•Low expectations in the mental health system are both a
cause and an effect of
decades of low results. If less than 1%
of clients are actually recovering
from their alleged ‘illnesses,’ then we must begin to examine both the theories upon which their treatment is based
and the actual effects of
the treatment. The treatment of mental
and emotional difficulties is based upon
the theory that such problems are the result of chemical imbalance in the brain. Hence
psychiatric drug treatment forms the core of all treatment programs. But if
psychotropic drugs really do correct the chemical imbalance that is the source of the problem, why are so
few recovering?
•The answer is twofold.
First, there is no proof that those who have been labeled mentally ill are actually suffering from a
chemical imbalance. An increasing number of psychiatrists and neuroscientists
are now arguing that the “chemical
imbalance’’ theory is scientifically unsound.
Second, the cornerstone
of psychiatry’s medical model of the human condition has not been proven and the evidence for it is very weak. In essence, clients of the mental health system are receiving ‘treatment’ for a
condition they do not have, while
the actual sources of their problems are largely ignored.