What makes ppl become mental health proffestionals?

Over 90% of mh proffestionals including psychiatrists are abnormal in some way, they seem to get off on being sadistic, putting ppl down and maybe trying to make themselves feel better, its not just a few of them are like that, in my experience 90% are like that.
When I was applying for housing department ( a totally separate organization to the mental health service) the housing department actually rang my mother and asked if it was ok if I lived in the same suburb as her, as she thought it might cause difficulties, with me having "mental illness'. What right do they have that was an invasion of privacy and they are meant to be totally confidential in their dealing with ppl looking for low cost housing.
Another example is quite a while ago when I first entered the mh system I asked some questions on sexual abuse to a social worker in the hospital, she told me it was all confidential and would not leave the room. A week later the perpetrator in my family because angry and wanted revenge on me for disclosing this info to a person I thought was a safe person (keep in mind it was the fist time I was in hospital and thought this would be kept confieential). What the social worker said has affected my life and relationship with this person for the last 12 years ive been punished constantly about it, it was even brought up the other day and I was told "you shouldn't have been telling people about that , that is why im so angry at you now". THe punishement is endless, it really is, there have been so many breaks in confidentiality in my experience with mental health its like were treated as non people, sub humans who need to be locked up and have no rights at ALL. THe only t hing mi about me is im a trauma and abuse patient.
The other mh proffestional have said endless and endless putdowns/ condescending/patronizing /rude/ smug things to me since day one, it goes on and on and I don't think I can ever recover from so much trauma.
What sort of ppl take these jobs? so they can act out their needs to boss around put down and abuse ppl that is in a legal way,, while ppl like them are worse, probably abusers themselves who get off on this job.
Does anyone have any thoughts on what attracts ppl to the mental health proffesion?

The mental health field has much to offer those looking for either money or control over another human being in an enclosed/secretive environment. I agree with your 90% claim, more often than not those in the field of psychiatry have an obsession with knowing some ones secrets, controlling them, putting thoughts into there heads, and manipulating them in a way where the most money can be made. Mental patients often are in a position where they cant defend themselves, are suggestible and vulnerable thus are often taken advantage of by a psychiatrist who preys on such character.

My personal observations lead me to believe that many in psychiatry suffer from mental illness themselves, though stable at work, they have hidden agendas governing everything they do in there job. There is also a total lack of empathy, disregard for the patient and when challenged they often become hostile as in a 'how dare you question me' way.


Whats funny, so much of what they preach often applies so well to them. They do a faboules job of projecting there own issues and insecurities onto the patient. One who preaches "well sir because you had father bonding issues its why you feel vulnerable" often describes what happened to him. One who says you are 'bipolar and easily become hypo-manic in a hectic social situation' often is describing what the particular doctor has an issue with.

Im sorry about your situation though. Run from the troubled ones.

I think they are nazi's like actually do;t know or are hypnotized by the big monstor about doing service to the good of humanity according to the engineered protocol....so they think they have good feelings about their jobs and they are rewarded gratefully for doing their jobs in getting people admitted for psychiatrists and the public back them up..Its a very secretive industry like the patients and families are only educated the official #######4 about the patient and inducted into lowered status and stigma in even adopting this attitude to themselfves and forget their knoweldgeor any ability to remember having knowledge after the drugs get to you with life long contedners to be told that the affects of the drugs are symptoms by everyone, they all bow down to the mdeical model..perhaps their is some prestige in service of this kind like I t would be for many Nazis, we're dealing with a cult.

3 bad experiences with psychiatrists. I'm a retired (close to 33 years) clinical psychologist. I worked for the Veterans Administration and retired as soon as I could. While working, I had a broad experience with psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, therapists, etc.

I have had patients tell me I helped them. I have had patients tell me other professionals in mental health have helped them. And I have had patients tell me the reverse. My best estimate from my failing memory is that more told me they were helped than those saying not helped or even made worse.

I started to believe before I retired, and believe more strongly now, that the medical approach to mental illness does not work well. I also believe that the side effects of giving psychiatric and sleeping medication may be worse than the problems bringing people to psychiatric professionals.

In my topic, "I'm frustrated..." I and some others write about other approaches to working on the problems that people take to psychiatrists, etc. It soon should be moved to the Anti-Psychiatry Forum, which is just below Living With Mental Illness in the General Forum (see above).

