Description Schizophrenia is the medical name for the most baffling form of mental disorder that afflicts human beings. There are no laboratory tests available to confirm a diagnosis, and psychiatrists have many divergent and contradictory theories about its cause. Yet the profession is certain that schizophrenia is a medical problem, and is virtually unanimous about the correct treatment for it: most people diagnosed are treated, often involuntarily, with powerful, debilitating drugs that manage but do not cure the condition. Now there is a growing worldwide attempt to identify 'pre-psychotic' adolescents, and to treat them similarly. But what if psychiatrists are wrong? In a radical shift of perspective, Punishing the Patient argues that people with schizophrenic symptoms should be thought of as belonging to two broad, non-medical classes: those who are undergoing a spiritual/mystical emergency, and those who do not conform to social expectations. In each case, psychiatric misunderstanding and mistreatment has led to patients' human rights being violated on a massive scale. This seminal book is bound to lead to a re-examination of schizophrenia by patients, ex-patients, parents, psychiatrists, politicians, and the State. Author Dr Richard Gosden gained his PhD, which is the basis of this book, with the Science and Technology Studies Program at the University of Wollongong. |
