineering and pre-med curricula as well as any general education classes your school requires. It is not easy but definitely do-able and working with an advisor to develop a multi-year plan will help. Pre-med requirements can vary between schools but will at least include physics I/II, chemistry I/II, organic chemistry I/II, biology I/II and an English or literature class. For those beginning to think about medicine after already completing two or more years of their undergraduate degree, taking an extra year to finish all the coursework and prep is not uncommon. This extra time can also be used to study for the dreaded MCAT.The MCAT is the medical school equivalent of the SAT or ACT you took in high school. It must be taken before you can apply, so this usually means the summer before your senior year. There’s a myriad of references, guides and avenues of support for this ranging from free practice tests to intensive classroom courses. Contrary to popular belief, this test is not about rote memorization. Almost all groups of questions are accompanied by a passage. So if you have a very basic understanding of the scientific principles and equations but excellent problem solving, you will do great. The key words here are understanding and problem solving. Memorizing the equations is pointless, they will give them to you on the test, spend your time understanding each equation’s components. This is a great opportunity for engineering students to show off their problem solving skills!So you’ve finished the courses and taken the test, what now? The application process is started about a year before your planned enrollment date. So, if your graduating in 2014, you would apply in the summer or early fall of 2013. Thankfully, there is a standard application for all schools called the AMCAS, but plan on getting secondary applications specific to each school and working on them into the fall. Then save up some money and pray for interviews.Where Engineering Falls ShortThese days medical schools are looking more and more at extracurricular activities in addition to metrics like MCAT score and GPA. This included things like research, volunteering, shadowing and other jobs. Engineering coursework doesn’t always provide enough time for all of this stuff, but if you pick carefully, the right extracurricular can give you an excellent experience with a smaller time commitment. Academic research can be a volunteer or paid experience, and when done during the academic year, can mesh well with your class schedule since research labs are typically close to classroom buildings so you can go there before, after or in-between classes.The extra pre-med courses have also been known to give engineers some trouble. For many, it is tough adjusting to biology type classes, as they are much more memorization based and less analytical in nature. There is no easy solution for this. Figure out what works for you (flashcards, re-writing notes, etc.). This is also the stuff more likely to be seen on the MCAT, so pay extra special attention to the material.When it comes to the interview, some claim engineers don’t fare as well. Anyone in engineering has heard the stereotype that engineers aren’t the most social of people. While that’s an outdated view of the field, it can be used to your advantage during an interview or application essay. By having an outgoing personality and being animated, lively, witty and generally sociable, you defy the stereotype and make yourself look that much better the to the admissions board or interviewer.All that being said, medical schools look very highly upon engineering applicants. They understand that to be a legitimate applicant, the engineering student has given it their 110%, as evidenced by their ability to succeed in such a demanding major in addition to coursework and extracurricular activities. A career in medicine will be time consuming, stressful and at times you will doubt your ability, but in the end extremely rewarding and well worth it. So, it’s just like a degree in engineering!SummaryThe problem solving skills and engineering mindset so thoroughly developed during your undergraduate degree can prove to be an incredibly useful tool for solving medical cases. The human being is an isolated system, and once that system is defined, you can apply your knowledge of that system to create a solution, just like any engineering question. The rational and systematic route of thinking honed during any study of engineering is ideal for a career in medicine.About the authorChris Bobba received his B.S. in Chemical Engineering for the University of Rhode Island in 2013. He is currently an MD/PhD student at the Ohio State University pursuing his PhD in Biomedical Engineering. Current research interests include the intersection of organ conditioning/regeneration techniques and surgical/transplant medicine.University of Arizona College of EngineeringAcademic Focus AreasUA chemical engineering is one of only a few approved College of Engineering pre-med programs. The three academic focus areas prepare students for careers in a broad range of industries.Environmental is focused on increasing environmental safety in industry and reducing emissions and contaminants in the environment.Biomedical centers around modernizing disease diagnostics and treatment.Pre-medical prepares students to succeed in medical schoolResearch OpportunitiesUA chemical engineers are finding better ways to protect and repair the environment, improve the human condition, and ensure sustainability. And chemical engineering students tend to make the most of studying at a Tier-1 research institution. In fact, more than 90 percent of chemical engineering undergraduates are estimated to be involved in research at some point during their time at the University.Researchers are advancing processes, technologies and understanding in the following areas, for example:Algae-based biofuelsWater treatment and reuseClean semiconductor manufacturingDesalinationSolar energyDrug deliveryCancer detection and treatmentClimate changeOutside the ClassroomNot only is undergraduate research a mainstay of UA chemical engineering, but also many students do internships. Additionally, clubs and organizations play an important role in students’ personal and professional development, strengthening leadership, teamwork and communication skills.The honor society Omega Chi Epsilon promotes creativity, entrepreneurship, professionalism and camaraderie among chemical engineering students. The American Institute of Chemical Engineers hosts social events and provides opportunities for mentoring, tutoring and professional networking. And, in the UA Home Brew