The Tyranny of Psychiatry

Carmela Amankwaah

University of Maryland, Baltimore CountyFall 2009

Clip ~ Violence Teaser

Introduction

CCHRint. Psychiatry's Prescription for Violence Teaser

“Anti - Psychiatry”

The Age of Enlightenment

Psychiatrists

Marxist Intellectuals

Anarchists

Political leaders

The Congress of the Dialectics of Liberation ~ 1967, London

Thomas, Philip & Bracken, Patrick (2004)

Dr. David Cooper {1931 - 1986} South African Psychiatrist

Coined the term “anti-psychiatry”

Marxist Revolutionary

Wrote numerous essays against psycho-politics

Encouraged revolution against orthodox psychiatry

“Madness” and “Psychosis” were products of society

“Knowing what ain’t so” – Thomas Szasz (2005)

Dr. Ronald D. Laing {1927 - 1989}

Scottish Psychiatrist

Critic of psychiatric diagnoses as biological phenomena

Co-founded a community based psychiatric facility for schizophrenics (Kingsley Hall)

Author of numerous books on mental health“Knowing what ain’t so” – Thomas Szasz (2005)

Dr. Leon Redler & Dr. Joseph Berke

“Knowing what ain’t so” – Thomas Szasz (2005)

“The trouble with people, is not whatthey don’t know but that they know so

much that ain’t so.”

- Josh Billings, American humorist

CCHR Conference - Dr. Szasz

Citizens Commission on Human Rights

CCHRint. Thomas Szasz, Professor of Psychology Emeritus.

Dr. Thomas Szasz

Dr. Thomas Szasz

Born on April 15, 1920 in Budapest – Hungary.

1944 - Medical Degree from University of Cincinnati.

Chicago Institute for Psychoanalysis, certificate, 1950.

Member: American Psychiatric Association (fellow), American Psychoanalytic Association.

The Myth of Mental Illness (1961) Law, Liberty, and Psychiatry The Theology of Medicine

Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry -State University of New York.

www.szasz.com

The Myth of Mental IllnessPart One:

Hysteria: Differences between body illnesses from their imitations.

Psychiatry is a pseudo-science. Nonsensical to treat behaviors using a

medical approach Mental Illness as a fallacy.

Part Two: Man’s Responsibility Development of Moral Thinking Moral Issues in psychiatry and psychology

Szasz, Thomas (1961). The Myth of Mental Illness

“Mental Illness”The Convenient Myth

Age of Faith: Religion mimics Science

Age of Science: Psychiatry mimics

Science

Szasz, Thomas (2006). The Pretense of Psychology as Science

“Mental Illness” Does not Exist!

The Implications of Semantics

What is an Illness?

Biological deviation from the norm

Cancer

Body Temperature

Hypertension

Szasz, Thomas. The Myth of Mental Illness

“It takes one person to develop a real disease. But it takes two people to

develop a mental illness”

- Dr. Thomas Szasz

Thomas Szasz. cchr.org

What is a “Mental Illness”?

Psychological deviation from the Norm?

Psychological Norms - tied to cultural, social, ethical, and legal contexts.

Depression Anxiety Divorce Vengeance

Szasz, Thomas. The Myth of Mental Illness

Diagnosing “Mental Illness”Psychiatrist/

Psychotherapist is an “active participant”.

Diagnoses are subjective.

Influenced by psychosocial and ethical constraints.

Szasz, Thomas. The Myth of Mental Illness

Treating “Mental Illness” Assumptions

Problems with daily living – pathological.

“Patients” are not responsible.

Claims objective and value-free diagnoses.

Behavioral deviations are biological/neurological conditions.

Existing biological tests.

Szasz, Thomas. The Myth of Mental Illness

“Mental Illness” -- Behavioral Maladjustment

If not Nature, then Nurture.

Lose term for describing the manifestation of mankind's struggle to live.

Szasz, Thomas. The Myth of Mental Illness

On Obscenity

“ . . . I know it when I see it . . .”

