... to think that psychiatry is a bit of a con ...?

[Rommell]

... hidebound as it is by cultural and societal norms. Yet it posits that the criteria it creates are truths as to who is 'well' and who is not. How can a person's mind, their psyche, their being be 'ill' anyway? Plus if it really were possible for a drug to produce 'correct' thinking, then the person who created it would be ruler of the world.

[Rommell]

polkydot, thank you for that excellent article. I missed the statement being made, but I am glad that it was and in such a timely fashion too. I agree that psychiatry is deeply patriarchal, and also racist and classist too - witness the over-representation of young black working-class men on secure wards. We have given far too much power to this group of people, and taken the (unproven) model they tout as truth.

[BOFster]

It all sounds very interesting in theory, but if you've seen the effects of untreated PND, say, or schizophrenia, then it's a bit moot really.

[Kittymalinky]

Without my psychiatrist I would be dead, no doubt about it.

It's not about 'correct' thinking, it's about being safe and happy and having the right to function like everyone else.

It's a bit like saying gps are quacks for giving out insulin to diabetics. Their pancreas is just functioning in a 'different' way.

I'm guessing you've never suffered any server MH problems?

[Rommell]

Amytheflag, I don't doubt that psychiatrists purport to be treating the people they prescribe for. But on the basis of what evidence? All other branches of medicine involve physical and clinical examination before a diagnosis is reached. And yes sometimes there is a lack of clarity as to which is the correct diagnosis, and there may even be some elements of fudge or guesswork. But psychiatry is all subjective, with no hard clinical diagnostic evidence at all. In that sense, it differs from all other branches of medicine to the extent that I would posit it does not deserve to be classified as one at all.

[rootypig]

Hey Rommell, I think psychiatry should absolutely be analysed in terms of its cultural values; there is a rich literature about women and psychiatry and no doubt, like all else, this should be expanded to a broader take on chauvinism, including race and class

But what you actually say is, is psychiatry a bit of a con? to which the answer is BOF's

It all sounds very interesting in theory, but if you've seen the effects of untreated PND, say, or schizophrenia, then it's a bit moot really.

[Lilka]

Hmmm, comparing my DD2 when she's on her (antipsychotic, but not prescribed for psychosis) medication, to when she's off it...

I'm feeling pretty damn thankful for psychiatrists and the medication right now

It's one thing to say that the way we treat mental health conditions has flaws, or that mental health provision is bad etc....quite another to have a go at all psychiatrists or say that antipsychotics are all bad and uneeded

[rootypig]

But psychiatry is all subjective, with no hard clinical diagnostic evidence at all. In that sense, it differs from all other branches of medicine to the extent that I would posit it does not deserve to be classified as one at all.

You don't sound qualified to say this, but then I'm not qualified to rebut it

[Rommell]

BOF and rootypig, as I said, I have no doubt that mental distress/anguish/pain exists. I just don't think that psychiatry has the answers for it, and I also don't think it is a legitimate branch of medicine.

[ThefutureMrsTatum]

Yes, psychiatrists should just tell patients it's all in theirr and do pop a smile on your face. Ffs

[GiddyUpCowboy]

I don't know about psychiatrists.

I think psychologists can be a bit hit and miss. They don't have medical training and write people off as mentally ill when they are physically ill.

These people do not have all the answers and can't fix everything, the same as drugs, hit and miss and they don't have all the answers.

[Lilka]

Well what does have the answer to it then, expert?

[Jerboa]

I would love to say what I want to say, but I'd probably be deleted. Emotions and the brain work through hormones and chemicals. These go wrong. I am currently on an anti psychotic and see my psychiatrist regularly. Psychiatrists treat the chemical part of the brain (and imbalances etc;) and it is very real and documented.

[GiddyUpCowboy]

There is no answer, sometimes Dr's and science don't have the answer, and do their best which is not always good enough, then blame the patient for the failures of science/drugs and theory.

[ThefutureMrsTatum]

If psychiatrists can prescribe life changing medication for treatment of mental health illnesses, why is it not a legitimate branch of medicine?

[Rommell]

Lilka, I'm not sure what the answer is. It will take a while to find one, if we ever do, thanks to the damage that psychiatry has brought in terms of talking about the subject. But I do think that the biomedical model of what we call mental illness, with its sinister undertones of social control (jailers posing as nurses etc), is unhelpful in the extreme. More talking, more exploration, more understanding, fewer chemical coshes, the end of compulsion - all of these things would help, but that is mere dressing when the fundamental model is, I think, flawed.

[Amytheflag]

I suppose psychiatrists do as much evaluating as they can when they can't really chop us all open and examine the things they need to see. They don't just guess though. They collect as much information as they can and go from that. Isn't that what most physical diagnoses come from too? The HCP collects as much information as they possibly can.

[Sleepyhoglet]

Yabu. Presumedly you have no medical training whatsoever.

[Lilka]

Giddy I was aiming my comment at OP, not you. Sorry!

[rootypig]

Well then I think you're going to have to supply a lot of clarity and detail in your analysis to support that view.

A very quick look at the Royal College of Psychiatrists' website indicates a profession that is standardised, regulated and audited, and takes the training and development of its members seriously, with heavy emphasis on social context.

www.rcpsych.ac.uk/workinpsychiatry/qualityimprovement/safeguardsandethicalaudit.aspx

[rootypig]

Sorry, meant to post the site map, rather than the audit specifically

www.rcpsych.ac.uk/usingthiswebsite/sitemap.aspx

[ThefutureMrsTatum]

Jerboa I would say it anyway I can't see this thread being here long anyway. Th OP is a misinformed goady twit with no strong evidence to back up her quite frankly derogatory concept of mental illness. The op is the reason stigma around mental health still exists.

[Lilka]

I suspect all our replies and experiences are pointless

Just a classic
"AIBU?"
"Yes, YABU"
"No I'm not!"

[GiddyUpCowboy]

The standards, regulation and auditing of psychiatrists and the like were done 100 years ago I imagine and look at the way people were treated then because theory/drugs and science were so limited. In 100 years society will judge us as being barbaric too.

[Sazzle41]

Its not about a compulsory definition of what is 'well' ! For depression its about being able to cope with whatever makes you unhappy whether its reacting to a situation thats made you so or bipolar which can be genetic. For things like schizophrenia, delusions and hearing voices are not a feature of most peoples life so be definition they are ill as the vast majority of people do not experience these. I am a bit staggered by your opinion to be honest. Have you ever met anyone depressed or bipolar or schizophrenic? I suspect not. Do some reading and googling - please ... its people like you who make sufferers feel isolated and ashamed.

[2teens2tots]

yabvvu