You three describing your bad experiences might take a look at my topic, perhaps even try the non-medicine taking ways described there. Should you do so, I hope you will also post your results, good and/or bad, there. I will reply. In any case, good luck to all of you.

Oh yes, I was attracted by a number of things: one was the idea I might help people, another was a occupational survey there would be a shortage of Ph. D. clinical psychologists for more than 20 years---time enough to get the Ph.D. and get well established in the field. Admiration for psych profs played a role. Enjoyment of the courses too. And I had to choose a major to graduate in 4 years. Psychology seemed the best of the available alternatives. I could go on, but the above is enough to give some idea of the variety of factors leading people to become mental health professionals.

I beueve that the medical approach to mental illness does not work well. I also believe that the side effects of giving psychiatric and sleeping medication may be worse than the problems bringing people to psychiatric professionals.

In my topic, "I'm frustrated..." I and some others write about other approaches to working on the problems that people take to psychiatrists, etc. It soon should be moved to the Anti-Psychiatry Forum, which is just below Living With Mental Illness in the General Forum (see above).

You three describing your bad experiences might take a look at my topic, perhaps even try the non-medicine taking ways described there. Should you do so, I hope you will also post your results, good and/or bad, there. I will reply. In any case, good luck to all of you.

I've never seen a controlling psychiatrist or mental health professional in all my time in the mental health system (and that goes way back to early childhood). All y'all seem to run into the worst. My guess is that a lot of anti-psych is fueled by people who survived very bad experiences with some professionals who were not so professional, and that's unfortunate, but they shouldn't generalize this to everybody.

It's just like with cops. I know there are bad cops out there, but I've never run into them. All my experiences with police have been positive; granted, I am white, middle-class and can appear "normal" at first glance.

beneficii wrote:I've never seen a controlling psychiatrist or mental health professional in all my time in the mental health system (and that goes way back to early childhood). All y'all seem to run into the worst. My guess is that a lot of anti-psych is fueled by people who survived very bad experiences with some professionals who were not so professional, and that's unfortunate, but they shouldn't generalize this to everybody.

It's just like with cops. I know there are bad cops out there, but I've never run into them. All my experiences with police have been positive; granted, I am white, middle-class and can appear "normal" at first glance.

I don't know many people who've experienced the mental health system in just about any country who haven't seen mental health professionals controlling others, and people who control others and are attracted to the controlling professions certainly don't dislike controlling others, (and in my opinion derive satisfaction from it) otherwise they would never have taken up such a job, or would quit as soon as they started to feel revulsion in relation to their responsibilities to control others. Maybe you see an autonomous practitioner who is not legally empowered and obliged to coerce people, or the laws where you live don't confer such powers. People who like to control others gravitate towards the controlling professions, and state psychiatry is the quintessence of a controlling profession. This is not about making generalizations.

You talk about good and bad psychiatrists, yet psychiatrists are really only as good or bad as the laws regulating their conduct, be it the laws of society, or the laws of the workplace, and are also only as good or bad as the values and ideas they have been nurtured on through their education, and which they must espouse and uphold to get a career in the profession, cement it, and advance it, otherwise they will come under either great social-psychological strain to conform or simply won't get/keep their job, and may be liable to prosecution. Obviously I am referring here to non-autonomous practitioners, who are agents of the state and the community, whose interests they must prioritize regardless, when the foregoing's and the patient's interests are at variance with each other.

Are we talking specific roles here? What about the peer movement? They would be considered mental health workers yet they are there specifically to work with, not for the person they serve.

What makes ppl become mental health proffestionals?

I think they get fascinated with the "science" of psychiatry at first ,the brain chemicals and "receptors" that take the blame for every thing.

Let the thread continue....

Cheze2 wrote:Are we talking specific roles here? What about the peer movement? They would be considered mental health workers yet they are there specifically to work with, not for the person they serve.

Cheze2 wrote:Are we talking specific roles here? What about the peer movement? They would be considered mental health workers yet they are there specifically to work with, not for the person they serve.

At no point did I mention in that second paragraph the umbrella label of "mental health workers". I was referring to psychiatrists. When talking of non-autonomous practitioners, I was referring to psychiatrists, not the peer movement.