Posted by med_empowered on February 22, 2005, at 21:51:20
In reply to Re: OK, I guess this is my point..., posted by linkadge on February 22, 2005, at 20:03:33
hey, yet again! The reason I posted this whole thing, which I REALLY DID NOT MEAN TO CAUSE TOO MUCH CONTROVERSY was that the more I researched this paper, the more flaws I found with the "broken brain" concept. Oh, before my next big message-- LOTS of states (in the late 90s about 41) have changed their commitment laws. Commitment laws went from kind of lax to much more stringent following: deinstitutionalization and the psychiatric survivor's movement. Most states only allowed for hospitalization if the person involved was considered a threat to himself and/or others, or if the illness in question was so severe that the patient could not even work towards his/her own basic survival. This was a pretty big standard, and 19 states also allowed the person in question to request a trial BY JURY. Now, the standards have changed. If a patient is at high risk of "relapse" or "deterioration," he/she might be committed. In addition, patients who are NOT considered a risk to themselves or others can be compelled to take medication under the threat of hospitalization/re-hospitalization. The old laws weren't great, mind you, but they at least provided some protections...the new laws treat hospitalization much more lightly. When you take into consideration the fact that this "therapeutic intervention" involves depriving people of their freedom and/or forcing them into "treatment" (in fields of medicine besides psychiatry, patients have the right to refuse treatment..even if they may die or suffer serious harm as a result), this becomes a huge issue: these states are basically giving the mentally ill fewer civil rights than everyone else. I know hospitalization is supposed to "help," and that the shrinks involved are trying to "assist" the patient, but it's like the old saying goes: the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Whatever the intent, the result is that many states can now forcibly hospitalize far more patients than before, which not only negatively impacts the shrink/patient power-balance, but also the society/individual power-balance as well.
poster:med_empowered
thread:461854
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050222/msgs/462049.html