Nexus - 0701 - New Times Magazine-pages

Page Content (OCR)

the day, remarked that the manual was not a scientific manual at time.” Psychiatrists, however, deemed that there was something all but a masterpiece of political manoeuvring. He commented wrong with these children. There was some vague, unexplained that they had turned the problems of everyday life into psychiatric defect in their brains, and they identified some conduct and ones.” claimed that any child who demonstrates this conduct is suffering L. J. Davis made the following pithy comment in an article in from ADD. Wiseman makes the observation that, once again, this Harper's magazine:"* "According to the Diagnostic and is a created reality.” Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (popularly There is no evidence that the brains of these children are any known as the DSM-IV), human life is a form of mental illness."” different from the brains of other children. The parents and the The DSM-IV has pathologised nearly every aspect of human child thought that the child was normal until they walked into the behaviour, and, of course, each "abnormality" is accompanied by psychiatrist's office. When they walk out, they think the child is the appropriate billing code. abnormal. Wiseman comments: "...reality did not change. The Paula Caplan, a psychologist who was child is still the same."*' What has on the DSM-III-R committee, made the changed is their perception of the child; observations that the main players in the whereas they once saw a normal child, compilation of the manual ignored the they now see a disordered one who has sheer mass of scientific research and "According to the Diagnostic special needs. As a normal child, that were also indifferent to the harm done to and Statistical Manual of child would have been tolerated and in patients due to the handbook's cate- all likelihood would have grown up to be gories. Ms Caplan found it difficult to Mental Disorders, Fourth normal, had little been made of the situa- Teeoncile these motives with the alleged Edition...human life is tion but now the child wil be treated altruism. 4 mT ifferently by the parents, teachers an Al Parides states: "What they have a form of mental illness. other children, and indeed the child will now come to view himself or herself as different from others. The child will Wiseman makes the observation that now be on medication for years and will the "illnesses" are manufactured. ’* be treated as limited by the condition.” Webster's Dictionary defines "fiction" as "anything made up or The only difference in the two situations is the created reality of imagined". Wiseman asserts that it is psychiatric practice to make Attention Deficit Disorder. Indeed, there is no evidence that such up mental illness. He gives an example of this in relation to a disease actually exists." Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD/ADHD). He says it is true that psychiatry does not make up the behaviour; however, when psy- | ALTERNATIVES TO PSYCHIATRY done is medicalize many problems that don't have biological causes."” chiatrists group bundles of behaviour and emotions together and Measures such as transcendental meditation (TM) have been assign names to that behaviour, then that is a created entity. It is shown to offer great benefit in both the treatment and prevention also a created reality, says Wiseman, because it did not exist of disease. TM's results have been documented in numerous pub- before. lished studies conducted in over 100 research institutes—yet the It has always been true that some children and adults are more _ profession still clings to outdated methods. active than others or their attention tends to wander because of a In one study on Vietnam veterans seeking treatment at a short attention span. Until the 20th century, parents and teachers Vietnam Veterans’ Outreach Program, veterans were assigned ran- simply dealt with these children as a fact of life. Parents noticed domly to either the TM program or psychotherapy (whatever type that children, like adults, learn to change their behaviour over the therapist used—behaviour therapy, existential, cognitive, Endnotes 6. A joint study performed in 1987 by — The Great Psychodynamic Therapies in _ there were 26,869. 1. Chaplin, J. P., Dictionary of the American Medical Association and = Psychiatry: An Historical Reappraisal, 24. Milstein, V., PhD et al., "Does Psychology, Dell Publishing Co., NY, the American Psychiatric Association Hoeber-Harper, New York, 1956, pp. — Electroconvulsive Therapy Prevent 1968, p. 388. found that psychiatrists had the highest 92-94; as reported in Wiseman, op. Suicide?", Convulsive Therapy 2, no. 1, 2. The Australian Pocket Oxford suicide rate and, when researchers cit., p. 116. 1986, pp. 3-6. Dictionary, Oxford University Press, interviewed the family to ascertain 14. Wiseman, op. cit., p. 117. 25. Statistical Abstracts of the United UK, 1976. whether any reason was given for the 15. Myerson, A., in discussion with States, ibid. 3. Interview with Walter Afield, 11 suicide, the most commonly quoted Ebaugh, F. E. et al., "Fatalities following 26. Roy, A., "Risk Factors for Suicide January 1994, as reported in: reason was to escape mental pain. As _ electric convulsive therapy: a report of _ in Psychiatric Patients", Archives of Wiseman, B., Psychiatry, the Ultimate _ reported in Wiseman, ibid. two cases with autopsy findings", General Psychiatry, vol. 39, September Betrayal, Freedom Publishing, Los 7. Wiseman, ibid. Trans. Amer. Neurol. Assoc. 68:39, 1982, p. 1093. Angeles, 1995, p. 33. 8. ibid. June 1942; as quoted in Wiseman, op. 27. Wiseman, op. cit., p. 129. 4. Council on Scientific Affairs, 9. Maeder, T., "Wounded Healers", cit., pp. 117-118. 28. op. cit., p. 130. American Medical Association, Atlantic Monthly, January 1989, p. 38; 16. Wiseman, op. cit., p.119. 29. ibid. "Results and Implications of the AMA- _ as reported in Wiseman, op. cit.,p. 46. 17. ibid. 30. ibid. APA Physician Mortality Project", 10. Kirsher, M., "What Makes Our 18. op. cit., pp. 119-120. 31. Cauchon, D., "Stunningly quick Journal of the American Medical Marriages Lousy", Medical Economics, 19. ibid. results often fade just as fast", USA Association, vol. 257, no. 21, June 5, October 1, 1979; as reported in 20. Coleman, L., "Introduction" from Today, December 6, 1995. 1987, p. 2950. The suicide rate in the © Wiseman, ibid. Frank, L. (ed.), The History of Shock 32. Finley, B., "Electroshock: quick fix general population is given as 12.3 per 11. In 1994, Dr Norman Sartorius, Treatment, San Francisco, 1978, p. xiii; or cure?", Denver Post, October 21, 100,000, as distinct from 61 per President of the World Psychiatric as reported in Wiseman, op. cit., pp. 1990. 100,000 for psychiatrists. As reported Association, speaking at the European =: 120-121. 33. Interview with Thomas Szasz, in Wiseman, op. cit., p. 45. Psychiatric Congress in Denmark, said: 21. Easton-Jones, J.,"Non-ECT", World September 17, 1993; as reported in 5. Campbell, H. D., "The Prevalence “Psychiatrists should no longer consid- Medicine, 1974, p. 24; as reported in Wiseman, op. cit., p. 131. and Ramifications of Psychopathology _er that they can cure the mentally ill, Wiseman, op. cit., pp. 128-129. 34. Podnov, A., Psychiatry, 1969, pp. in Psychiatric Residents: An and in future the mentally ill will have 22. ibid. 138-141. Overview", Am. Journal of Psychiatry to learn to live with their illness." 23. Statistical Abstracts of the United 35. Wiseman, op. cit., p. 136. 139:11, November 1982, p. 1406. The 12. Wiseman, op. cit., p. 115. States, US Department of Commerce, 36. Alpers, B. J., "The Brain Changes rate for residents is 106 per 100,000. 13. Cerletti, U., "Electroshock 1987, p. 79. In 1975, 27,063 suicides — Associated with Electrical Shock As reported in Wiseman, ibid. Therapy", in Shackler, Arthur M. et al., were recorded in the USA; in 1980, Treatment: A Critical Review", The Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition...human life is ; 32 - NEXUS a form of mental illness." DECEMBER 1999 — JANUARY 2000