-- Justice Potter Stewart - 1964

Becoming Real Doctors

Diagnoses (Labels)

Manual ~

Treatment (Psychotropic drugs)

The DSM

Thomas Szasz. cchr.org

Psychiatry and Pharmaceutical Companies

“Conjoined twins joined at the wallet”

-Kay Carlson former drug rep. cchr.org

“Effects” of Psychotropic Drugs

Dry mouth

Dizziness

Increase in appetite

Agitation

Sedation - lethargy

Photosensitivity

Rash

Insomnia

Activation of mania

Hypomania

Suicide

Seizures

Aggressive attention-

seeking behavior

Involuntary dizziness,

Lightheadedness

Psychosis

Gastrointestinal complaints

cchr.org

Breeding Violence

Breeding ViolenceSchool Shooters on Drugs

Illinois – February 14, 2008: 27-year-old Steven Kazmierczak killed 5 ~ Xanax

Nebraska – December 5, 2007: 19-year-old Robert Hawkins killed 9 ~ Valium

Jokela, Finland – November 7, 2007: 18-year-old Finnish gunman Pekka-Eric Auvinend

killed 8 ~ antidepressants

Cleveland - October 10, 2007: 14-year-old Asa Coon killed 1, wounded 4 ~ Trazodone

Blacksburg, Virginia – April 16, 2007: The psychiatric drug history of Seung-Hui Cho

in the Virginia Tech Massacre was never made public.~ “depression medication”

Lake, Minnesota – March 2005: 16-year-old Jeff Weise, killed 10 ~ Prozac.

New York – February 2004: 16-year-old Jon Romano opened fire on school mates ~

“medication for depression”.

CCHR.org. List of School and Teen Shooters

Breeding ViolenceSchool Shooters on Drugs

Idaho – April 16, 1999: 15-year-old Shawn Cooper, opened fire in school ~ SSRI antidepressant and Ritalin

Springfield, Oregon – May 21, 1998: 15-year-old Kip Kinkel, killed 4 ~ Prozac

El Cajon, California – March 22, 2001: 18-year-old Jason Hoffman, opened

fire on classmates ~ Celexa and Effexor

Pennsylvania – March 7, 2000: 14-year-old Elizabeth Bush shot fellow

students ~ Prozac

Georgia – May 20, 1999: 15-year-old T.J. Solomon, shot and wounded 6 ~

andti depressants

Columbine, Colorado – April 20, 1999: 18-year-old Eric Harris, Dylan Klebold,

killed 13~ Luvox (Harris)CCHR.org. List of School and Teen Shooters

The Facts 100 million people worldwide are on psychotropic

medications.

As of 2009 17 million children are prescribed psychotropic drugs.

580% increase (from 1995) in anti-depressant prescription for children under 6 yrs old.

3000 psychotropic-related deaths per year (world wide).

http://www.fightforkids.org/facts.html

Cui Bono? (Who Benefits?)

Dissonance between the nature of Mental Disorders (behavioral) and their Treatment (biological).

Pharmaceutical Companies

Psychiatrists/Psychotherapists

Families?

Patients?

WHY???

Conclusions ~ So What?

Effect of Psychiatry on Psychology

Paradigm Shift

Critical Psychiatry

Instrumental Sources Citizens Commission

on Human Rights

Survivors Speak Out

National Self-Harm Network

The Hearing Voices

Network, Mad Pride and Mad Women

Depressed Parrot on Prozac

telegraph.co.uk

References Biley, Francis C. (2009). Review: Critical Psychiatry: The Limits of

Madness. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing. Vol 16, 214 - 223

CCHRint. Psychiatry's Prescription for Violence Teaser. September 05, 2008. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Z-9aYvTtIw&feature=channel.

CCHRint. Thomas Szasz, Professor of Psychology Emeritus. February 16, 2008. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQegsqYhuZE&feature=related . Retrieved April, 25, 2009.

CCHR.org. List of School and Teen Shooters. White Papers. Retrieved April 25, 2009.

Duncan B. Double (2004). Biomedical Bias of the American Psychiatric Association. Ethical Human Psychohgy and Psychiatry, Vol. 6, 2.

Fight for Kids. http://www.fightforkids.org/facts. Retrieved April 25, 2009.

John A. Vernon Joseph H. Golec, Randall Lutter and Clark Nardinelli (2006). FDA New Drug Approval Times, Prescription Drug User Fees, and R & D Spending.

Szasz, Thomas. (2005) Knowing What Ain't So - R.D Laing and Thomas Szasz. Existential Analysis 16.1.

References Szasz, Thomas. www.szasz.com Retrieved April 25, 2009. Szasz, Thomas (1961). The Myth of Mental Illness: Foundations of

a Theory of Personal Conduct Szasz, Thomas (2006). The Pretense of Psychology as Science:The

Myth of Mental Illness in Statu Nascendi Telegraph News (November 2008). Parrot Given Prozac After

Owner Dies. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/3487321/Parrot-given-Prozac-after-owner-dies.html

Thomas, Philip and Bracken, Patrick (2004). Critical Psychiatry in Practice. Advances in Psychiatric Treatment. vol. 10, 361 - 370.