"Physical or Mental: Why it Matters" (March 31 blogpost by Clark Ellis)

[alex3619]

ask them if it matters if you use mainstream medicine or alternative medicine and you will surely get a reply!

My position is that much of psychiatry IS alternative medicine, it does not deserve medical status.

 

[Esther12]

Not read the blog yet but...

My position is that much of psychiatry IS alternative medicine, it does not deserve medical status.

There are parts of psychiatry that seem to be trying to deal rigorously and honestly with difficult problems, and it's not like 'medical status' is much of an honorific. Lumping all of psychiatry together and dismissing it also risks playing into the whole 'stigma' thing.

There does seem to be a culture of tolerating particularly poor quality research within psychiatry though. Tbh, the more about psychiatry I learn, the less I respect it.

 

[alex3619]

Lumping all of psychiatry together and dismissing it also risks playing into the whole 'stigma' thing.

Very little of psychiatry is sound science. I have no doubt there is some good psychiatric research, and practices, but there is a pervasive problem in how poor research, bad theories, and unsound medical practices are not just tolerated, but supported by the medical system. The entire system is unsound for this reason.

Its also not the case that psychiatrists are, generally, unaware of this. They are well aware of this, but don't know how to fix things, don't think its their responsibility to fix things, are trying to fix things but failing, are afraid that change will adversely affect availability of patient treatment, or are defending the status quo because either its their practices that are in question, or it might be their practices that are looked at next if there is wide program of change. What has happened in my reading over the past few years is I have become more and more aware that psychiatrists, in general, are deeply aware of these issues. Its a pervasive theme that is often not discussed in public.

I do think one "mental" disorder exists. ONE. I think all the others, at least to my current understanding, are brain disorders, or at least hypothetically brain disorders. Most of psychiatry involves classifications that are, in my opinion, category mistakes. They are brain disorders, not mental.

The one "mental" disorder that exists, which I have commented on before, is false belief systems. It is however very dangerous to treat these as psychiatric, or else religious or political views could be subject to psychiatric intervention.

I would also like to point out that most of psychiatric practice is pervasively affected by false belief systems.

 

[lansbergen]

Most of psychiatry involves classifications that are, in my opinion, category mistakes. They are brain disorders, not mental.

Yep

 

[deboruth]

Not read the blog yet but...



There are parts of psychiatry that seem to be trying to deal rigorously and honestly with difficult problems, and it's not like 'medical status' is much of an honorific. Lumping all of psychiatry together and dismissing it also risks playing into the whole 'stigma' thing.

There does seem to be a culture of tolerating particularly poor quality research within psychiatry though. Tbh, the more about psychiatry I learn, the less I respect it.

Keep in mind that Wessely and White and their coterie are disgracing academic psychiatry with particularly poor quality research. I have read vastly better, such as a paper on optimal family or other group living conditions for schizophrenics returning to outpatient status (highly critical people in the environment will tend to result in re-admission for the patient.)