Top

Published in:

01-06-2019 | Original Paper

My Personal Experience of Orthodox Psychiatry and Alternative Approaches

Author: Ruth Smith

Published in: Journal of Religion and Health | Issue 3/2019

Abstract

Ruth Smith’s incisive and moving account of her experiences with orthodox psychiatry as delivered by the UK National Health Service sets the scene for this special section. She gives a detailed description of her own twelve years’ experience as a Carer to her daughter, diagnosed with psychosis at age 24 years. She explains how they struggled to comply with the psychiatric services and cope with the, often traumatic, treatment provided to them. Clearly, we need to do better, but how? Smith explains how her study of critical texts and research papers on the subject helped to form her own critical viewpoint.

See https://joannamoncrieff.com/2016/03/02/new-research-into-antipsychotic-discontinuation-and-reduction-the-radar-programme/ and https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03559426, both accessed 8 Nov 2018.

https://www.hearing-voices.org/.

https://www.talkforhealth.co.uk/.

https://www.thereader.org.uk/.

https://dragoncafe.co.uk/.

American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM-5. Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Association.CrossRef

Beresford, P. (2016). From psycho-politics to mad studies: Learning from the legacy of Peter Sedgwick. Critical and Radical Social Work, 4, 343–355.CrossRef

Bergström, T., Seikkula, J., Alakare, B., Mäki, P., Köngäs-Saviaro, P., Taskila, J. J., et al. (2018). The family-oriented open dialogue approach in the treatment of first-episode psychosis: Nineteen-year outcomes. Psychiatry Research, 270, 168–175. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2018.09.039.CrossRefPubMed

British Medical Association. (2018). Lost in transit? Funding mental health services in England. Briefing. Downloaded from https://www.bma.org.uk/collective-voice/policy-and-research/public-and-population-health/mental-health/funding-mental-health-services, 31 Oct. 2018.

Calton, T., Ferriter, M., Huband, N., & Spandler, H. (2018). A systematic review of the Soteria paradigm for the treatment of people diagnosed with schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 34, 181–192.CrossRef

Caplan, P. J. (2011). Full disclosure needed about psychiatric drugs that shorten life. Psychology Today blog. Accessed at https://www.psychologytoday.com/au/blog/science-isnt-golden/201109/full-disclosure-needed-about-psychiatric-drugs-shorten-life, 30 Oct 2018.

Chouinard, G., & Jones, B. D. (1980). Neuroleptic-induced supersensitivity psychosis: Clinical and pharmacologic characteristics. American Journal of Psychiatry, 137(1), 16–21.CrossRefPubMed

Clarke, I. (2010). Psychosis and spirituality: The discontinuity model. In I. Clarke (Ed.), Psychosis and spirituality: Consolidating the new paradigm (2nd ed., pp. 101–114). Chichester, UK: Wiley.CrossRef

Cummins, I. (2018). The impact of austerity on mental health service provision: A UK perspective. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 15, 1145. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15061145.CrossRefPubMedCentral

Davies, J. (2013). Cracked: Why psychiatry is doing more harm than good. London: Icon Books Ltd.

Gromer, J. (2012). Need-adapted and open-dialogue treatments: Empirically supported psychosocial interventions for Schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders. Ethical Human Psychology and Psychiatry, 14(3), 162–177.CrossRef

Johnstone, L. (2014). A straight talking introduction to psychiatric diagnosis. Ganarew, UK: PCCS Books.

Joukamaa, M., Heliövaara, M., Knekt, P., & Aromaa, A. (2006). Schizophrenia, neuroleptic medication and mortality. British Journal of Psychiatry, 188, 122–127.CrossRefPubMed

Lichtenberg, P. (2011). The residential care alternative for the acutely psychotic patient. Psychiatric Quarterly, 82(4), 329–341.CrossRefPubMed

Moncrieff, J. (2009). A straight talking introduction to psychiatric drugs. Ganarew, Monmouth: PCCS Books.

Moncrieff, J. (2013). The bitterest pills: The troubling story of antipsychotic drugs. Houndmills, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.CrossRef

Mosher, L. R., Hendrix, V., & Fort, D. (2004). Soteria: Through madness to deliverance. Philadelphia, PA: Xlibris.

Moynihan, R., Heath, I., & Henry, D. (2002). Selling sickness: The pharmaceutical industry and disease mongering. British Medical Journal, 324(7342), 886–891.CrossRefPubMed

Moynihan, R., & Henry, D. (2006). The fight against disease mongering: Generating knowledge for action. PLoS Medicine, 3(4), 425–428.CrossRef

Neufeld, S. A. S., Jones, P. B., & Goodyer, I. M. (2017). Child and adolescent mental health services: Longitudinal data sheds light on current policy for psychological interventions in the community. Journal of Public Mental Health, 16(3), 96–99. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPMH-03-2017-0013.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

O’Hagan, M. (2017). Madness in New Zealand: A conversation. Asylum: The Magazine for Democratic Psychiatry, 24(2), 12–13.

Podvoll, E. M. (1990). Recovering sanity. Boston, MA: Shambhala Publications Inc.

Razzaque, R. (2014). Breaking down is waking up: The connection between psychological distress and spiritual awakening. London: Watkins.

Stockmann, T. (2015) Open dialogue: A new approach to mental healthcare. Guest blog by British psychiatrist Dr Tom Stockmann. Accessed at https://www.psychologytoday.com/au/blog/hide-and-seek/201507/open-dialogue-new-approach-mental-healthcare, 31 Oct 2018.

Stockmann, T., Wood, L., Enache, G., Withers, F., Gavaghan, L., & Razzaque, R. (2017). Peer-supported open dialogue: A thematic analysis of trainee perspectives on the approach and training. Journal of Mental Health. https://doi.org/10.1080/09638237.2017.1340609.CrossRefPubMed

Whitaker, R. (2010). Anatomy of an epidemic: Magic bullets, psychiatric drugs, and the astonishing rise of mental illness in America. New York: Crown Publishers.

Wilson, T. (2017). Mad studies? A response. Asylum: The Magazine for Democratic Psychiatry, 24(1), 20–21.

Title: My Personal Experience of Orthodox Psychiatry and Alternative Approaches
Author: Ruth Smith
Publication date: 01-06-2019
Publisher: Springer US
Published in: Journal of Religion and Health / Issue 3/2019
Print ISSN: 0022-4197
Electronic ISSN: 1573-6571
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-018-00748-9

At a glance: The ONWARDS insulin icodec trials

Springer Medicine

My Personal Experience of Orthodox Psychiatry and Alternative Approaches

Abstract

At a glance: The ONWARDS insulin icodec trials

Springer Medicine

Abstract

Please log in to get access to this content

Other articles of this Issue 3/2019

Intrinsic Religiosity and Health Risk Behaviours Among Black University Students in Limpopo, South Africa

Muslim Traditional Healers in Accra, Ghana: Beliefs About and Treatment of Mental Disorders

Identification of Concepts of Spiritual Care in Iranian Peoples with Multiple Sclerosis: A Qualitative Study

‘The Elephant on the Table’: Religious and Ethnic Diversity in Home Health Services

Factors Affecting the Tendency of Cancer Patients for Religion and Spirituality: A Questionnaire-Based Study

Associations between Screen-Based Activity, Spiritual Well-Being, and Life Satisfaction among Adolescents