Psychiatrists don't know about suffering

the psychiatric survivor movement is massive in the USA. I've read horror story after horror story. to asert psychiatric abuse doesn't occur in the USA is just plainly wrong.

read "Mad In America" by Robert Whitaker.

Well, I've been labelled with schizophrenia, and talking is still the most important part of my treatment as far as my doc is concerned. In fact, I get to make all the decisions about my treatment.

I think US based people need to realise there is a huge difference between how psychiatry works in the US and how it works in the UK. My doc believes that psychiatry in the US is in a real bad state; that there is serious room for improvement in the UK but it really doesn't compare to the US. I'm inclined to agree with him. I still also believe that even in the US there are some good doctors.

I can say the UK Mental Health service is a bloody discgrace.
Don't know about the US.But I read they are hell bent on Drugging everyone who they see,and all those Poisonus US marteked Psychiatric Drugs eventually end up in Europe

Psyciatrists should learn to prescribe a therapist instead of dangerous drugs.

g.w.bush's screening every american kid for mental illness is frightening. the bush family links to drug companies (eli lilly) is a blatant conflict of interest

http://www.teenscreentruth.com/

the usa leads the world in mental illness.

http://www.mydd.com/story/2005/3/14/15253/7082

As Mexican Immigrants Adapt to American Society, Their Mental Illness Rates Increase Dramatically

http://www.berkeley.edu/news/berkeleyan ... grant.html

the rest of the world looks on with astonishment at the usa obsession with medicalising difference as despondency as disease.

non of the the mental diseases americans claim to have or accuse others of having have ever been scientifically validated. americans live in a world of psychiatric make believe. 2.5 million american children are now on psychiatric drugs for diseases made up by the psychopharmacology industry to sell drugs and make money.

in poorer countries such as india and nigeria people dx as having schizophrenia have recovery rates of 70%. this is without the use of psychiatric drugs. in the usa recovery rates from schizophrenia where antipsychotics are used to treat sz, the recovery rates are only 11%.

america has nothing to be proud of when it comes to mental health.

Prozac 666 wrote:I can say the UK Mental Health service is a bloody discgrace.
Don't know about the US.But I read they are hell bent on Drugging everyone who they see,and all those Poisonus US marteked Psychiatric Drugs eventually end up in Europe

I don't think it's as bad as the US sounds by any means. There are definitely huge problems within the service that need addressing, and if we continue to follow the American model (like screening kids) things will undoubtedly get much worse. But there are also a lot of good things happening in mental health here (at least within my authority) - not least the idea that hospitalisation should be a last resort, that medication isn't the only answer (or even part of the answer most of the time) and some really good initiatives like prescribing books instead of drugs. There's a big emphasis on talking therapies, support groups, and most psychiatric patients are also referred to psychologists, therapists, and community health teams - the psychiatrists don't have sole charge of a patient.

I last saw my psychiatrist a week ago. I don't have another appointment; he asked me what I wanted to do about treatment, about a follow-up appointment, and it's basically been left to me and my keyworker to decide. Patients are given a lot more power here; things are moving in the right direction. Of course it does depend on individual services and authorities, and change is always slow, but it is there.

Most of the professionals I've seen have suffered one way or another; most have a family member or someone close who has had or has now got mental health issues. To say they are always priveleged, out of touch, and have no idea of what it's like to have problems is frankly a bit out of touch itself.

I'm quite happy with the way that it is here in Canada, I hope no disagreements...

I've never had a bad encounter with psychiatry...I hope it stays that way...but no reason for it not too.

Well, I think you have to give psychiatrists credit. They have to listen to alot of people's problems and it must be pretty frustrating to have to listen to some people. And for those complaining about the system, the US does have a population of about 270 million people-of course there's going to be problems in a system this size.

Jess

"Many psychiatrists have had, at least to some degree, the unsettling and bewildering feeling that what they have been doing has been largely worthless and that the premises on which they have based their professional lives were partly fraudulent"

E. Fuller Torrey, M.D., psychiatrist. One of America's most prominant bio-psychiatrists.