De-Medicalizing Misery : Psychiatry, Psychology and the Human Condition

Psychiatry and psychology have constructed a mental health system that does no justice to the problems it claims to understand and creates multiple problems for its users. Yet the myth of biologically-based mental illness defines our present. The book rethinks madness and distress reclaiming them as human, not medical, experiences. Thomas Szasz (1960) suggested that the myth of 'mental illness' functions to 'render more palatable the bitter pill of moral conflict in human relations'. The medicalization of distress enables the mental health professions to manage the human suffering that they are confronted with, and also the suspicion that there is little that they can do to help. But the medicalization of misery and madness renders people unable to comprehend their experiences in ordinary, meaningful terms. In this collection we restore to everyday discourse a way of understanding distress that, unlike contemporary psychiatry and psychology, recognises and respects the essential humanness of the human condition. De-medicalizing Misery is a shorthand term for this project. The book resists the psychiatrization and psychologization of human experience, and seeks to place what are essentially moral and political -- not medical - matters back at the centre of our understanding of human suffering Notes on Contributors -- Preface; R. Dallos -- Carving Nature at its Joints? DSM and the Medicalization of Everyday Life; M. Rapley, J. Moncrieff & J. Dillon -- Dualisms and the Myth of Mental Illness; P. Thomas & P. Bracken -- Making the World Go Away, and How Psychology and Psychiatry Benefit; M. Boyle -- Cultural Diversity and Racism: An Historical Perspective; S. Fernando -- The Social Context of Paranoia; D.J. Harper -- From 'Bad Character' to BPD: The Medicalization of 'Personality Disorder'; J. Bourne -- Medicalizing Masculinity; S. Timimi -- Can Traumatic Events Traumatise People? Trauma, Madness and 'Psychosis'; L. Johnstone -- Children Who Witness Violence at Home; A. Vetere -- Discourses of Acceptance and Resistance: Speaking Out About Psychiatry; E. Speed -- The Personal Is the Political; J. Dillon -- 'I'm Just, You Know, Joe Bloggs': The Management of Parental Responsibility for First-Episode Psychosis; C. Coulter & M. Rapley -- The Myth of the Antidepressant: An Historical Analysis; J. Moncrieff -- Antidepressants and the Placebo Response; I. Kirsch -- Why Were Doctors so Slow to Recognise Antidepressant Discontinuation Problems?; D. Double -- Toxic Psychology; C. Newnes -- Psychotherapy: Illusion With No Future?; D. Smail -- The Psychologization of Torture; N. Patel -- What Is To Be Done?; J. Moncrieff, J. Dillon & M. Rapley -- Figure: Papers Using Term 'Antidepressant' On Medline 1957-1965 -- Index --. Machine generated contents note: -- Notes on Contributors -- Preface; R. Dallos -- Carving Nature at its Joints? DSM and the Medicalization of Everyday Life; M. Rapley, J. Moncrieff & J. Dillon -- Dualisms and the Myth of Mental Illness; P. Thomas & P. Bracken -- Making the World Go Away, and How Psychology and Psychiatry Benefit; M. Boyle -- Cultural Diversity and Racism: An Historical Perspective; S. Fernando -- The Social Context of Paranoia; D.J. Harper -- From 'Bad Character' to BPD: The Medicalization of 'Personality Disorder'; J. Bourne -- Medicalizing Masculinity; S. Timimi -- Can Traumatic Events Traumatise People? Trauma, Madness and 'Psychosis'; L. Johnstone -- Children Who Witness Violence at Home; A. Vetere -- Discourses of Acceptance and Resistance: Speaking Out About Psychiatry; E. Speed -- The Personal Is the Political; J. Dillon -- 'I'm Just, You Know, Joe Bloggs': The Management of Parental Responsibility for First-Episode Psychosis; C. Coulter & M. Rapley -- The Myth of the Antidepressant: An Historical Analysis; J. Moncrieff -- Antidepressants and the Placebo Response; I. Kirsch -- Why Were Doctors so Slow to Recognise Antidepressant Discontinuation Problems?; D. Double -- Toxic Psychology; C. Newnes -- Psychotherapy: Illusion With No Future?; D. Smail -- The Psychologization of Torture; N. Patel -- What Is To Be Done?; J. Moncrieff, J. Dillon & M. Rapley -- Figure: Papers Using Term 'Antidepressant' On Medline 1957-1965 -- Index 'Despite longstanding awareness of the limitations of the medical model when applied to difficulties of human behavior and adjustment, the fields of psychiatry and psychology continue to accede to the pressures of medicine and the drug industry in their conceptualization of these human realities. Ironically, however, this medical model, eager as it is to fit so much of people's experience into diagnostic categories, is a social construction. This book represents a significant effort to de-mystify, de-medicalize, and reclaim important aspects of the human condition.' - Kenneth D. Keith, Professor, Department of Psychological Sciences, University of San Diego, USA 'De-Medicalizing Misery has assembled an impressive cast of leading mental health experts. Together they challenge the simplistic and pessimistic biological model of human distress that has, with eager support from the pharmaceutical industry, dominated the mental health field for far too long. This evidence-based, humane and optimistic book not