club, students put chemical engineering skills to the task with craft brewing techniques.Career PathsUA chemical engineering is known for getting students where they want to go, whether it is a prestigious medical or graduate school somewhere in the world or a career in any number of industries – manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, design and construction, pulp and paper, petrochemicals, food processing, specialty chemicals, polymers, biotechnology, or environmental health and safety.Columbia University Premedical CurriculumPREMEDMedical, dental, and other health professional schools prefer that undergraduates complete a four-year program of study toward the bachelor's degree. All health professional schools require prerequisite course work, but they do not prefer one type of major or scholarly concentration. Students with all types of engineering backgrounds are highly valued.It is important to note, however, that each medical school in the United States and Canada individually determines its own entrance requirements, including prerequisite coursework and/or competencies. Each medical school also sets its own rules regarding acceptable courses or course equivalents. It is therefore essential that students plan early and confirm the premedical requirements for those schools to which they intend to apply. The Engineering curriculum covers many of the prerequisite courses required by medical schools, however, in addition to completing the mathematics, chemistry, and physics courses required by the First Year– Sophomore Program, most schools ask for a full year of organic chemistry, a full year of biology, a full year of English, a semester of statistics, and a semester of biochemistry. Advanced Placement credit is accepted in fulfillment of these requirements by some schools but not all. Students are responsible for monitoring the requirements of each school to which they intend to apply. Generally, students with Advanced Placement credit are strongly advised to take further courses in the field in which they have received such credit.In addition to medical school requirements, all medical schools currently require applicants to sit for the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT). A new format of this exam was introduced in the spring of 2015, for which recommended minimum preparation is:One year of general chemistry and general chemistry labOne year of organic chemistry and organic chemistry labOne year of introductory biology and biology labOne year of general physics and physics labOne semester of introductory psychologyAs you prepare for this path, you should consult regularly with both your assigned adviser and one of the premedical advisers in the James H. Christine Turk Berick Center for Student Advising. These individuals will help to guide you in your course selection and planning, and introduce you to extracurricular and research opportunities related to your interests in health and medicine. Preprofessional Advising maintains an online list of many different clinical volunteer and research opportunities across New York City and beyond. Exploration of the career and sustained interactions with patients is viewed by many medical schools as essential preparation and therefore students are strongly encouraged to spend time volunteering/working in clinical and research environments before applying to medical school.Students must apply for admission to health professional schools more than one year in advance of the entry date. Students who are interested in going directly on to health professional schools following graduation should complete all prerequisite courses required for the MCAT by the end of the junior year. It is entirely acceptable (and most common) for students to take time between undergraduate and health professional school and thus delay application to these schools for one or more years. Students planning to apply to medical or dental school should be evaluated by the Premedical Advisory Committee prior to application. A Premedical Advisory Committee application is made available each year in December. For more information regarding this process and other premedical-related questions, please consult with a premedical adviser in the Berick Center for Student Advising or peruse their websiteFAQ for Preprofessional AdvisingMaking the Cut: The Real Pre-med Requirements (Harvard University Crimson)The story of droves of students entering college expecting to be pre-med, but later switching tracks—whether because of the rigor or the draw of other disciplines—is a familiar one. However, at Harvard unique factors play into this whittling down of aspiring doctors.by LIBBY R. COLEMAN Sep 26, 2013Students file one-by-one into the green seats of Science Center B’s lecture hall. They sit down, pulling out laptops or legal pads, sometimes problem sets to complete in class. A constant hum of gum chewing, chair-shifting, and text notifications is amplified against the walls.The room has yet to quiet down when Life Sciences 1a, Harvard’s 448-person introduction to chemistry, molecular biology and cell biology, begins with an unwelcome announcement.There will be a “little quiz” in section. Students in the packed lecture hall respond to the news with a loud groan.“Don’t you want to know how things are going?” molecular and cellular biology professor Robert A. Lue calls back. The class responds with a resounding “No!”Lue reasons, “It’s important to diagnose how everyone’s doing.” He tailors his word choice to the make-up of the class. Diagnosis is a familiar concept to these students, many of whom are interested in attending medical school.Often taken as the first of many pre-med required classes, LS1a introduces Harvard freshmen to the academic life of a pre-med. While many of the students in the lecture hall believe that they will go to medical school, between one and two thirds of them will end up dropping the program.The story of droves of students entering college expecting to be pre-med, but later switching tracks—whether because of the rigor or the draw of other disciplines—is a familiar one. However, at Harvard unique factors play into this whittling down of aspiring doctors.Although Harvard offers a robust pre-med advising program in the Houses, many pre-meds struggle freshman year, when they say that advising is less structured. Later on, a variety of factors—from alternate disciplines and academic communities that are perhaps less grade-obsessed or more diverse, to more lucrative careers that require less up-front time investment—draw students away from the path towards medical school.Learning The RopesThe Office of Career Services estimates that