DOCSLIB.ORG

The Brutal Reality: Harmful Psychiatric “Treatments”

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text

Load more

CCHR_ECT CVR R25-1.ps 10/22/04 8:22 AM Page 1 With electroshock treatment, “there is a lot of brain damage, there is memory loss, the death rate does go up, the suicide rate doesn’t go down. [I]f those are the facts from a very well-designed, big study, then you’d have to conclude we shouldn’t do ECT. … I don’t see why we would want to keep doing it. It doesn’t make sense to me.” —Dr. Colin Ross Texas psychiatrist and author, 2004 THE BRUTAL REALITY Harmful Psychiatric ‘Treatments’ Report and recommendations on the destructive practices of electroshock and psychosurgery Published by Citizens Commission on Human Rights Established in 1969 CCHR_ECT CVR R25-2.ps 10/22/04 8:23 AM Page 2 Citizens Commission on Human Rights RAISING PUBLIC AWARENESS ducation is a vital part of any initiative to reverse becoming educated on the truth about psychiatry, and that social decline. CCHR takes this responsibility very something effective can and should be done about it. IMPORTANT NOTICE Eseriously. Through the broad dissemination of CCHR’s publications—available in 15 languages— CCHR’s Internet site, books, newsletters and other show the harmful impact of psychiatry on racism, educa- For the Reader publications, more and more patients, families, tion, women, justice, drug rehabilitation, morals, the elderly, professionals, lawmakers and countless others are religion, and many other areas. A list of these includes: he psychiatric profession purports to be know the causes or cures for any mental disorder the sole arbiter on the subject of mental or what their “treatments” specifically do to the THE REAL CRISIS—In Mental Health Today CHILD DRUGGING—Psychiatry Destroying Lives health and “diseases” of the mind. The patient. They have only theories and conflicting Report and recommendations on the lack of science and Report and recommendations on fraudulent psychiatric T results within the mental health industry diagnosis and the enforced drugging of youth facts, however, demonstrate otherwise: opinions about their diagnoses and methods, and are lacking any scientific basis for these. As a past MASSIVE FRAUD—Psychiatry’s Corrupt Industry HARMING YOUTH—Psychiatry Destroys Young Minds 1. PSYCHIATRIC “DISORDERS” ARE NOT MEDICAL president of the World Psychiatric Association Report and recommendations on a criminal mental Report and recommendations on harmful mental health DISEASES. In medicine, strict criteria exist for stated, “The time when psychiatrists considered health monopoly assessments, evaluations and programs within our schools calling a condition a disease: a predictable group that they could cure the mentally ill is gone. In of symptoms and the cause of the symptoms or the future, the mentally ill have to learn to live PSYCHIATRIC HOAX—The Subversion of Medicine COMMUNITY RUIN—Psychiatry’s Coercive ‘Care’ Report and recommendations on psychiatry’s destructive Report and recommendations on the failure of community an understanding of their physiology (function) with their illness.” impact on health care mental health and other coercive psychiatric programs must be proven and established. Chills and fever are symptoms. Malaria and typhoid are diseases. 4. THE THEORY THAT MENTAL DISORDERS PSEUDOSCIENCE—Psychiatry’s False Diagnoses HARMING ARTISTS—Psychiatry Ruins Creativity Diseases are proven to exist by objective evidence DERIVE FROM A “CHEMICAL IMBALANCE” IN Report and recommendations on the unscientific fraud Report and recommendations on psychiatry assaulting the arts and physical tests. Yet, no mental “diseases” have THE BRAIN IS UNPROVEN OPINION, NOT FACT. perpetrated by psychiatry UNHOLY ASSAULT—Psychiatry versus Religion ever been proven to medically exist. One prevailing psychiatric theory (key to SCHIZOPHRENIA—Psychiatry’s For Profit ‘Disease’ Report and recommendations on psychiatry’s subversion of psychotropic drug sales) is that mental disorders Report and recommendations on psychiatric lies and religious belief and practice 2. PSYCHIATRISTS DEAL EXCLUSIVELY WITH result from a chemical imbalance in the brain. false diagnosis ERODING JUSTICE—Psychiatry’s Corruption of Law MENTAL “DISORDERS,” NOT PROVEN DISEASES. As with its other theories, there is no biological THE BRUTAL REALITY—Harmful Psychiatric ‘Treatments’ Report and recommendations on psychiatry subverting the While mainstream physical medicine treats or other evidence to prove this. Representative Report and recommendations on the destructive practices of courts and corrective services diseases, psychiatry can only deal with of a large group of medical and biochemistry electroshock and psychosurgery “disorders.” In the absence of a known cause or experts, Elliot Valenstein, Ph.D., author of ELDERLY ABUSE—Cruel Mental Health Programs PSYCHIATRIC RAPE—Assaulting Women and