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;void(0)) If you have been watching TV lately I’m sure you have come across some of the recent furor one of our top celebrities has been generating when he made the ultimate blasphemy of criticizing the field of psychiatry. The media’s reaction to his comments was the modern day’s equivalent of the Vatican’s reaction to Galileo’s support of the Copernican Theory during the Middle Ages. Those of us who have been in the field of psychotherapy long enough are quite aware that many in the medical and other professions are just as skeptical of the field of psychiatry. The criticisms range from some lawyers’ claims that it is a “voodoo science” to one psychiatrist’s assertion that its use of technology is nothing more than another form of “social control”. Sigmund Freud, the founder of modern day psychotherapy, was a psychiatrist. When he was developing his Psychoanalytic Movement he was very clear as to whether the practice of psychotherapy should be governed by medical doctors. Since Freud was a doctor himself he had to present his findings to medical gatherings for any type of professional acceptance of his research findings. The original psychoanalysts were physicians. However, as the movement developed he made a major effort to reach out to the general public. Freud said: “ ---it is unjust and inexpedient to compel a person who wants to liberate another from the torment of a phobia or an obsession to take the detour of medical study”. He went on to say: “---we do not consider it at all desirable to have psychoanalysis swallowed up by medicine – and to find its final place of deposit in the textbook of psychiatry.” One of his major problems with the medical profession was that physicians tend to come up with chemical nostrums for problems that may have a psychological source. (The field of psychosomatics is another development of Freud’s that we hear very little of these days. I’ll attempt to touch on some of its finer points in next month’s article.) Although Freud demanded rigorous study including having oneself psychoanalyzed he did not believe that the study of medicine was imperative for the full comprehension of mental health. Freud ran into the strongest criticism of “lay analysis” from the American branch of the Psychoanalytic Association. They eventually came to terms and something of a compromise was reached. However, psychiatrists did wind up being considered the authorities in most areas of practice, if for no other reason than the fact that they can prescribe the very medicines, which Freud was so critical of, that other professions cannot. So, we return to the recent furor over the debate over psychiatry and its medicinal treatments. If you take a walk into any drug store you will find one or another pocket guide of physicians’ prescription drugs. You will find that the book grows larger with each passing year. As the book grows, so grows the pharmaceutical industry. One of the criticisms of the original psychoanalytic method was its lengthy process which often took several sessions a week and several years. We live in a society that is very demanding of our time. We do not have the time for several sessions of psychoanalysis or of any other form of the shorter forms of therapy. We also have grown into a very Authoritarian society in which we have become very sensitized to the outward signs of prestige. Thus, whatever a person in an expensive suit or a white coat may say means a great deal to us. I have no opinion as to whether psychiatry and medicines are the answer to our mental health needs or not. I do know that both sides have good points to be considered. I have seen medication work wonders for some people with psychiatric disorders and I have seen others who have gone for years before finding a medication that suits their condition. At the same time we have to be careful of some of the prescriptions that have a tendency to be abused. There are clients that will not see a therapist and insist upon ongoing use of medication for their problems, while there are others that refuse medication even when it is strongly recommended, given their particular circumstance. I do recommend that we not be absolutist about our beliefs one way or another. If you are prescribed a medication you should take the medication exactly as it is prescribed. It is also recommended that, if the time frame for the medication is running out and you are not seeing results, give “the talking cure” or psychotherapy a chance. One thing that all research is in agreement on is that medication along with psychotherapy is more successful than any one of the two done alone. Although Freud did have his doubts as to the effectiveness about the medical practice of psychotherapy he did acknowledge that the “cure” of all mental health problems may someday be found in the development of some type of medication. Keep in mind that he did say, “cure” and not “band aid”, which is really the purpose of many of today’s medications. Their purpose is to alleviate the symptoms and not the underlying cause. Newsletter Directory The Aton Project - Home Page Tony VanSluytman info Tony VanSluytman - the Author | Return Home | The BOOK DOCTOR | The BANYON NETWORK | The Banyon Buzz Newsletters | The Aton Project Newsletters | Contact Us | |
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