To the Editor:
In “It’s Not Just a Chemical Imbalance” (Sunday Review, July 28), Kelli María Korducki describes her personal experience over many years seeking professional treatment for her mental health challenges. She laments that psychiatry has become “an industry of medication management.” This opinion is widely shared — alas, justifiably so.
But it’s not the psychiatrists who are the force behind this shift.
As a past president of the American Psychiatric Association, I have encountered the same lament from fellow psychiatrists across the country. Instead, it’s the insurance industry and the managed care world that relegate psychiatrists to the 20-minute “med check” role.
Don’t get me wrong: Psychiatric medications are valuable components of treatment. But mental illnesses are complicated. Medications can do part of the job, but the rest must be done by a careful partnership between psychiatrist and patient, a thoughtfully crafted treatment plan that includes psychotherapy and/or high-quality psychosocial interventions.
It’s respect, compassion, genuine interest and professional expertise that psychiatrists must bring to the patient, to form a therapeutic relationship and then have enough time to do the job.
John M. Oldham
Houston
The writer is chief of staff at the Menninger Clinic.
To the Editor:
As a 45-year veteran of antidepressant medication, and a 60-year veteran of psychotherapy, I was finally relieved, as well as angered, the other day when my psychiatrist admitted that the meds probably hadn’t helped me over all these years: “You’re one of those people for whom talk therapy is really the best answer.”
I can’t stop these particular drugs because withdrawal from them is very distressing, I am told. I can, however, continue my talk therapy, which has kept me alive. The several psychiatrists I’ve had — and the latest is the most impressive and kind — have believed in chemistry. My psychotherapist believes in listening.
Christopher Lukas
Sparkill, N.Y.
The writer is the author of “Shrink Rap: A Guide to Psychotherapy From a Frequent Flier.”
To the Editor:
Bravo to Kelli María Korducki. Her experience with mental illness closely parallels my own nine-year struggle with major depressive disorder.
Impervious to antidepressants, I refused to believe that I was a victim of my genes even though my mother died from the side effects of untreated depression at 45. A rigorous program of yoga, tai chi, swimming and meditation maintains my mental stability.
Balanced nutrition, acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine are also a part of the program I have designed according to my own insights. And perhaps most important of all is the loving support of family and friends.
The epidemic of mental illness and suicide calls for a multifaceted, enlightened approach to the treatment of this serious personal and public health problem.
Jenny Orme
Sacramento
Source: Read Full Article
Home » Analysis & Comment » Opinion | Paths to Treating Mental Illness
Opinion | Paths to Treating Mental Illness
To the Editor:
In “It’s Not Just a Chemical Imbalance” (Sunday Review, July 28), Kelli María Korducki describes her personal experience over many years seeking professional treatment for her mental health challenges. She laments that psychiatry has become “an industry of medication management.” This opinion is widely shared — alas, justifiably so.
But it’s not the psychiatrists who are the force behind this shift.
As a past president of the American Psychiatric Association, I have encountered the same lament from fellow psychiatrists across the country. Instead, it’s the insurance industry and the managed care world that relegate psychiatrists to the 20-minute “med check” role.
Don’t get me wrong: Psychiatric medications are valuable components of treatment. But mental illnesses are complicated. Medications can do part of the job, but the rest must be done by a careful partnership between psychiatrist and patient, a thoughtfully crafted treatment plan that includes psychotherapy and/or high-quality psychosocial interventions.
It’s respect, compassion, genuine interest and professional expertise that psychiatrists must bring to the patient, to form a therapeutic relationship and then have enough time to do the job.
John M. Oldham
Houston
The writer is chief of staff at the Menninger Clinic.
To the Editor:
As a 45-year veteran of antidepressant medication, and a 60-year veteran of psychotherapy, I was finally relieved, as well as angered, the other day when my psychiatrist admitted that the meds probably hadn’t helped me over all these years: “You’re one of those people for whom talk therapy is really the best answer.”
I can’t stop these particular drugs because withdrawal from them is very distressing, I am told. I can, however, continue my talk therapy, which has kept me alive. The several psychiatrists I’ve had — and the latest is the most impressive and kind — have believed in chemistry. My psychotherapist believes in listening.
Christopher Lukas
Sparkill, N.Y.
The writer is the author of “Shrink Rap: A Guide to Psychotherapy From a Frequent Flier.”
To the Editor:
Bravo to Kelli María Korducki. Her experience with mental illness closely parallels my own nine-year struggle with major depressive disorder.
Impervious to antidepressants, I refused to believe that I was a victim of my genes even though my mother died from the side effects of untreated depression at 45. A rigorous program of yoga, tai chi, swimming and meditation maintains my mental stability.
Balanced nutrition, acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine are also a part of the program I have designed according to my own insights. And perhaps most important of all is the loving support of family and friends.
The epidemic of mental illness and suicide calls for a multifaceted, enlightened approach to the treatment of this serious personal and public health problem.
Jenny Orme
Sacramento
Source: Read Full Article