Children physiology, a group of symptoms seen in many Blaming the Brain says: “[T]here are no tests Report and recommendations on psychiatry abusing seniors Report and recommendations on widespread sex crimes different patients is called a disorder or syndrome. available for assessing the chemical status of against patients within the mental health system Harvard Medical School’s Joseph Glenmullen, a living person’s brain.” CHAOS & TERROR—Manufactured by Psychiatry M.D., says that in psychiatry, “all of its diagnoses DEADLY RESTRAINTS—Psychiatry’s ‘Therapeutic’ Assault Report and recommendations on the role of psychiatry in international terrorism are merely syndromes [or disorders], clusters of 5. THE BRAIN IS NOT THE REAL CAUSE Report and recommendations on the violent and dangerous use of restraints in mental health facilities symptoms presumed to be related, not diseases.” OF LIFE’S PROBLEMS. People do experience CREATING RACISM—Psychiatry’s Betrayal As Dr. Thomas Szasz, professor of psychiatry problems and upsets in life that may result in PSYCHIATRY—Hooking Your World on Drugs Report and recommendations on psychiatry causing racial emeritus, observes, “There is no blood or other mental troubles, sometimes very serious. But Report and recommendations on psychiatry creating today’s conflict and genocide biological test to ascertain the presence or to represent that these troubles are caused by drug crisis CITIZENS COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS absence of a mental illness, as there is for most incurable “brain diseases” that can only be REHAB FRAUD—Psychiatry’s Drug Scam The International Mental Health Watchdog bodily diseases.” alleviated with dangerous pills is dishonest, Report and recommendations on methadone and other harmful and often deadly. Such drugs are disastrous psychiatric drug ‘rehabilitation’ programs 3. PSYCHIATRY HAS NEVER ESTABLISHED THE often more potent than a narcotic and capable CAUSE OF ANY “MENTAL DISORDERS.” Leading of driving one to violence or suicide. They mask WARNING: No one should stop taking any psychiatric drug without the psychiatric agencies such as the World Psychiatric the real cause of problems in life and debilitate advice and assistance of a competent, non-psychiatric, medical doctor. Association and the U.S. National Institute of the individual, so denying him or her the oppor- Mental Health admit that psychiatrists do not tunity for real recovery and hope for the future. This publication was made possible by a grant from the United States International Association of Scientologists Members’ Trust. Published as a public service by the Citizens Commission on Human Rights CCHR in the United States is a non-profit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) public benefit corporation recognized by the Internal Revenue Service. PHOTO CREDITS: Page 10: AP Wide World Photos; page 19: Shooting Star; page 19: AP Wide World Photos; page 19: Shooting Star; page 20: Jose Luis Pelaez/Corbis © 2004 CCHR. All Rights Reserved. CITIZENS COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS, CCHR and the CCHR logo are trademarks and service marks owned by Citizens Commission on Human Rights. Printed in the U.S.A. Item #18905-1 CCHR_ECT-1.ps 10/18/04 2:56 PM Page 1 THE BRUTAL REALITY Harmful Psychiatric ‘Treatments’ CONTENTS Introduction: Destroying Lives ............................2 Chapter One: Deadly Electrical Assault ................5 Chapter Two: Devastating Effects ........................9 Chapter Three: Human Butchery Still in Use ........15 Chapter Four: Provide Help, Not Harm ..............21 Recommendations ......................23 Citizens Commission on Human Rights International ........24 ® CCHR_ECT_R1-2.ps 10/17/04 9:07 PM Page 2 INTRODUCTIONDestroying Lives lectroshock treatment—also known as electro- is not mentioned in conversations to convince the convulsive therapy (ECT)—and psycho- unwilling or unsuspecting. surgery “treatments” are reportedly trying to And, as Conchita Garcia [a pseudonym] would stage a comeback. Yet, since their inception, attest, if all else fails, psychiatrists will readily resort to these procedures have been dogged by con- coercion or fear to extract “consent” for treatment. Eflict between the ECT psychiatrists who swear by them, In 2001, Conchita consulted a psychiatrist for her and the multitudes of victims and families of victims depression and was prescribed psychiatric drugs. After whose lives have been completely ruined by them. experiencing uncontrollable body movements—the direct So who is telling the truth? Anyone who has seen result of drug-induced damage to her nervous system— and been sickened by a recording of an actual ECT or the psychiatrist recommended ECT. She refused, but psychosurgery procedure when later admitted to the knows the answer too well. “Despite
Recommended publications
  • Psychiatry and the Nobel Prize: Emil Kraepelin's