only explains where biological psychiatry went wrong, it spells out the alternatives.' - John Read, University of Auckland, New Zealand and Editor of 'Models of Madness' 'The psychiatrist or psychologist is expected to do something for every patient sitting in front of him or her, but how robust is the intellectual basis of psychiatric science when psychiatric 'diseases' are merely symptom clusters - clustered by us, not by nature? We are in indeed in the age of the medicalization of everyday life, when Lord Layard, economist and architect of the IAPT programme, can write in the BMJ that 'mental illness' has taken over from unemployment as our greatest social problem. But what is the test of 'mental illness'? In DeMedicalizing Misery the authors examine some of the domains lamentably absent from orthodox psychiatry and psychology training programmes, with their medical model focus, and in so doing raise the IQ of the whole debate. And not just for clinicians.' - Dr Derek Summerfield, Consultant Psychiatrist & Senior Lecturer, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College, London, UK Psychiatry And Psychology Have Constructed A Mental Health System That Does No Justice To The Problems It Claims To Understand And Creates Multiple Problems For Its Users. Yet The Myth Of Biologically-based Mental Illness Defines Our Present. This Book Rethinks Madness And Distress Reclaiming Them As Human, Not Medical, Experiences-- Machine Generated Contents Note: -- Notes On Contributors -- Preface; R.dallos -- Carving Nature At Its Joints? Dsm And The Medicalization Of Everyday Life; M.rapley, J.moncrieff&j.dillon -- Dualisms And The Myth Of Mental Illness; P.thomas&p.bracken -- Making The World Go Away, And How Psychology And Psychiatry Benefit; M.boyle -- Cultural Diversity And Racism: An Historical Perspective; S.fernando -- The Social Context Of Paranoia; D.j.harper -- From 'bad Character' To Bpd: The Medicalization Of 'personality Disorder'; J.bourne -- Medicalizing Masculinity; S.timimi -- Can Traumatic Events Traumatise People? Trauma, Madness And 'psychosis'; L.johnstone -- Children Who Witness Violence At Home; A.vetere -- Discourses Of Acceptance And Resistance: Speaking Out About Psychiatry; E.speed -- The Personal Is The Political; J.dillon -- 'i'm Just, You Know, Joe Bloggs': The Management Of Parental Responsibility For First-episode Psychosis; C.coulter&m.rapley -- The Myth Of The Antidepressant: An Historical Analysis; J.moncrieff -- Antidepressants And The Placebo Response; I.kirsch -- Why Were Doctors So Slow To Recognise Antidepressant Discontinuation Problems?; D.double -- Toxic Psychology; C.newnes -- Psychotherapy: Illusion With No Future?; D.smail -- The Psychologization Of Torture; N.patel -- What Is To Be Done?; J.moncrieff, J.dillon&m.rapley -- Figure: Papers Using Term 'antidepressant' On Medline 1957-1965 -- Index. Edited By Mark Rapley, Joanna Moncrieff, Jacqui Dillon. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 264-294) And Index. Front Matter....Pages i-xiv Carving Nature at its Joints? DSM and the Medicalization of Everyday Life....Pages 1-9 Dualisms and the Myth of Mental Illness....Pages 10-26 Making the World Go Away, and How Psychology and Psychiatry Benefit....Pages 27-43 Cultural Diversity and Racism: An Historical Perspective....Pages 44-52 The Social Context of Paranoia....Pages 53-65 From Bad Character to BPD: The Medicalization of ‘Personality Disorder’....Pages 66-85 Medicalizing Masculinity....Pages 86-98 Can Traumatic Events Traumatize People? Trauma, Madness and ‘Psychosis’....Pages 99-109 Children Who Witness Violence at Home....Pages 110-122 Discourses of Acceptance and Resistance: Speaking Out about Psychiatry....Pages 123-140 The Personal is The Political....Pages 141-157 ‘I’m Just, You Know, Joe Bloggs’: The Management of Parental Responsibility for First-episode Psychosis....Pages 158-173 The Myth of the Antidepressant: An Historical Analysis....Pages 174-188 Antidepressants and the Placebo Response....Pages 189-196 Why Were Doctors So Slow to Recognize Antidepressant Discontinuation Problems?....Pages 197-210 Toxic Psychology....Pages 211-225 Psychotherapy: Illusion with No Future?....Pages 226-238 The Psychologization of Torture....Pages 239-255 What Is to Be Done?....Pages 256-258 Back Matter....Pages 259-305 Thomas Szasz (1960) suggested that the myth of 'mental illness' functions to 'render more palatable the bitter pill of moral conflict in human relations'. The medicalization of distress enables the mental health professions to manage the human suffering that they are confronted with, and also the suspicion that there is little that they can do to help. But the medicalization of misery and madness renders people unable to comprehend their experiences in ordinary, meaningful terms. In this collection we restore to everyday discourse a way of understanding distress that, unlike contemporary psychiatry and psychology, recognises and respects the essential humanness of the human condition. De-medicalizing Misery is a shorthand term for this project. The book resists the psychiatrization and psychologization of human experience, and seeks to place what are essentially moral and political 6 not medical - matters back at the centre of our understanding of human suffering