a quarter of the incoming class each year is “exploring medicine.” This data is based on annual attendance at Opening Days events aimed at students considering pre-med and pre-health careers.However, popular wisdom among Peer Advising Fellows says that the proportion is closer to 50 percent. “Half of them are pre-med, or more,” says Khin-Kyemon Aung ’14, who is a PAF and president emeritus of the Harvard Pre-medical Society.OCS estimates that, ultimately, 17 percent of a given class will apply to medical school.As is the case at most of its peer institutions, Harvard does not offer a pre-med concentration, secondary, or citation. Rather, the school suggests that students take a particular set of classes before taking the MCAT or applying to medical school.Currently, most medical schools require students to take one year of biology, one year of general chemistry, one year of organic chemistry, one year of general physics, and one year of English. On top of these requirements, medical schools expect applicants to have leadership experience and strong extracurriculars.These requirements offer some framework, but the open-endedness can leave students unsure of how to navigate their courses or envision what it means to be a strong candidate for medical school.“They would like to come in here and have us just hand them a checklist,” says Robin Mount, Director of Career, Research, and International Opportunities at OCS. “But there isn’t the checklist for life.”While all undergraduates benefit from advising, freshman pre-meds seem to be particularly in need of guidance. Myths abound regarding both Harvard’s pre-med track and the medical school application process.Though OCS advises that there is no correct pre-med mold, Aung has noticed that many pre-meds spend freshman year trying to live up to what they believe pre-meds should do.“You’re asking: ‘What should I be doing?’” Aung says. “Everyone’s very eager and enthusiastic and it’s great, but it also leads to individuals really wanting to follow the set path.”Christian Ramirez ’15 entered Harvard expecting to be pre-med after spending time on his parents’ farm in rural Ecuador. He came face-to-face with the lack of health care in the region, which sparked the idea that he might want to later work for Doctors Without Borders.So, falling in step with his fellow pre-meds, Ramirez enrolled in LS1a his freshman fall. Ramirez’s freshman advisor, with whom he had little contact, quickly approved his course selection.“My freshman advisor really didn’t do much, to be completely honest. I don’t even remember his name,” Ramirez says. “He told me to take things that I already knew I had to take as a pre-med.”In hindsight, Ramirez realizes that he should have instead taken the alternative course, Life and Physical Sciences A, a more foundational class that also fulfills pre-med requirements.However, Ramirez explains that “people are coming into this with the idea that they’re too good for LPS A.”After his freshman fall, Ramirez decided to quit the pre-med track when he realized he no longer wanted to be a doctor. On top of disliking LS1a, Ramirez also discovered a passion for studying classics. In making his decision, he did not reach out to Harvard’s pre-med advising network.Although pre-med advising for freshmen exists in the form of OCS drop-in hours, pre-med events, and freshman advising (albeit without mandatory scheduled check-ins), the system requires students to be proactive about seeking advice.“As a freshman, I had no idea what to do,” says Katie C. Gamble ’15, a social studies concentrator, Peer Advising Fellow, and former pre-med. She wears a sweatshirt after staying up late to finish a paper for a social studies course. “You definitely have to do some work to get access to the advising,” she says. “It’s great and it’s there but you have to know what you’re doing to get to it.”Without a highly structured advising system, freshmen are more likely to worry that, for example, a bad grade in one class spells disaster for their medical school application. Their preconceptions about the model pre-med student are more likely to inform their decisions about classes, extracurriculars, and whether to be pre-med at all.Kruti B. Vora ’17 volunteered at Newton-Wellesley Hospital the summer after ninth grade. She loved it and the experience inspired her to pursue a career in medicine.However, two weeks into the school year, Vora says that she is still unsure how pre-med advising works.“I don’t know too much yet about pre-med advisors and who I’m supposed to talk to specifically about pre-med advising,” Vora says. “I saw some things at the Activities Fair that would pair me with hospitals and volunteer activities.”One such group is the Harvard Pre-medical Society, whose purpose is to be “a student-run organization at Harvard College committed to providing educational support and volunteer opportunities for the campus pre-medical community.”Grace ’15, who was granted anonymity by The Crimson because she did not want her comments to affect medical school applications, decided to be pre-med sophomore year. She has noticed that Harvard’s peer pre-med advising cannot fill in all of the gaps left by an incomplete freshman advising system. “The Pre-med Society has to use their own people and they have juniors and seniors who mentor freshmen, but seniors and juniors haven’t applied to medical school, so it’s really just a shot in the dark,” Grace says.Grace believes that if she had entered her freshman year as a pre-med, she would have dropped out. “I would have done all those things I think you’re supposed to do and wouldn’t have done the things I’m interested in like theater because I would have thought, ‘No, I have to do the pre-med stuff to get into medical school,’” Grace says.Harvard’s pre-med advising is led by the OCS’s two pre-medical advisors, Oona B. Ceder ’90 and Sirinya Matchacheep. Students say that meeting with Ceder and Matchacheep can be remarkably helpful. But the two of them are responsible for all pre-med students at the College, not just freshmen, which means that younger students sometimes take a backseat to those who are currently applying to medical school.“If you want an appointment with them, it’s often backed up for weeks,” Aung says.The choice to have less structured freshman pre-med advising stems from Harvard’s philosophy that students should keep their options open freshman year, as well as its commitment to providing a liberal arts education.