Posted by med_empowered on March 12, 2006, at 10:43:17
In reply to Regularity = stability » jedi, posted by Squiggles on March 12, 2006, at 6:20:01
I think part of the problem is the power imbalance in psychiatry. You go to a psychiatrist and they label your experience, pushing it into one of the pre-made diagnostic categories...from the beginning, what matters most isn't **your experience**, but rather the docs understanding/labelling of your experience--the expert's word counts for more than the mental patient's word.
Then, shrinks seem to regard their patients with less trust and sometimes even with a bit of disdain. I'm sure we've all had docs who, despite being over-compensated for their time, just seemed that they were too "busy" to really help, even when "helping" is what they **DO** and is in fact the only reason their profession exists--the possibility that drugs and therapy can alter behavior and thoughts and improve human existence.
And then you have the "know-it-alls" who seem to "know," through some sort of psychiatric magic, just what treatment(s) are appropriate. And if it these magical treatments don't work? Well, then its your fault--you're "treatment-resistant" or possibly non-compliant or possibly you have a previously undiscovered personality disorder that "complicates" the picture. THe situation is ridiculous and untenable, especially considering the billions of $$$ pumped into this profession annually for rather lackadaisical results.
poster:med_empowered
thread:618505
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20060310/msgs/619318.html