Psychiatry is bogus

psycjay

Chuck Stone wrote: »

Disputed if not debunked.

.

I would respond to that argument but to be honest I can barely undestand what the hell he [Bauer] is trying to say!

However, of course there is argument about what is a theory and what is a law etc but in most acedemics opinion classical condition meets the crtiera for a scientific law. So it may be disputed but certainly not debunked!

Anyway, my point remains, that behaviour can, has been, and will continue to be studied in a scientific way.

Chuck Stone

psycjay wrote: »

I would respond to that argument but to be honest I can barely undestand what the hell he [Bauer] is trying to say!

However, of course there is argument about what is a theory and what is a law etc but in most acedemics opinion classical condition meets the crtiera for a scientific law. So it may be disputed but certainly not debunked!

Anyway, my point remains, that behaviour can, has been, and will continue to be studied in a scientific way.

The laws of gravity say that if I throw myself off a tall building I will uniformly gain speed untill I hit the ground.

The laws of psychology say.....?

Psychiatry will say 'come down off that building it's just the chemicals in your head that need balanced out'.

Android 666

33 wrote: »

A schizophrenic doctor, that explains a lot!

In what way? After having problems with schizophrenia in her early twenties with the help of psychiatry she was able to lead a normal life and qualified as a doctor. Her illness doesn't define her in the same way someone suffering from Crohn's disease or epilepsy wouldn't, or shouldn't, be defined by their illness.

psycjay

Chuck Stone wrote: »

The laws of gravity say that if I throw myself off a tall building I will uniformly gain speed untill I hit the ground.

The laws of psychology say.....?

that when an unconditioned stimulus (such as a bell sounding) is paired with a conditioned stimulus (the presentation of food) repeatedly, then the response (salivation) previously associated with the conditioned stimulus occurs with the unconditioned stimulus.

Naikon

jsuited, have you got any more reputable evidence to add to this thread? Please, for the sake of my sanity, don't link to APA stuff anymore

Naikon

For anyone who thinks I am crazy or severely misguided on this difficult topic of discussion, please read these books when you have the time: book1 book2

Android 666

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/health/2011/0419/1224294972488.html

Naikon

Android 666 wrote: »

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/health/2011/0419/1224294972488.html

Good article, but discrediting real Mental distress isn't on the agenda. Certain industry practices should be highlighted though.

The thread is entitled "Psychiatry is bogus" not "Mental Health is bogus".

Scientist1

Naikon wrote: »

Good article, but discrediting real Mental distress isn't on the agenda. Certain industry practices should be highlighted though.

The thread is entitled "Psychiatry is bogus" not "Mental Health is bogus".

Interesting thread - have any psychiatrists responded to this?
I don't think Psychiatry is bogus - it is a legitimate medical field, no different from Oncology or Cardiology, and this view is extremely dangerous. This can encourage people who are already mentally fragile to feel paranoid about these "conspiracy theories" and stop taking their meds!

I think people should listen to StarViewAdams who actually has personal experience with Psychiatry. Has anyone on this thread with a negative opinion of Psychiatry actually studied Science or suffered from a mental illness?

I can see where Naikon is coming from. I work in the Pharmaceutical Industry and they are a greedy, money-hungry, ruthless shower of B******s, who would not think twice of exploiting people for the sake of profit.

However, the Industry is not based on plain subjective opinion, but on trial and error. Many of the psychiatric drugs are chemicals that were discovered long ago by accident to aid in mental illness. The drugs may not treat all the symptoms of the disorder or may have side-effects but they are the best that we have at the moment.

The "chemical inbalance" theory of depression is not bogus. It does not comopletely explain every type of depressive disorder but generally states that depression is caused by a lack of the neurotransmitters serotonin and GABA and increased levels of Acetylcholine. The drugs work by increasing the levels of chemicals that are too low and decreasing the levels that are too high (wayyyy over-simplified - apologies!).

I do think that medications in general (not just psychiatric ones) are being over-prescribed and that pharma companies are making up illnesses for the sake of it to try and increase profits (female sexual dysfunction anyone!!!) and are encouraging doctors to prescribe certain expensive brands of medication that are no better than the generic drug.

However, you cannot generalise this to "psychiatry is bogus" - we might as well say that all medicine is bogus and If you are diagnosed with cancer your best chance is to take vitamins, meditate and pray!!!

By the way, I have studied Science for 6 years, MSc in Neuropharmacology, attended a psychiatrist for 9 months when I was 15 (who saved my life), took anti-depressants for 12 months, has a sister with Schizoaffective disorder, who would not be alive today without the help of her psychiatrist, psychiatric nurses, social workers, counsellors and yes, medication.

jtsuited

great post. the original poster clearly was ignorant of the fact that psychiatry is a medical specialty.
any criticism of psychiatry in this thread, the exact same can be said of many different areas of medicine, and in fact medicine in general.

Naikon

jtsuited wrote: »

the exact same can be said of many different areas of medicine, and in fact medicine in general.

Ah come on now...

psycjay

Scientist1 wrote: »

The "chemical inbalance" theory of depression is not bogus. It does not comopletely explain every type of depressive disorder but generally states that depression is caused by a lack of the neurotransmitters serotonin and GABA and increased levels of Acetylcholine. The drugs work by increasing the levels of chemicals that are too low and decreasing the levels that are too high (wayyyy over-simplified - apologies!).

I'll have to pull you on this bit I'm afraid, The theory that depression is caused by an imbalance of neurotransmitters in the brain has not received empirical support (see the attachment for a recent review). Many people assume that the CI model is a simplified version of some real biological model of depression, however this is not the case. The diathesis-stress model has much more support and most mental health professionals recognise this today.

Now I'm not ruling out a biological basis, I'm just saying they haven't found one.

Btw I agree with you otherwise!

Penn

Thread locked. I think at this stage, it's just going in circles, and we've moved away from the CT itself.

If anyone else wants to start a thread on the same topic, please keep the CT angle as clear as possible.

Thanks.