    Psychiatry and the Nobel Prize: Emil Kraepelin's

    TRAMES, 2016, 20(70/65), 4, 393–401 PSYCHIATRY AND THE NOBEL PRIZE: EMIL KRAEPELIN’S NOBELIBILITY Nils Hansson, Thorsten Halling, and Heiner Fangerau Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf Abstract. This paper gives an overview of runner-up candidates in the field of psychiatry for the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine and provides a detailed account of the Nobel Prize nominations for Emil Kraepelin. Kraepelin was nominated for the Nobel Prize on at least eight occasions from 1909 to 1926. Among the sponsors, we find psychiatrists and neurologists such as Robert Gaupp, Ernst Meyer, Eugen Bleuler, Oswald Bumke, Giovanni Mingazzini, and Wilhelm Weygandt. Portraying Kraepelin as a Nestor of psychiatry, the nominators meant that his work was of theoretical importance and that they also liberated the way for new areas of research. However, the proposals remained half- hearted and lacked clear practical results or solid evidence, which in the end weakened Kraepelin’s Nobelibility, i.e. his eligibility for the award. Keywords: Emil Kraepelin, psychiatry, Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine, history of psychiatry, schizophrenia, manic-depressive psychosis DOI: 10.3176/tr.2016.4.05 1. Introduction In 1910, Emil Kraepelin was invited to nominate a scholar for the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine. He replied to the Nobel Committee: “After receiving the invitation, I contacted colleagues in other medical fields for advice, because as it seems, no researcher in my field can possibly compete for such an honourable award” (Nobel archive (NA), Kraepelin yearbook 1910). It is speculative whether Kraepelin implied that “no other researcher in my field but me” should resonate in the mind of the readers, but his reply reveals three aspects of medicine and science associated with questions of personal achievements and reputation which will be investigated further in this paper.
  • Context Study for the Hawaii State Hospital DAGS Job No

    Context Study for the Hawaii State Hospital DAGS Job No

    Context Study for the Hawaii State Hospital Prepared for the Department of Health Contracted by the Department of Accounting and General Services DAGS Job No. 12-20-2701 Prepared by: Mason Architects, Inc. February 2018 Table of Contents Project Team ........................................................................................................................................................ 1 Statement of Project Objectives and Background ............................................................................................... 1 Methodology ....................................................................................................................................................... 2 Historical Overview............................................................................................................................................. 3 Building Survey ................................................................................................................................................. 27 Architectural Types ........................................................................................................................................... 33 Historic Evaluation ............................................................................................................................................ 38 Bibliography ...................................................................................................................................................... 40 Appendices .......................................................................................................................................................
  • History of Psychosurgery at Sainte-Anne Hospital, Paris, France, Through Translational Interactions Between Psychiatrists and Neurosurgeons

    History of Psychosurgery at Sainte-Anne Hospital, Paris, France, Through Translational Interactions Between Psychiatrists and Neurosurgeons

