Life Changing Injury

Thursday, August 10, 2006

Where is the APS?

The Australian Psychological Society is certainly free with its words at times, as illustrated here. But where does the APS stand on the distribution of drugs driven not be medical or psychiatric necessity, but by drug company entertanment?

The practice of throwing drugs at psychological disorders is nothing more than the practice of chemical denial -- where the person feels better but the causes of the illnes are not dealt with.

The so-called "Pharma Collaboration", unreported in the Australian media, linked the Mental Health Council of Australia directly to global pharmaceutical giants Pfizer, Eli Lilly, Glaxo SmithKline, Bristol Myers Squibb, Lundbeck, Wyeth and Astra Zeneca.

( from "Mental health takes industry pills" The Age 8 Aug 2006)

How does this "pharmacollaboration work so easily? First, for more than a decade, the federal government has ignored the rise of mental illness in Australia. The Howard years have been years of stubborn denial of the realities of stress in modern life.
Only when the papers filled with statistics showing 5 times as many men were committing suicide as women did Howard move; and then with the sort of 5-year plan that only guarantees that politicians campaigns will be a few hundred million richer.
The nationally touted $1.8 billion voted for mental health treatment is too little too late anyway. I suppose that in itself is a reason for a "can't be bothered" attitude from most politicians at both the state and federal levels. What's a few hundred thousand more Australians tossed into the "too hard bin" anyway?

Some psychiatrists and doctors are catchihg on. Its not hard to see that they are professional pariahs already.

When I did recall (which drug company had given me the book), I remembered I had in the past looked the drug representative in the eye and said that I still prescribed their old product, no longer under patent, in preference to their new variant, because I think it is better tolerated. They still gave me the book on pharmacology — perhaps they hoped that would change my mind when I read it. I have read it: it didn't.

( from "Sample drugs, not 'freebies', are the danger" The Age 7 Aug 2006)

Drug companies are trying to present basic treatment education to Australian doctors? Why would they think that was necessary?

Wasn't there some article on the APS site about APS promoting ongoing professional training for its members? Is this the sort of thing they mean?
The real question is why is it the image I see? A bunch of well-dressed, educated men and women hiding in a dark corner, half-drunk, spitting out epithets, plotting revenge on those that need their professional help?

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