“If we had pre-med advisors—this is the way everything is at Harvard—we’d have people saying where are the pre-law, where are the engineering advisors?” Mount says.Once in the House system, students are each assigned a pre-med tutor, which results in more individualized guidance and support than freshman year. “Harvard’s pre-med advising within the House system is incredibly strong compared to other schools,” says Joshua H. St. Louis ’09, who is now in his last year of Tufts’ MD/PhD program. The House advising system offers assistance including mock interviews, personal statements, and advice on application deadlines.However, many freshmen drop out of pre-med before they are even given access to the strong Harvard House advising network. At the cost of encouraging greater exploration, pre-meds are left largely on their own freshman year to grapple with the realities of being pre-med.A Lack of CommunityMany of those who have remained on the pre-med track find that there is a lack of community and pride among pre-meds. These students explain that strongly identifying as pre-med will lead peers to judge them as cut-throat, intense, and grade-obsessed. Therefore, they often socialize outside of the pre-med community, prioritizing their concentration or their extracurriculars.“You want to express your passion for medicine, but you don’t want to be a stereotypical pre-medder,” says Anna ’16, a pre-med who was granted anonymity by The Crimson because she did not want her comments to affect medical school applications. “It creates a very anti-intellectual community.”For Grace, being identified as pre-med takes on the form of an insult. “People are like, ‘Do you do social studies?’ And I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh I wish, thank you for thinking that. I wish I was that cool,’” Grace says. “It’s kind of a badge of shame to be called a pre-med.”Because of the negative connotations surrounding the pre-med personality, many students on the track to medical school actively seek out the company of non-pre-meds. St. Louis says that as an undergraduate, he “found [pre-meds] to be super stressed out and always wearied.” He remembers working with a friend in Cabot Science Library on Friday afternoons alongside a table of pre-meds, sobbing and breaking down as they worked frantically up until the 5 p.m. problem set deadline.St. Louis ultimately decided to distance himself from the pre-med community: Of his four roommates at Harvard, only one other was pre-med. Because his concentration—Organismic and Evolutionary Biology—and his roommate’s—Mind, Brain, and Behavior—were not the quintessential pre-med concentrations like Molecular and Cellular Biology and Neurobiology, they didn’t have much contact with pre-meds outside the required curriculum.St. Louis says that many of his friends who were devoted to helping people wound up falling off of the pre-med track, whereas those who stuck with it were largely driven by money or parental pressures. “I felt like most of them weren’t really going into medicine for the same reasons that I was,” St. Louis says, referring to his peers who continued on the pre-med track.Hillary ’13, who was granted anonymity because she did not want her comments to affect medical school applications, also expressed discomfort with the motivations of her fellow pre-meds. “You’ve got everyone trying to get A’s in a class where they give out like five to ten percent A’s and the rest B’s and a few Cs,” Hillary says. Although she stayed with the pre-med program, this mindset meant that she “didn’t want to be around pre-meds 24/7.”Although Hillary originally declared MCB as her concentration, she later switched to History and Science, which she says has fewer pre-med students. “I wanted to experience other people, and experience other concentrations,” Hillary explains.For some pre-meds, the fragmented nature of Harvard’s pre-med community causes them to rethink their intent to apply to medical school. “I think I’ve realized, if I really don’t like the pre-med culture, then med school is really just a bunch of pre-meds. That’s all there is...It makes me re-evaluate if that’s a culture I want to be in for the next however many years,” Grace says.For Grace, this lack of camaraderie might be endemic to a program in which few students are fully engaged in their coursework. “I think every concentration has one or two requirements people aren’t thrilled about but have to do. But pretty much every pre-med class, people aren’t excited about.”A For Application“One could argue pre-med students do obsess on the specificities of the grade,” Lue says, referring to his LS1a students. “Because pre-med students are worried about their ability to get into medical school, there may be a little bit more focus on that.”Harvard’s advising staff emphasize that one or two bad grades will not sink a medical school application. According to OCS’s medical school admissions data, Harvard pre-med applicants with a 3.50 GPA or higher had a 93 percent acceptance rate to medical schools in 2012.Ceder says that she sees “many students who come in with a couple of B minuses or a C+ or even a B or a B+ and they’re concerned that this is now going to keep them out of medical school.” Medical schools, she says, are more interested in “the passion vocation piece”—commitment to a sport, for example—than simply straight A’s.But pre-med students are not just concerned about getting into a medical school: They want to get into the best medical schools.As a result, students often choose concentrations and courses based on what will do the most to boost their GPA. “When you’re choosing Gen Ed, you’re choosing them to get A’s. Generally people will be like, ‘I just need the A for medical school,’” says Sasha ’14, who was granted anonymity by The Crimson because she did not want her comments to affect medical school applications.In the lab component for some of her pre-med courses, Hillary encountered lab partners who were driven almost entirely by their medical school aspirations. “If you didn’t do the one extra question on the lab report, you were a bad lab partner and would bring down the whole group and then the whole group wouldn’t get an A and then everybody would be upset,” Hillary says.One consequence of this obsession with good grades is a less intellectually diverse pre-med community. “I think they’re discouraging people who could potentially bring something new to the table in terms of scientific innovation,” Ramirez says.If Not Med School…Harvard students are also pulled away from the pre-med track by the appeal of more lucrative jobs, such as finance or consulting, which hire straight out of college. These career paths offer the dual incentive of high compensation and immediate reward. Students are looking at earning between $50,000 and $100,000 the year after graduation, rather than paying tuition for four years of medical school, followed by a residency of up to seven years.Gamble, who was pre-med until the end of her freshman year, says that the delayed benefits of medical careers played into her decision to pursue an alternate path. In high school, she worked with a reconstructive surgeon. While learning the ropes, Gamble encountered a 35-year-old resident with two children, which “really threw [her] off,” Gamble says. She had trouble imagining herself trying to raise a family while still training for her profession.She is now aiming to get a job in consulting after graduation. “It’s something I discovered that I really, really like a lot,” Gamble says. “I know I obviously want to do something I love, but I also want to make a fair wage.”