Therapists Revolt Against Psychiatry's Bible

The great book’s coming edition, the DSM-5, is slated for publication in May 2013. As the task force producing it has posted drafts on its website, an undercurrent of dissatisfaction has exploded into a full-scale revolt by members of U.S. and British psychological and counseling organizations.

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Comments

[pinetrale]

08:39 PM on 12/31/2011

Maybe this is all a territorial business dispute. If some psychologists feel the diagnostic criterion for the DSM 5 will take away their talking patients they should dispute it. Personally I think talking therapy in the right hands is statistically as efficacious as medical therapy for many, not all conditons or situations. Personality disorders can profit from a good therapist and medications can play a role for some in periods of crises and agitation. But you can't just pill someone with a persoanlity disorder and walk away "see you". But for a major mental illness medications may be crucial. However talking therapy still helps a lot too(more expensive). I was shocked to learn in modern American residency programs they don't teach psychoanalysis or depth psychology at all anymore and counseling gets short shrift. I think anyone bold enough to practice psychiatry or psychology on people should undergo two or so years of "talking therapy" of some kind to learn about transference and countertransference and further their own self insight. You don't have to be sick to do analysis, just curious. Ultimately a good psychopharmacologist MD and psychologist can ultimately compliment each other and improve patient outcomes.

[Scott Mendelson, M.D.]

04:22 PM on 12/30/2011

The author's disdain of, and bias against, psychitris­ts is palpable. The arguments are flawed in so many ways. First, ALL medical fields have diagnostic codes, just like those of psychiatry­. Psychoanal­ysts, many of who were non-psychiatrists, held the notion of homosexual­ty as an illness long after it was abandoned by the APA. The diagnosis of "Mild Neurocogni­tive Impairment­" is not contrived by psychiatrists but exactly parallels the diagnosis of "Mild Cognitive Impairment­" from the field of neurology. Critical reference to the "greatest minds and biggest egos in the world of psychiatry­," could just as well apply to any profession­, including Psychology­. Years ago, I was a member of the Canadian Psychologi­cal Associatio­n, and I know they are not immune. The statement, "for clinicians who want to help people without reducing them to a category," is also extraordin­arily disingenuo­us, because psychologi­sts also categorize mental illness. Some of what was said has merit. But it is eclipsed by the desire to make psychiatri­sts out to be substantia­lly and uniquely evil, greedy and stupid, which they (we) are not.

[sabelmouse]

09:44 AM on 12/31/2011

i am favouriting your comment but with reservation. i think psychiatry does attract a pretty fair share of those who would like to have power over others .
most i agree with.