    NEUROSURGICAL FOCUS Neurosurg Focus 43 (3):E9, 2017 History of psychosurgery at Sainte-Anne Hospital, Paris, France, through translational interactions between psychiatrists and neurosurgeons *Marc Zanello, MD, MSc,1,2,6 Johan Pallud, MD, PhD,1,2,6 Nicolas Baup, MD, PhD,3 Sophie Peeters, MSc,1 Baris Turak, MD,1,6 Marie Odile Krebs, MD, PhD,3,4,6 Catherine Oppenheim, MD, PhD,2,5,6 Raphael Gaillard, MD, PhD,3,4,6 and Bertrand Devaux, MD1,6 1Neurosurgery Department, 3Department of Psychiatry, Service Hospitalo-Universitaire, and 5Neuroradiology Department, Sainte-Anne Hospital; 2IMABRAIN, INSERM U894, and 4Laboratoire de Physiopathologie des Maladies Psychiatriques, Centre de Psychiatrie et Neurosciences, UMR S894; and 6University Paris Descartes, Paris, France Sainte-Anne Hospital is the largest psychiatric hospital in Paris. Its long and fascinating history began in the 18th centu- ry. In 1952, it was at Sainte-Anne Hospital that Jean Delay and Pierre Deniker used the first neuroleptic, chlorpromazine, to cure psychiatric patients, putting an end to the expansion of psychosurgery. The Department of Neuro-psychosurgery was created in 1941. The works of successive heads of the Neurosurgery Department at Sainte-Anne Hospital summa- rized the history of psychosurgery in France. Pierre Puech defined psychosurgery as the necessary cooperation between neurosurgeons and psychiatrists to treat the conditions causing psychiatric symptoms, from brain tumors to mental health disorders. He reported the results of his series of 369 cases and underlined the necessity for proper follow-up and postoperative re-education, illustrating the relative caution of French neurosurgeons concerning psychosurgery. Marcel David and his assistants tried to follow their patients closely postoperatively; this resulted in numerous publica- tions with significant follow-up and conclusions.
  • Mental Health

    Mental Health

    BRITISH JOURNAL OF PSYCH IAT RY ( 1007). 191 ( s upp l. 50 ), 171 -177. d ol: I0 .1191/ b j p . 191.5 0 .s71 REVIEW ARTICLE Schizophrenia outcome measures in the wider including clinical symptoms and their im­ provement, and social functioning, espe­ cially the ability to relate to people and international community performance at work (including employ­ ment, housework and tasks). Cognitive MOHAN ISAAC , PRABHAT CHAND and PRAT I MA MURT HY function, family burden and quality of life are other outcome measures. Outcome is also influenced by the course of schizo­ phrenia. The possible contribution of fac­ tors to the good prognosis observed in low- and middle-income countries is shown in the Appendix. Background Outcome of Schizophrenia may have a better outcome schizophrenia has been described as in low- and middle-income countries. The initial evidence for this came from the Inter­ Clinical symptoms favourable in low- and middle-income national Pilot Study of Schizophrenia (!PSS; The Present State Examination-9 (PSE-9; countries. Recently. researchers have World Health Organization, 1979) and was Wing et al, 1974) has been used as the mea­ questioned these findings. further strengthened by rwo subsequent sure of clinical symptoms at baseline and studies, the Determinants of Outcome of during follow-up in almost all long-term Aims To examine the outcome studies Severe Mental Disorders (DoSMED; studies from low- and middle-income coun­ carried out in different countries Jablensky et al, 1992) and the recently con­ tries. The PSE-9 assesses 140 symptoms specifically looking at those from low- and cluded International Study on Schizo­ grouped into 36 syndromes and measures phrenia (ISoS; Harrison et al, 2001).
  • Telemedicine for Treating Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders: Reflections Since the Pandemic

    Telemedicine for Treating Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders: Reflections Since the Pandemic