“I realized that kind of career timeline didn’t align with what I want in a career,” Ramirez says, echoing Gamble. “Time for me is really important, and I don’t want to wait until I’m forty.”For those students who decide to delay applying to medical school—whether to take a break from academics, or to help finance their medical school tuition—the timeline to becoming a doctor is even longer. As a result, many Harvard students decide to get consulting or finance jobs because of the compensation, with the full intent of later applying to medical school.In addition, these companies often don’t have any structured requirements for their entry-level positions. “I know people with no business experience who started consulting after graduating,” says Jen Q. Y. Zhu ’14, who decided to stop being pre-med with one requirement left.Pre-med students have to weigh the cost—in both time and money—of pursuing a medical career against the attractiveness of other careers that can promise larger paychecks immediately.Is it Worth It?Clearly, not all pre-meds who enter Harvard expecting to be pre-med will graduate and go to medical school. According to Ceder, one of the OCS advisors, students must ask themselves, “Do I need the MD to do what I want to do?”For many, the answer is no. Some have become disillusioned, others discouraged, the path to medical school looking less attractive than they had first imagined.This shift away from the pre-med track is already apparent for some at 2:30 p.m., when Robert A. Lue’s LS1a lecture is about to go overtime. A few students quickly pack up their bags and climb over their peers to head elswehere. Most, however, stay to hear the professor’s final thoughts. After all, the concepts might appear on a future exam.After a few moments, Lue wraps up and Science Center B becomes fully alive again. Students huddle afterwards. Some talk about pre-labs. Others admit that they “weren’t paying attention the whole first half.”Most ReadRecord 39,494 Apply to Harvard College Class of 2021Univ. Subcomittee Considers Mimicking Housing at Yale

He displays all the signs of someone who has been institutionalised and “come out” under the Governments “Care in the Community programme” a la 1995. Facial “ticks”, faulty “Gross” and “petite” Motor movements and detached eye contact showing a dangerous pre occupation and membership of an alternative worldreality around him, and unawareness of others.His behavioural traits are TYPICAl of most, if not all JW members who have been “inside” far too long, living breathing listening and feeding solely upon the precets and abstract concepts from the Governing Body leadership and its secret inner leadership that makes their own “theocratic appointments”.There is a very high level of mental illness in the jehovahs Witness Movement. And beware, because academic studies can only be based on presented materials, and to get accurrate materials one has to actually have BEEN THERE inside the group itself. So while sometimes usefull, beware of drawing faith in so called” experts” because they cannot be “expert” unless they were there.I encountered the situation during my child custody battle with my ex Wife who is jehovahs Wintess, and the Watchtower Society. An uneven “balance of power” often exists in JW marriages and families, and contrary to opinion, it is not automaticaly the men who are the abuseive or difficult part in child custody cases. My wifes behaviour was so unstable, that she caused negative reports and comments from the Legal Aid Society, because of her malicious, unnecessary, and time wasteing “OVERPLAY OF LITIGATION” and frnkly, waste of precious Legal aid appointments and Public funds.Watchtower families always thoroughly prepare “negative reports or comments” to go against “wolrdly” partners wanting to see thier children. But in addittion, they ALSO USE AND ABUSE FEAR OF THE ORGANISATION amongst their ex partners to make them “cow tow” to their demands, however hideous, nasty and unreasonable for your children these “demands” might be.If you are a departing ex witness going into court against your witness partenr, BEWARE. DO NOT ALLOW A FALSE SENSE OF LOYALTY TO THE ORGANISATION OR TO TOHERS revent you from acting in YOUR OWN LEGAL RIGHTS AND INTERESTS. The Society know this and will try to work it against you.If i had not been so batterred, worn out, tired out, pushed down, and generally harrassed 24 24 by the group, (the Kingdom hyall was just around the corner of my apartement street) then i would have stuck my feet well into the ground and used each and every piece of information i knew to prevent he group. As it is, they kept my son from me (illegally) and then KIDNAPPED him while still a minor, taking him illegaly out of the country against the HAGUE Convention.I had little to no immediate surrounding family or social support. I lived in a remote part ofthe country far from my family (thegroup had seen to that).I had for years been entirely “at their Mercy” (they ahd none) and they had abused me, my friendships, work and social life to such an extent, I had almost become a stay at home recluse for several years; (this is quite common in JW families).After the case, i went into private Therapy, to exxlore the issues, unpack what had been done to me, deal with it, and successfully rebuilt my life over severaol years.But the group have continued to harass me, my friendships, often telling fake stories, making rumours and false accussattions to try to discredit me because i always now criticise and speak out against this “Control religious Cult group”.In fact, due entirely to continued abuses, I am on the verge of issuing a “CEASE AND DESIST LETTER” against them online.If you are going against the Society, take MORAL support to court with you, not just Documentsand papers. it is a dirty rotten “ame” and a game you absolutely cannot afford to lose, and neither can the entire future lives of your