Re: PSYCHIATRY: Can it cure? Science or scam? (1)

What I find frightening is the over diagnosis of things like depression. We have become a society where to be sad or upset, or even in a state of grieving, has become a medical condition to be treated with drugs (Very dangerous drugs, as you so rightly said Hv).

While studying for my clinical psychology degree, we as students were constantly bombarded with drug company propaganda. It shocked me when I realised the extent to which normal emotional states are pathologised and medicated. I had a professor that felt that drugs were overprescribed for conditions that behavioural therapy or cognitive therapy, if used instead of drugs, would provide a better outcome. As an exercise he asked us to pretend that no drugs existed, and to prescribe treatment to the patients in the case studies, without resorting to drugs.
This allowed the students to research and think of the many different therapies that can help patients. All to often doctors, psychiatrists and psychologists reach for the presciption pad without researching other means of treatment, often due to time and financial restraints.

spud