    www.nature.com/npp COMMENT Telemedicine for treating mental health and substance use disorders: reflections since the pandemic Neuropsychopharmacology (2021) 46:1068–1070; https://doi.org/10.1038/s41386-021-00960-4 INTRODUCTION telemedicine deployment in MH/SUD care are an important Since the United States COVID-19 pandemic emergency began, observation. This is because an often stated policy goal of telemedicine use has accelerated [1]. Prior to the pandemic, mental telemedicine is to improve access to care, particularly for patients health and/or substance use disorder (MH/SUD) care delivered by who lack geographic access to clinicians qualified to treat their telemedicine had been increasing but infrequently used—in fewer illness—for example, rural patients [12, 13]. Furthermore, MH/SUDs than 1% of visits [2, 3]. In contrast, in early October 2020, 41% of are considered to be particularly amenable to care via telemedi- MH/SUD visits were conducted via telemedicine [4]. The rapid cine, relative to other health care conditions; for example, earlier increase in telemedicine during the pandemic was enabled by research on the diffusion of telemedicine in Medicare found that sweeping temporary changes in federal and state regulations and nearly 80% of telemedicine visits were for mental health conditions health plan reimbursement policies that reduced longstanding [14]. However, there are some patients for whom the use of barriers. These changes included federal relaxation of HIPAA telemedicine, particularly video visits, poses significant barriers. compliance for telemedicine, removal of the requirement for an The “digital divide” affects many patients who are in groups that initial in-person appointment to prescribe buprenorphine (prohib- are already underserved—such as racial or ethnic minorities, those 1234567890();,: ited under the Ryan Haight Act), Medicare coverage for audio- in poverty, and the elderly [15–17].
  • Curriculum Vitae

    Curriculum Vitae

    CURRICULUM VITAE Colleen M. Seifert Department of Psychology University of Michigan 530 Church Street Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1043 (734) 763-0210 [email protected] 12/1/20 Education Yale University, Ph.D. in Psychology, 1987 Yale University, M.A. in Psychology, 1984; M. Phil. in Psychology, 1985 Gustavus Adolphus College, B.A. in Psychology, Magna cum laude, 1980 Professional Experience Arthur F. Thurnau Professor, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 2011- Faculty Affiliate, Research Center for Group Dynamics, Institute for Social Research, 2009- Faculty Affiliate, Design Science Interdisciplinary Graduate Program, 2007- Professor, Department of Psychology, 2001- Adjunct Professor, School of Information, 1998-2009 Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, 1994-2001 Faculty Affiliate, Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, 1988-2000 Visiting Professor, Psychology and Computer Science, Northwestern University, 1997 Visiting Professor, Peking University, Beijing, China, October and November, 1994 Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, 1988-1994 Postdoctoral Fellow, UCSD, and Navy Personnel Research & Development Center, 1987-1988 Instructor, Departments of Computer Science and Psychology, Yale University, 1985-1987 Honors and Awards Golden Apple Award Nominee, campus-wide award organized by students to recognize exceptional teaching, 2020 Best Paper Award, CHI '20: Proceedings of the 2020 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 2020 Individual Award for Outstanding Contributions to Undergraduate Education, College of Literature,
  • THE REAL CRISIS in Mental Health Today

    THE REAL CRISIS in Mental Health Today

    THE REAL CRISIS In Mental Health Today CONTENTS Introduction: Psychiatry’s Lack of Science ................................. 2 Chapter One: The Drugging of Our Children ......... 5 Chapter Two: Harmful Psychiatric Labeling ......................... 11 Chapter Three: Coercive ‘Care’ in Psychiatry.......................... 15 Chapter Four: Psychiatry’s Destructive ‘Treatments’ ................ 21 Chapter Five: Better Solutions .............................. 29 Recommendations .......................... 31 Citizens Commission on Human Rights International ........... 32 ® INTRODUCTION Psychiatry’s Lack of Science ow concerned should we be Professor Edward Shorter, author of about reports that mental illness A History of Psychiatry, stated, “Rather than has become an epidemic striking heading off into the brave new world of science, one out of every four people in DSM-IV-style psychiatry seemed in some ways the world today? According to the to be heading out into the desert.”2 Hsource of these alarming reports — the psychiatric We formulated this report and its recommen- industry — mental illness threatens to engulf dations for those with responsibility in deciding us all and can only be checked by immediate the funding and fate of mental health programs and massive increases in funding. They warn and insurance coverage, including legislators and of the disastrous effects of withheld appropria- other decision makers charged with the task of ROHIT ADI, M.D.: MARY JO PAGEL, M.D.: Dr. Adi is a diplomate of the Dr. Pagel graduated from the American Board of Internal University of Texas Medical Branch Medicine. He has been with honors in cardiology. She is a practicing emergency medicine specialist in internal medicine and since 1993 and now serves as the preventative and industrial medicine, assistant director of a trauma cen- and is medical director of a medi- ter that handles 72,000 patients cal clinic.
  • Electro-Convulsive Therapy, History, and the Politics of Museum Display

