The first half of Part 4 focuses on children with behavioral problems, starting with how parents are sometimes quick to place the blame on the child and a biological cause, rather than place blame on what is more likely the cause of the problems, the parents themselves, school environment, family issues, various forms of abuse, and neglect. Parents don’t want to believe or even consider that the reason their child is acting up might be because something that is happening, or not happening, at home or within the extended family. A great deal of behavioral issues in children can be explained as a response to poor or neglectful parenting, unclear boundaries, lack of appropriate discipline, and abuse (sexual, emotional, or physical). When psychiatry says that the troubled child is acting out because of a biological issue, they not only keep the child from getting the help they need, but they make an excuse to pump them full of dangerous medications.
Following this, the next chapter discusses medication and hospitalization for children with behavioral problems. The people who suffer the most from institutionalization are probably children, given that they have little to no rights once they are inside. Adult patients in institutions barely have rights once they are committed, a child who doesn’t even know what rights are and is used to deferring to the authority of an adult does not know how to stand up for themself or understand that what is being done to them may be very wrong. There are some very interesting comments about the wonder drug for hyperactive children, Ritalin, one being that it is used for attention deficit disorder (ADD) and hyperactivity for children in schools, but used to silence children in institutions. When asked, most children that are put on medication state that they do not like taking it, that it makes them feel weird. But most professionals don’t care what the children think, they just want to see that the drugs are having the desired effect.
Chapter 14 gives an account of the psychiatric experiences faced by women over the course of history. A lot of it has to do with women living in a society built by men, where they have been told that they need to be a certain way to fit in, and struggling against what society has told them they must be like. This is the basis of why women are more likely to become depressed at some point during their lives than men. I was also startled when I read that it is still possible today, and also common, for a man to force his female romantic partner into an institution as a means of controlling them or getting rid of them. And that in some states, rape is not considered rape if the abuse was comitted by the woman’s husband. The author makes some great suggestions for further reading about these issues and the topic of feminism if you are interested in learning more.
The final chapter in Part 4 informs us about the nefarious relationship between pharmaceutical companies and the American Psychiatric Association (APA). The APA accepts financial donations from certain pharmaceutical companies as a means of supporting their struggling organization. At their conferences, these companies give presentations promoting their drugs while also providing detailed pamphlets and giveaways. On top of this, several pharmaceutical companies pay individual psychiatrists to promote their drugs and prescribe them to patients. You would think that this would be a conflict of interest, the fact that doctors are prescribing drugs to their patients because they are being paid to do so, not because they genuinely believe that that specific medication is what is best for the individual. But when asked, most psychiatrists will not consider it a problem. If you want to know more about the alarming business deals between big pharmaceutical companies and the profession of psychiatry, then this chapter is a must read.
Nonfiction and Nonsense 