children.Mental Illness Amongst Jehovah's WitnessesThere are many intelligent, well balanced and successful Jehovah's Witnesses and there is no intention in this article to suggest a Witness needs to have any mental or emotional problems to hold to their beliefs. This is an attempt to clarify whether existing studies prove higher levels of mental illness amongst Jehovah's Witnesses and identify reasons why this could be the case.SingelenbergIn Child Custody Decisions and Jehovah's Witness Parenthood, Richard Singelenberg has produced a balanced look at the evidence. He concludes that as yet there are no true scientific studies that can be used legitimately;"In general, scientific research of socialisation practices in religious movements is still in its infancy. Although specific data from Jehovah's Witnesses are lacking, results from similarly controversial religious movements such as Hare Krishna, the Rajneesh Movement and The Family (the former Children of God) indicate that child-rearing practices in these groups have no adverse effects on the child's general well-being (Lilliston & Shepherd 1994; Palmer & Hardman 1999)."He shows concern that perceptions about Jehovah's Witnesses may unjustly lead to an unfavourable judgement against them in custody cases:"Analysis of two court cases focusing on child custody disputes among members of this religious movement indicates that misconceptions about religious tenets, consideration of pseudo-scientific claims and emphasis on the ideological realm rather than individual circumstances may influence judicial decisions. It should be noted, however, that certain statements that have emanated from the umbrella organization of the Jehovah's Witnesses might have contributed to these misinterpretations."Singelenberg also highlights the variance of beliefs and practices of Witnesses when behind closed doors;"From my own research, I met Jehovah's Witnesses who do celebrate birthdays, vote for political candidates, sit around Christmas trees (albeit with the closed curtains), have premarital sex, let off fireworks at New Year's Eve and smoke an occasional cigar after a good meal. So, drawing conclusions from the movement's literature (particularly back editions) to evaluate the day-to-day practices of a specific family may render an inaccurate picture of their proper religious involvement (Wah 1997b: 306)."Singelenberg proceeds to quote Wilson in regard to the sometime unfair perception of people towards sects;"Because sectarians do not choose what others choose, holds themselves apart in their use of leisure time and ... associate only with each other rather than with non-members, that sects elicit some of the strongest reactions from the general public. The child-centered society is inclined to see prohibitions respecting children's play activities as wilful deprivation. We live in a tolerant society. There is no reason at all why the mother should not espouse the beliefs and practices of Jehovah's Witnesses There is nothing immoral or socially obnoxious in the beliefs and practice of the sect... (Wilson 1990: 37, 38, 51)Due to the negative perception of a Witness upbringing, two court custody cases discussed by Singelenberg found against the Witness parent. The reasoning is worth consideration and highlights the negative viewpoints inculcated into Witness children.Case i The Netherlands, 1991In this custody case the husband left the wife after she became a Jehovah's Witness. The wife initially won custody but later this was overturned and given to the husband."Of course, the Board does not render an opinion about the religious conviction of the mother. However, the Board cannot ignore the fact that mother's active involvement in this community will have consequences for the upbringing of the children.… though mother is able to put herself in the experience of the children, it remains to be seen if she, from her univocal view on the world and on mankind, can give the children enough opportunity to form an opinion of their own and enable them to unfold and develop their talents.It remains to be seen if [the mother] can give enough room to the children, so they can unfold according to their nature. The fundamental as well as the relational anchorage of the children in the group of Jehovah's Witnesses give reason for some concern, because in case they react against this belief there is a danger they end up in a social vacuum."Case ii Germany, 1993In case ii a husband was disfellowshipped and the wife took custody. The Jehovah's Witness wife started to beat the child, one time an eyewitness found the child unconscious. The wife's reason was that he was turning out like the husband and she was frustrated due to the divorce. An expert on 'Cults and World Views' from the Evangelical Lutheran Church was called to provide information about the type of harm that comes from being raised as a Witness;"[1] The educational target of the Jehovah's Witnesses is subordination by coercion and uncritical acceptance of religious doctrines and teachings, in order to break the free will of the growing child and to mould it into an uncritical and dependent individual.[2] It should be made clear that the outside world is a hostile environment, which has harmful effects on children of Jehovah's Witnesses. But more than that, Jehovah's Witnesses should fear a vengeful God and an imminent Armageddon. Unbelievers, including unbelieving children will be victims of a 'bloody liquidation' in that final battle.When, for example, the child is being cast off from the community, family members are not allowed to have any spiritual contact with the child. The relationship between parents and child will be strictly limited to satisfy the biological needs of the child. The child will be treated as an outcast.Secondary education is looked upon with suspicion because 'it has been proved that this will lead to a preference of satanic material things' and a gradual withdrawal from the religious sphere."The court found "that the child, brought up with these views (as explained by the expert on cults), will probably be mentally harmed for the rest of his life." People in general hold concern for Witness children, specifically due to segregation from the world, coercion based on fear of Armageddon and possible shunning, and being dissuaded from critical thinking and individual development.John SpencerThe Mental Health of Jehovah's Witnesses by John Spencer is widely quoted though the findings are dubious. This found that in the 3 year period from 1971 to and including 1973, 7,546 inpatients were admitted to the West Australian Mental Health Service Psychiatric Hospitals, of which 50 were active