    Electro-Convulsive Therapy, History, and the Politics of Museum Display

    A Tale of Two Objects: Electro-Convulsive Therapy, History, and the Politics of Museum Display James Bradley This essay offers a biography of two Electro-Convulsive Therapy (ECT) machines: the Bini-Cerletti machine used for the very first shock treatments and now housed in the History of Medicine Museum, Rome; and a machine from Adelaide based upon H.M. Birch’s original design and used to give the first shock treatments in Australia. In discussing these objects, I take a number of steps. Firstly, a short history of ECT introduces the major debates around the therapy and its history. Secondly, the machines are positioned within this history. Thirdly, the machines’ function within the galleries is discussed. Finally, I ask how these objects might be presented in a way that better reflects their history and the history of psychiatry more generally. Keywords: electro-convulsive therapy, material culture, museums and display, history of psychiatry, technology and innovation Objects and their Lives The subjects of this essay are two early Electro-Convulsive Therapy (ECT) machines that are now museum exhibits. In particular, it presents the machines as objects of material culture, revealing significant contours of the cultural domains of psychiatry and museums. It is, therefore, about the people to which these machines were connected, figuratively and literally, and the work that they did as therapeutic devices and now do as exhibits in museums. In effect, it presents a biography of the two objects. The first of the machines is the original. Designed and built by Ugo Cerletti’s team (notably Lucio Bini), it is now exhibited in the Museo di Storia della Medicina (History of Medicine Museum) at Sapienza, Rome.
  • Sjp0704pg001ed

    Sjp0704pg001ed

    articles Electroconvulsive therapy and its use in modern-day psychiatry S Prinsloo, MMed (Psych) safety of the procedure, use of ECT was discontinued completely in P J Pretorius, MMed (Psych) some states in the USA in the early 1980s because of pressure from Department of Psychiatry, University of the Free State, politically motivated groups.1,2 Bloemfontein Use of ECT has, however, reached new heights of recognition as a safe and effective treatment for various psychiatric disorders. This is Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) has been regarded as a some- mainly due to good clinical results and various research publications what controversial treatment modality. Despite initial stigmati- confirming the efficacy and safety of the procedure. A Medline sation, ECT has remained with us for the past 60 years and is search of appropriate articles with ‘ECT’ or ‘electroconvulsive thera- now emerging as a safe and effective treatment option. py’ in the title published since 1975 were included in this study. ECT is indicated in a wide range of disorders and is often The aim of this article is to give a general overview of the use of ECT found to be of equal or even superior efficacy compared with and an updated overview of newer research in this field. It also gives currently available pharmacological agents. However, it is not practical guidelines for administering ECT. without adverse effects and therefore a sound knowledge of this treatment modality is crucial before its administration. The Indications for ECT clinician should have a thorough knowledge of indications, method of administration, patient preparation, required seizure ECT was initially used for the treatment of dementia praecox (schizo- duration, treatment course and side-effect profile.
  • Coercion: the Only Constant in Psychiatric Practice? Tomi Gomory, David Cohen, and Stuart A

    Coercion: the Only Constant in Psychiatric Practice? Tomi Gomory, David Cohen, and Stuart A

    Florida State University Libraries Faculty Publications College of Social Work 2013 Coercion: The Only Constant In Psychiatric Practice? Tomi Gomory, David Cohen, and Stuart A. Kirk Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact [email protected] Coercion 1 Coercion: The Only Constant In Psychiatric Practice? Tomi Gomory, Associate Professor, Florida State University1 David Cohen, Professor, Florida International University Stuart A. Kirk, Professor Emeritus, University of California, Los Angeles To allow every maniac liberty consistent with safety; to proportion the degree of coercion to the … extravagance of behavior; … that bland art of conciliation, or the tone of irresistible authority pronouncing an irreversible mandate … are laws of fundamental importance … to the … successful management of all lunatic institutions. Philippe Pinel (1806) Introduction In the Western world, since at least the 15th century, state-sanctioned force has been employed to control those who disturb others by their violent or existentially destabilizing behaviors such as threatening or inflicting self-harm. Coercing the mad into madhouses, separating and detaining them from the rest of society, and forcing them to comply with their keepers’ wishes, occurred before physicians became involved in theorizing about the meaning or origins of madness, and it continues to distinguish psychiatric practice to this day. It is widely recognized that the mad used to be confined, beaten, tied, shocked or whirled into submission, but it seems less appreciated today by 1 Co-authors of Mad Science: The Disorders of American Psychiatry (Transaction Publishers, due in March 2013). Coercion 2 scholars, practitioners, and the general public that the physical control of “dangerous” mental patients remains a central function, and perhaps the only constant function, of public mental health systems.
  • The Case Against Antipsychotic Drugs: a 50-Year Record of Doing More Harm Than Goodq

