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Member since: December 27, 2012
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In re: post by "DonB" 12/18/2012 - 9:54am
Post cites Chapter 5 of "Sharing the Dream: Is the ADA Accommodating All?"
That chapter includes statistics indicating the number of ADA filings for pscyhiatric disorders doubled in 7 years from 1992 to 1999 while the number of back injuries as basis for disability complaint under ADA dropped by about 30 percent. Why?
"This increase in charges reflects, in part, the prevalence of psychiatric disorders in our society," the authors claim.
Bogus claim. Did psychiatric disorders double in 7 years when the number of such claims doubled, or did savvy advocates learn to work the new law, at the same time recognizing through experience that value of back problem claims proved to be somewhat less?
The claim exemplifies a pseudo-religious belief in the efficacy of current psychiatric treatment modalities, and in the validity of current diagnostic regimes. The claim supports the widespread practice of doping away symptoms while ignoring the inexorable effect of complex social relationships that frequently fail to meet individual needs.
The jump to fallacious conclusions about causes of psychiatric symptoms masks a bifurcated treatment system in which individuals are routinely doped in clinical settings, then derided as the cause of their own disorders in pseudo-scientific, quasi-clinical "behavioral health" boot camps.
This behavior on the part mentally disordered employees and managers of these "behavioral health bootcamps" betrays the prevalence of pathological authority relationships in our society. Confused by abuses of authority in their own childhoods, these mental health workers -- like so many cops, prosecutors, politicians (on every side) and church workers -- seek out situations where they can model the abusive authority under which they suffered at the hands of their primary childhood caregivers.
The abuse of authority and reliance on popular "spiritual" beliefs among "behavioral health" workers was noted in this forum in a post by antlion (2/16/2011 - 10:19am) in which the writer cited the behavior of a part of a licensed "treatment" counselor:
"Over at the Tulsa Center for Behavioral Health, TCBH, they have State-licensed treatment Counselors. Let’s call one of them Trudy Sting, not her real name. She has one answer for everything – no matter what bad things in your life have and continue to upset you, you just have to realize and accept that You are the common denominator, and take responsibility for Your actions.
"You got raped and continue to be upset whenever you hear comments that sound like the rapist? You are the common denominator. You got abused as a child and still cringe whenever you hear that tone of voice? You are the common denominator."
This solipsist approach to "behavioral" health is essentially an effort on the part of unqualified individuals to practice psychotherapy without the training, skill or resources. The primary goal of "behavioral" health is to modify behaviors -- not primarily help people understand and overcome the psychological and physiological effects of trauma. The naive, faith-based approach (not Xtian faith based - more like humanist-faith-based) fails to realize the strong effect of subconscious and emotive memories, instead treating all behavior as if it is a product of cerebral thought processes.
The very notion of "behavioral health" arose primarily from legal contexts -- not medical contexts. The primary "behavior" these merchants seek to modify relates to consumption of illegal substances. These agencies depend for their economic survival not on research and clinical success, but rather on a stream of clients court ordered to buy their services after violating pharmaceutical laws passed by legislators with no knowledge of pharmacology, mental health, neurology or even formal training in public administration. They don't care if their policies are not validated by research - they seek their validation from voters who likewise lack any specific knowledge of pharmacology, mental health, neurology or even formal training in public administration.
The left is screaming "More guns won't fix the problem." Those of us who don't get swept into left or right camps counter "More behavioral health and psuedo-scientific approaches to mental distress won't fix the problem."
Until the U.S. mental health system collapses, and those of us who want to return to our quiet rural lifestyles are allowed access to land where we can rebuild a sense of serenity and place, it's a safe bet that we will continue to need to arm ourselves to protect ourselves and our loved ones against the wounded souls who were doped up, derided then spit out by the mental health system.
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