Witnesses. This represents a rate of 2.54/1000 for the general population and 4.17/1000 for Jehovah's Witnesses. Particularly high was the rate of Schizophrenics amongst Witnesses.Jerry BergmanThe following excerpts are summarized quotes from PARADISE POSTPONED...AND POSTPONED: Why Jehovah's Witnesses Have a High Mental Illness Level. Jerry Bergman has researched and written extensively about Jehovah's Witnesses. As a former Witness his findings may be considered biased, however the reasoning he provides merits consideration.Rylander's StudyIn 1946, Gosta Rylander investigated a sample of conscientious objectors imprisoned in Sweden. About four percent of the eligible Swedish population was judged psychologically "unfit" for military service, and the corresponding figure for Witnesses was 21 percent, or five times greater. This is close to the same ratio later found by John Spencer, whose diagnosis of "psychotic" or "neurotic" was made on the basis of mental hospital admission screening.The First American StudyIn 1949, in the first study on American Witness mental health, M. J. Pescor diagnosed as psychotic over seven percent of his total sample of 177 young males imprisoned due to obeying the Watchtower's prohibition against complying with military regulations. The level of Witness psychosis in his sample was about 17 times higher than that for the population as a whole.Montague and Other ResearchersHavor Montague (another name Jerry Bergman publishes under) monitored the admissions to state and private mental hospitals and local mental health clinics in Ohio from 1972 to 1976. From this study of 102 cases, he estimated, "The mental illness rate of JWs is approximately 10 to 16 times higher than the rate for the general, nonWitness population... From his intensive interviews with Witness patients and others, Montague concluded that persons who had emotional problems were attracted to the Witnesses, but involvement also caused many of the emotional problems that they suffered. This is evident from the fact that many with problems reported they were far happier after they left.Many reasons exist for the mental health problems among Witnesses, but research has found the following to be the most important.Changes in PolicyThe Watchtower is in a perpetual state of doctrinal change, often flip-flopping as many as three or four times on a single issue.The Watchtower TheocracyAnother major cause for disillusionment among Witnesses is that they are taught that their organization is a theocracy, specifically run by God. Those inside the Watchtower organization are the only true servants of God, and all of those outside are evil persons soon to be destroyed at Armageddon. Yet many are aware of the numerous cases of Witnesses who have done horrible things.Prophecy FailureMany Witnesses harbor a deep-seated fear - fueled by a long history of doctrinal reversals and prophetic failure - that the Watchtower is a false religious organization. Since this idea has earth-shaking implications for followers of that organization, they refuse to explore their fears, preferring to ration-alize or suppress rather than acknowledge and deal with them. The key to salvation lies not in being saved in the Christian sense or even being good, but being in the Watchtower organization - although they also teach that even this does not guarantee salvation.MacDonald and LuckettMacDonald and Luckett, Religious Affiliation and Psychiatric Diagnoses, Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 1983, Vol. 22, No. 1, pp. 15-37 produced a study that looked at the relationship between religious groups and psychiatric diagnoses. This studied the type of diagnoses of psychiatric patients. Seven groups were included - No Religious Preference, Non-Mainline Protestant, Mainline Protestant, Catholic, Other Protestant, Unknown and Sects. Jehovah’s Witnesses were included within sects along with other groups such as Christian Science, Mormons and Seventh Day Adventists. Sects had a higher level of psychoses, 21% compared to the sample average of 10%.Multicultural Considerations with Ex-Jehovah’s WitnessesIn Multicultural Considerations with Ex-Jehovah’s Witnesses, Tanya Willson shows Jehovah's Witnesses are identified as a "high-cost" or "high-control" religion."Scheitle & Adamczyk (2010) studied the health effects of leaving a religion, and made the distinction between low-cost and high-cost religion, specifically including Jehovah’s Witnesses in the latter category. High-cost religion was defined as “theologically, socially, and culturally exclusive” (p.325). Exiting a high-cost religion involves “strained or severed family relationships, loss of self-identity, social isolation, and the personal stress that accompanies these issues” (p. 327). The authors also point out that due to the unique cultural features of high-cost religious organizations such as Jehovah’s Witnesses, many who leave the organization do not join another religious organization, and therefore are less likely to gain the benefits of social support and community from an alternate organization. The study concluded that those who leave high-cost religions such as the Watchtower Organization, are more likely to report poorer overall health than those who stay in the religion (Scheitle & Adamczyk, 2010)." (p.4)Willson interviews Dr. Winell, who "has worked with ex-Jehovah’s Witnesses as well as people who have left other high-control religions for over twenty years." (p. 11) Dr. Winell states;"… because of the severity of the shunning that ex-Jehovah’s Witnesses are subjected to by their families and friends, they are more likely to return to activity in the organization, which is very rare in people leaving other religions. Dr. Winell also emphasized that because of the doctrine of Armageddon occurring soon, many ex-Jehovah’s Witnesses will have phobia or PTSD-like symptoms, including nightmares or anxiety attacks, even though they do not intellectually believe in this doctrine anymore, because many were often taught as children to fear Armageddon." (p.12)Dr. Winell defines the experience as "Religious Trauma Syndrome", as "many people suffer from serious anxiety and depression following leaving a high-control religion." (p.13)Religiously Divided FamiliesIn 2017, a Judge in the United Kingdom discussed "the risk of emotional damage due to confusing messages" where one member is a Jehovah's Witness and the other is not. In a custody case regarding a six year old boy, the Judge ruled that the Jehovah's Witness father could take the son to Sunday meetings, but not other events such as conventions and preaching activities. The son was also not to be shown "religious based