I realize this thread ignites a lot of passionate controversy. Conflicting opinions are a good thing; they spur conversation, debate, and increase understanding of an issue. I know this from experience, as I feel very conflicted about psychiatry. My conflict, however, stems from a very specific set of circumstances that are unique to me. Far be it from me to vilify an entire profession because my mother, a psychologist, diagnosed me herself with various forms of depression and anxiety when I was nine years old, in 4th grade. I'd been bullied for two years and was becoming withdrawn and, frankly, felt very sad and confused about it. What child wouldn't feel this way? However, by the time I was twenty years old, I'd been on several dozen different psychiatric medications, from mood stabilizers to anxiolytics to MAOIs to anti-psychotics and anti-depressants, stimulants, nootropics and AEDs, etc. etc.
I came to hate medications.
But what I actually felt discord with, I've come to realize, was how medication came to be implemented in my life and the drastically limited extent to which I had been made aware that my internal chemistry, as well as my expressive personality, was being tinkered with. Even if I had been made aware, at age nine I'm quite sure I wouldn't have understood one bit of what would have been said to me.
And from what I'm reading, those who, for whatever reason, never found a psychiatrist that worked WITH them and with whom they never developed a good therapeutic relationship are those who are adamant that the entire field of psychiatry is an abomination - designed to "fix" the "broken" and augment the stocks of big business. The causal relationship, however, just isn't there. There ARE, however, psychiatrists that owe their well-being and professional livelihood to collaborating with pharmaceutical industries. They are moral defects abusing the system (for any system that can be exploited eventually will be exploited) and therefore can not be seen as representative of psychiatry itself.
Those who have found a psychiatrist with whom they have developed a strong relationship based on mutual respect appear to be more open to the concept that, wherein psychiatric intervention and medication management is actually appropriate (operative word right there!), medications can truly help those in need. There are heaps of studies whose funding is independent of the pharmaceutical industry marketing the drug that support, through neuroscientific/neuropsychological paradigms, the legitimacy and efficacy of many of the drugs on the market today.
One important problem, of course, is the greed that pervades most of the corporate pharmaceutical industry. The amount of money to be made is simply staggering. Sickening, in fact. I disagree with pharma companies having anything whatsoever to do with drug studies, and also believe they ought to be banned from advertising mind- and body-altering drugs in periodicals and television commercials, just like tobacco.
Another problem is mis- or over-diagnosing of problems. The APA (American Psychological Association)'s biggest Achilles Heel is its own coveted DSM. The DSM is useful for ruling out certain mental illnesses, and can also be very useful for targeting specific disorders and providing differentiation between two or more similar diagnoses. However, it is far from iron-clad and doctors that consider themselves diagnosticians would do well to reconsider their methods if all they go by are DSM IV-TR criteria in determining what is best for their patient. I asked a co-worker of mine, a neuropsychologist and family therapist, what he thought of the DSM; he stated that he thought it was very helpful for presenting possibilities, but that a good diagnostician (and he is a very, very good one) uses their intuition and years of experience to make diagnoses and then suggest possible treatment options. The problem is, the field is riddled with doctors who've misplaced their years of learning potential by putting blind faith in the criteria set forth in the DSM and not taking into account other variable factors and confounds. This is extremely frustrating, both to the patient and the community at large. Such rampant mis-diagnoses spur resentment towards psychiatry from the general public and clouds people's abilities to see the virtues that medication management can have for those who need it.
I am biased, however, in my perspectives - not because I have an agenda, but because I have worked in acute psychiatric hospitals and residential treatment facilities for clients with autism and behavioral disorders, and have seen first-hand the extremely positive effect medication can have for those with true mental disorders.
You can't understand how medication might help someone with Borderline Personality Disorder who, after punching and biting you in a wave of confusion thinking you're satan, finds the right medication and, last you heard, was stable and heading to college in a month. The turnaround can be remarkable.
Do I think as many people need to be treated by psychiatrists as are currently these days? Absolutely not. My personal story is one of thousands just like it. Additionally, many people willfully seek medication as a quick-fix to long term problems. It doesn't surprise me that the United States of America consumes something like 25% of the world's prescription pain medication, and neither does it surprise me that we have such high rates of diagnosis of depression and anxiety that are being treated with drugs. One culture can be very dissimilar to another, and we are no exception!
Lastly, where did this notion of people being "FORCED" to take medication come from? The only forced psychiatric medication implementation I know of is for chronically mentally ill people who are incapable of or refuse to take their medication themselves and who, without it, are established dangers to themselves or others. This occurs in psychiatric units. If someone in the general population makes an appointment with a doctor, is prescribed a medication, and begins taking it, they are under no obligation to continue the treatment against their will. I have no idea where that idea sprouted from, but its crucial that it be debunked!