    The Case Against Antipsychotic Drugs: a 50-Year Record of Doing More Harm Than Goodq

    Medical Hypotheses (2004) 62, 5–13 http://intl.elsevierhealth.com/journals/mehy The case against antipsychotic drugs: a 50-year record of doing more harm than goodq Robert Whitaker* 19 Rockingham St., Cambridge, MA 02139, USA Summary Although the standard of care in developed countries is to maintain schizophrenia patients on neuroleptics, this practice is not supported by the 50-year research record for the drugs. A critical review reveals that this paradigm of care worsens long-term outcomes, at least in the aggregate, and that 40% or more of all schizophrenia patients would fare better if they were not so medicated. Evidence-based care would require the selective use of antipsychotics, based on two principles: (a) no immediate neuroleptisation of first-episode patients; (b) every patient stabilized on neuroleptics should be given an opportunity to gradually withdraw from them. This model would dramatically increase recovery rates and decrease the percentage of patients who become chronically ill. c 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Introduction which posed this question: “After fifty years of neuroleptic drugs, are we able to answer the fol- The standard of care for schizophrenia calls for lowing simple question: Are neuroleptics effective patients to be maintained indefinitely on antipsy- in treating schizophrenia?” [8] A close review of the chotic drugs. The evidence for this practice comes research literature provides a surprising answer. from research showing the drugs are effective in The preponderance of evidence shows that the treating acute psychotic symptoms and in pre- current standard of care – continual medication venting relapse [1,2]. Historians also argue that the therapy for all patients so diagnosed – does more introduction of neuroleptics in the 1950s made it harm than good.
  • Workbook Psychiatry and Narcology

    Workbook Psychiatry and Narcology

    Kharkiv National Medical University Department of Psychiatry, Narcology and Medical Psychology WORKBOOK MANUAL FOR INDIVIDUAL WORK FOR MEDICAL STUDENTS PSYCHIATRY AND NARCOLOGY (Part 2) Student ___________________________________________________________ Faculty _________________________________________________________ Course _________________ Group _____________________________________ Kharkiv 2019 Затверджено вченою радою ХНМУ Протокол №5 від 23.05.2019 р. Psychiatry (Part 2) : workbook manual for individual work of students / I. Strelnikova, G. Samardacova, К. Zelenska – Kharkiv, 2019. – 103 p. Копіювання для розповсюдження в будь-якому вигляді частин або повністю можливо тільки з дозволу авторів навчального посібника. CLASS 7. NEUROTIC DISORDERS. CLINICAL FORMS. TREATMENT AND REHABILITATION. POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER. TREATMENT AND REHABILITATION. Psychogenic diseases are a large and clinically varied group of diseases resulting from an effect of acute or long-term psychic traumas, which manifest themselves by both mental and somatoneurological disorders and, as a rule, are reversible. Psychogenic diseases are caused by a psychic trauma, i.e. some events which affect significant aspects of existence of the human being and result in deep psychological feelings. These may be subjectively significant events, i.e. those which are pathogenic for the majority of people. Besides, the psyche may be traumatized by conventionally pathogenic events, which cause feelings in an individual because of his peculiar hierarchy of values. Unfavorable psychogenic effects on the human being cause stress in him, i.e. a nonspecific reaction at the physiological, psychological and behavioural levels. Stress may exert some positive, mobilizing influence, but may result in disorganization of the organism activity. The stress, which exerts a negative influence and causes various disturbances and even diseases, is termed distress. Classification of neurotic disorders I.