media" such as Watchtower cartoons.The judge said the boy had watched cartoons called Obey Jehovah, Pay Attention At Meetings and One Man One Woman."In 'Obey Jehovah' a child is taught about the sinfulness of having a cartoon character toy with magical powers which the child had to put in a bin," he said."While making sense to a child if both parents were Jehovah's Witnesses, such a cartoon would send a very confusing message to a child like [the boy] who has one foot in his mother's world and a wider world (in which magical characters are everywhere in books, television, DVDs, on the internet and in films) and his other foot in his father's world where such magical characters are sinful.At meetings and in publications, Watchtower teaches the unhealthy idea that the unbelieving parent is an evil sinner for not following Jehovah's organization, and will die at Armageddon."The boy's mother had raised concern about the boy being harmed by his father's religious beliefs and had told the judge how her son had once told her "God is good and you are bad."Source telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/06/11/jehovahs-witness-agrees-not-show-son-religious-cartoons-risk/ 11th June 2017Watchtower Rules and RegulationsWatchtower prohibitions reach into virtually every area of life and cover minutia to the extreme. Holidays and celebrations are condemned, except for the memorial of Jesus death. Higher education, career advancement and spending time with non-Witnesses is discouraged. Missing preparation for and attendance of weekly meetings and field service, which can take between 20 and 30 hours per week, leads one to be labelled as spiritually weak. As a result, it is very difficult for a child raised a Witness to develop into a normal, socially aware, well-adjusted adult. They are taught that those of the world are evil, and even though worldly people may appear to be kind, this is one of Satan's tactics to lure people out of God's organisation.In 1995, David and Bryan Freeman, aged 15 and 17, violently beat and stabbed their Jehovah's Witness parents and brother to death. (See The Allentown Massacres 1 Feb 2012) The Freeman boys had experienced a life time training of hate; hate everything that God hates, everything non-Jehovah's Witness. They turned to the Aryan Brotherhood of Man because it offered them unconditional love, but still represented the same qualities of hate that they had been brought up to be comfortable with. Bergman feels that the "conditional love" Jehovah's Witness children receive can be a factor motivating those that have turned to heinous crimes.DisfellowshippingEach year, 1% of Jehovah's Witnesses, around 70,000, are disfellowshipped and subsequently shunned. Only one third return to the religion, the remainder having their family ties severed for life. Mr Aron, director of Melbourne's Cult Counselling Australia, identifies that "shunning is "draconian, cruel and callous" … [and] could crush self-esteem and give feelings of guilt, especially in children." (The Age 16th Mar 2013)Watchtower is aware of the damage caused by being disfellowshipped, as it mentions reinstated members can suffer emotional trauma for years, though blaming this on the aftermath of sin, rather than relating this to the public humiliation of disfellowshipping and trauma of being shunned by loved ones."Sin still has an aftermath. For example, a disfellowshipped wrongdoer may repent and be reinstated in the congregation, but it may take years to overcome the tarnished reputation and emotional trauma resulting from sin. Meanwhile, how comforting it is to have Jehovah’s forgiveness and the support of his everlasting arms!" Watchtower 1991 Oct 1 p.18ConclusionThere are few mental health studies on Jehovah's Witnesses. Most are decades old, using methodologies that are lacking against modern research techniques, as discussed in the 2012 paper Jehovah's Witnesses and Schizophrenia by Michael Rand. Those carried out by former Jehovah's Witnesses contain possible bias in the results. Other studies have grouped several "cults" together and are not specific in regard to the unique upbringing of a Jehovah's Witness. Where writers have explained why the Jehovah's Witness upbringing is dangerous to children, the reasons are based on expected effects from the unusual beliefs and practices, rather than scientifically generated research. With the increase in available population statistics and computerised analytic tools it is a shame broader studies have not yet become available.Despite a lack of reliable scientific studies, there is consistent indication of high levels of mental illness amongst Jehovah's Witnesses. There are a number of reasons why this could be the case - isolation from general society, an unrealistic view of the world and the destructive nature of the threat of disfellowshipping. Total reliance on a leadership that claim angelic direction, yet have a string of failed prophecies and doctrines, leads members to fear the religion may be wrong but fear leaving, leading to cognitive dissonance. Those that do leave are often inadequately prepared for life and lack a support group that would normally be developed in a healthy upbringing. Additionally, people with mental illness can be attracted to religious groups and the loving brotherhood that they promise.Studies into Jehovah's Witnesses and Mental HealthBecoming ‘part of the world’: helping former Jehovah’s Witnesses adjust to life outside the religion - Natasha Freestone 2018 is a paper on Jehovah's Witnesses aimed at psychotherapists working with ex-members.Jehovah's Witnesses and Schizophrenia - Michael Rand 2012Inside and Outcast: Multifaceted Stigma and Redemption in the Lives of Gay and Lesbian Jehovah's Witnesses - 2010 Karla McLaren & Janja LalichWifely Subjection: Mental Health Issues in Jehovah’s Witness Women - Kaynor J. Weishaupt, Michael D. Stensland 1997Jehovah's Witnesses and the Responsibility of Religious Freedom - Carolyn R. WahJehovah's Witnesses and Mental Illness - John StedmanThe Mental Health of Jehovah's Witnesses - John SpencerThe Pessimistic Sect's Influence on the Mental Health of its Members - Harvey MontagueDoing Tolerance: How Jehovah's Witnesses Live with Unbelieving Relatives - Andrew HoldenThis Religion attrracts unstable types, self decievers, the weak, the vulnerable, the doubtful and those who lack inner sense of “self” or strength. And it does them a very great deal of mental psychological and social harm, as well as severely affecting their nervous system and quality of thought and Gross and small “Motor” movements.I can still spot a JW from their movements even thirty years after leaving the group.