The “Logic” of Anti-Psychiatry

by Marvin Ross



One comment this received on Facebook included this:


My reply:


The reply















who wrote this drivel? – It’s not even remotely accurate





9 thoughts on “The “Logic” of Anti-Psychiatry

  1. As usual Marvin , you know what you are talking about. To the person who actually thinks that a parent of a seriously ill person does not have experience, I would say that that person is talking nonsense. Would whoever it is say that when a parent sees their child with a broken leg and can clearly observe that the bone is out of line say that they do not know what they are talking about. Some of these dopes who do not educate themselves about the nature of serious mental illnesses and fail to recognize the need for stabilizing medical treatment hold their tongue and stop making matters worse. They often contribute to avoidable tragedy. Yes psychiatry still has a long way to go, but Whittaker’s disciples need to come to grips with facts .

    Liked by 2 people

    1. A follow up to my previous comment. An example of serious harm has actually been done by the U.S Government funded agency. SAMSA in the U.S has funded antipsychiatry to the hilt. This is a scandalous and a major reason that so many are in jail or homeless. Dr. Sally Satel has drawn this scandal to public attention.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Thanks for all your sensible enlightening comments Patricia. You published a series of articles a while back, somewhere in Ontario. Kingston maybe? They were absolutely excellent and need to be somewhere where people can refer to them. Would you consider sending them to the BCSS or the MHCC or ? somewhere where people can turn to a repository of articles and information. I would have emailed you on this, but didn’t have your email. Marilyn


    1. I do see wanting better outcomes for people suffering mental distress and debating important social issues as “misguided’. If we don’t challenge systems that aren’t working then there’s little point in any form of journalism.


  2. Confirmation bias alive and well here. It’s the same logic used to get pharmaceuticals with horrific side effects and questionable efficacy past the FDA. Choose a few apparently supportive studies and ignore the rest. If you don’t understand how thousands of lives are being damaged by this pseudoscientific nonsense called the biomedical model of mental “illness”, then do some real research rather “cherry picking” blogs from social media. Yes drugs can have a role in helping people to cope, yes people do experience extreme states and require help and support, however the diagnostic constructs of mental distress are just that, constructs. The drugs work by altering a persons mental state not by correcting any disease based deficiency and this is inherently dangerous over the long term. People suffer because of a whole host of social, developmental and environmental factors. Get informed or leave the debate to people who are genuinely trying to show what isn’t working so we can start to discover what does.

    I tired of so much rubbish be written by people who have no idea what it’s like to be at the receiving end of psychiatric “treatment” and the damage it can cause. Publish scientifically supported evidence, first hand experience or write about something else.

    I’m not “anti-psychiatry”, I’m ‘anti’, the pseudoscience propagated by propenants of a model that may serve society and a family members but leaves the person suffering incapacitated, often incarcerated and without a voice. Change is long over due.


    1. Sadly Bernie you appear to ignore the torture of watching someone trapped by hallucinations , the torture of the person with the disease who is trapped when not given medication. Sandra is article and using her gifts because of medication. medications are certainly not perfect but it is the best we have at present. Whitakker certainly raises some legitimate points regarding some bad practices of the the pharmaceutical industry but he ignores the fact that many have better lives because of pharmaceuticals.


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