Posted by JohnL on November 15, 2000, at 5:02:17
In reply to Interesting site: Skeptical Psychiatrist..SLS, etc, posted by dj on November 14, 2000, at 16:11:21
This pdoc's insights are interesting. I personally do not appreciate doctors however who take one-sided views of things. I think that's more appropriate in politics but not medicine. Sometimes doctors, like this one, get the two confused. Just my opinion.
It seems to me that the doctor's job is to get the patient well. The purpose of a phsycian's job is to use whatever tools he/she has available to end the patient's suffering. Pure and simple. Right?
If a doctor can do that with pschoanalysis, fine. If a doctor can do it with pills, fine. If one is not working, revert to the other. And vica versa. If conventional psychopharmacology is not working, revert to the Jensen method. If the Jenson method is not working, then revert to conventional techniques. Whatever works. If one tool isn't working, use one of the other tools instead. For any doctor to rule out the use of an available tool is negligent, egotistical, and political in my mind. If they rule out any tools, they have forgotten the entire purpose of their chosen profession. That's just how I see it.
My favorite pdoc, now retired, had this open-minded approach I really really appreciated. He really didn't care what drug or what counseling technique would work, just as long as we eventually found something that worked. Why or how it worked was unimportant to him. On every visit, he always told me the same thing, "This is as good as anything else. Anything's possible." How true that is, at least in my opinion anyway. And his. He by the way had much higher credentials and decades of experience over the skeptical psychiatrist mentioned for this discussion. He was well versed in all psychoanalysis as well as psychopharmacology. He was in practice even before antidepressants were discovered. He had no preference. Whatever worked. Each patient was different. Anything was possible. He clearly understood the role of his profession...get the patient well utilizing all the tools at his disposal.
The skeptical pdoc's theory of downregulating serotonin receptors makes sense. But I remind myself, it's just a theory. It is no better and no worse than any other theory. It's just a theory. The idea that the brain can readjust itself makes sense. My Grandmother suffered a 7 year long depressive bout (7 years, think about it) that suddenly remitted on its own. Poof. All gone. No reason. Just happened. But to think that everyone's brain is capable of readjusting itself in every case I think is far fetched. Clearly it seems to me that many people's brains are not capable of self adjusting in a degree substantial enough to make a difference. Some yes, some no. Regardless of how psychotherapy of psychopharmacolgy work, they can both dramatically speed up the process. Why take endure 7 years of pain when it's possible to feel better in 2 or 4 weeks instead?
There are no clear answers, no fool-proof theories, and no sure-fire remedies for everyone. Everyone's different. Anything's possible. I've seen it and I believe it. The doctor should use all available options. If he/she takes sides and preferences, he/she should probably go into politics instead.
John
poster:JohnL
thread:48803
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20001115/msgs/48844.html