How to better the MH system.

There are a number of things the profession can do to offer better services to its customers. IMO, these are some of them.

-- Perhaps only psychiatrists should be allowed to engage in psychoanalytical therapy. It is just to easy for someone to become a 'therapist'. A therapy license should require the same rigorous education and training as those who become psychiatrists.

-- MH professionals should be paid by salary, not volume. Too many psychiatrists and 'therapists' cram as many people as possible into as short a timeslot as possible to maximize profit.

-- Greater accountability. There really is no accountability in the MH profession or system. In short, outside of gross violations, nobody has to answer to anyone. In the case of a general practicioner, for instance, if a doctor screws up a diganosis or hands out medications that are incompatible with a patient and it causes the problem to worsen, they get sued. In the MH profession, they simply brush it asside.

-- Too many 'therapists' have problems themselves and should not be working in the field. The field is going to attract those with problems, sometimes with problems as bad as those they 'treat.' If you don't have your own house together, how do you expect to help fix someone elses?

-- Given the above, all therapists applying to be licensed should be required to udergo psycholigical exmanations to identify any of these problems. The blind should not attempt to lead the blind.

-- At minimum, any therapists should be require to posess a PhD in psychoanalytical therapy and have undergone two years of an internship under the supevision of a competant leader.

-- Therapists should have exposure to, and education in, more than one particular approach during an internship. Too many therapists are cult-like in their devotion to one particular method of therapy and fail to understand one size does not fit all.

-- The NIMH should have a hotline where patients can report what they feel are poor services by doctors or therapists. This information should be publically available to everyone.

-- Therapists should be forced to take a bi-annual competancy exam covering various areas of therapy and new issues.

-- University departments should have more stringent standards for admission to these programs that only accept the brightest of applicants. Graduation requirements should include one year of hard sciences--chemistry, physics, and electives. Too many therapists are dim bulbs. Do you want someone playing with your head that cannot pass an elementary physics course? Physics will weed out those trying to play poker with half a deck.

-- More patients rights. Therapists have too much power and some will abuse this if you tick them off. It should not be their word against yours when it comes to trying to have someone put into the hopsital. It is hard to argue as you are the 'crazy' patient, they are the 'respected' therapist. The potential for abuse is too strong and they do abuse this at times.

-- Recruit more men through incentives like scholarships. The therapy profession is stacked with women, many of whom I have found have hostility towards men and are outright liberal feminists on a mission. I even once had a therapist angrily tell me, "Men dont come to therapy because they are weak when it comes to expressing themselves."

-- Revoke the license of any MH professional who ever tells a patient under their care, "Why can't you just get over it and move on with your life?"

-- There should be a law that if they can charge you for cancelling an appointment in less than 24 hours, they should credit you for appointments they cancel within 24 hours because their kid is sick, they are sick, or their car broke down. Our time is important too. Our cars break down, we get sick too. Once, years ago, I even showed up for an appointment after taking time off work and they had mis-scheduled me. They admitted the mistake but did nothing. If I did not meet an appointment schedule and didnt compensate them, they would sick their lawyer on me for payment.

-- Every in-patient hopsital for mental health should have a patient rights advocate stationed on duty at all times. This individual should be independant of any group or orgnaization and be there as a means to counter abuse of power that often takes place in the institutions. If someone gets mistreated or abused by staff in any way, they should be able to file a complaint as it happens. I once had a orderly threaten to lock me down in the padding cell if I didnt go to bed. I couldnt sleep and kept getting up to walk in the hall. He was upset because he was distracted from his TV program. Of course, he denied he said that the next day. The fact is, he would have done this and I know he did it to others.

One other time, I did not want to take a bath, which was mandatory every other day. I refused. I did not want to and said I am an adult and will decide when I bathe. The orderly told me I would either go take the bath now or he would pick me up and throw me in the tub.

Also, if you have no family or close friends, like me, nobody can check up on you and make sure you are treated right. They know this and understand there is nothing you can do to fight back.

For the most part, in private hospitals, you are treated somehwat like a human, although a defected one. The food is alright and the staff wears clean clothes. In public hospitals, its a zoo. The food is fit for zoo animals(hotdogs buns with mold, oatmeal that is burned and tastes like charcoal, dead flies in vegetables etc) and the workers look like they just gout out of the penitentiary. It adds to the experience as you feel like you are in one. They treat you like garbage, unless a realtive is around. If they know you have nobody that visits you, they will be more inclined to mistreat you.

Since you have 'problems', good luck in getting anyone to listen to a complaint the way things are now. Staff will simply say you were crazy or make up any story that of course you cannot defend against. They will just pass it off as ramblings of someone crazy. Who will they believe? You or the staff?

In short, the system is stacked against the patient and biased towards the MH worker. There is great potential for abuse and it does occur. Having been hopsitalized five times in my life, I have seen it. It is a multi-billion dollar industry with little oversight, accountability, and standards of treatment. When there is much profit to be made, there will always be shennanigans and abuse. There are some decent people in the system but there are also some very bad people who do not belong there. There are people who will lie, distort, and manipulate those who cannot defend themselves. There are also therapists who are just as crazy as you are and have no business being anywhere near the profession.

I have decades of extensive experience with the MH system and have seen it all -- the good and the bad. To those who say there are no bad therapists etc, there is no abuse, and all therapists do the right thing, I say you need to wake up.

I agree with many of your suggestions.

Many of them could apply to practicioners of physical medicine.

As a "consumer" one should always investigate the salesperson's credentials, mind-set, etc.

The first visit to a health care provider should be not only an interview of the patient and symptoms, but also an interview of the doctor by the patient. Doctors should incourage this in order to better know their patient.

Moss

Psychiatrists don't know enough to do psychoanalytical therapy. They are educated in the biology of our system. They spend very little time, relatively speaking, learning to do psychotherapy. Psychologists could be better trained to do so.

if you need medicine for mental health issues i would suggest just go to a general practitioner.

the thing is people say you can judge a society how it treats it's most helpless. we spend tons of money on the helpless but they're still treated terribly.

put a hat and bow tie on it (this is how congress works)