tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3737633890176949647.post1357158699807465247..comments2023-08-22T10:06:28.678+01:00Comments on Discursive of Tunbridge Wells: Guest Blog: Bipolar or Not?CCCU Applied Psychologyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12127528347937708211noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3737633890176949647.post-86723378296416307972013-05-24T22:30:31.349+01:002013-05-24T22:30:31.349+01:00I agree with John. As a mental health professional...I agree with John. As a mental health professional, I sometimes think that we don't trust patients enough. Many retain insight even when they are ill. If someone does have insight and is clearly motivated to get help if needs be, we should trust that a bit instead of just banging them up which is incredibly destructive. I've a patient who was given electroconvulsive therapy without her consent while under section in another country. The experience has severely impacted her ability to trust mental health professionalsAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3737633890176949647.post-8028272464062826452013-05-23T12:57:02.067+01:002013-05-23T12:57:02.067+01:00I think this is a good point. It's such a toug...I think this is a good point. It's such a tough one to get round as well though. Being narrowly fixed in a model of illness and health automatically puts the health professional in a position where they are holding so much responsibility. Perhaps rather more than they should?John McGowannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3737633890176949647.post-7630813628392142072013-05-23T12:51:42.279+01:002013-05-23T12:51:42.279+01:00I'm also struck by the underlying risk-averse ...I'm also struck by the underlying risk-averse culture that influences much of the decision-making of mental health professionals. GPs and psychiatrists may feel this particularly keenly when holding overall responsibility a large caseload of clients with 'risky' diagnoses.<br />It's very unfortunate that the most restrictive practices (hospitalisation, medication, deprivation of liberty) are often judged the most 'safe', despite their potential to cause further distress, and perhaps inhibit recovery.<br />Although diagnosis can be a useful heuristic to help identify potential risks, perhaps a climate too quick to apportion blame might serve to overemphasise them.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00813038552743257664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3737633890176949647.post-33170491022093427882013-05-16T21:21:38.421+01:002013-05-16T21:21:38.421+01:00"I wanted to ask who the professionals were k..."I wanted to ask who the professionals were keeping safe - me, or themselves?"<br />"I wonder if risk may sometimes be heightened as a result?"<br /><br />These are things I have been questioning myself working as a psychologist and actually as another human practising psychology.... <br /><br />Thank you for you post and naming this fundamentally problematic issues in "mental health".<br /><br />Evahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16430185120491475176noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3737633890176949647.post-24204504256157065642013-05-16T21:14:52.136+01:002013-05-16T21:14:52.136+01:00I am wondering though if it's the diagnosis it...I am wondering though if it's the diagnosis itself that helps some people or its function. Why diagnosis is helpful to some people? I believe it's basically about normalising their experiences and communicating to them that other human beings have similar experiences- they are not alone in their suffering and basically we are not alone in our suffering Evahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16430185120491475176noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3737633890176949647.post-89238894556038246922013-05-16T16:09:44.654+01:002013-05-16T16:09:44.654+01:00I, like Fay have also have been incarcerated and r...I, like Fay have also have been incarcerated and robbed of my voice and power. I wish, in my mental distress, I had been listened to, treated with care, sensitivity, respect and understanding. It is frustrating beyond belief for people to keep telling you that they understand "your condition" when they know so little about you, when they haven't even asked "what happened?". It is only through connecting with people's experiences that we can understand better what is going on for people and how best to help them.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3737633890176949647.post-80146672986756231272013-05-16T16:00:06.983+01:002013-05-16T16:00:06.983+01:00This is a very complex topic. While everything tha...This is a very complex topic. While everything that has been stated here about the negative potential of diagnosis is true, there can sometimes be a utility to it. Many service-users report that having a label helps make sense of difficult experiences and that the suffering involved is then validated. I think what's needed is a more fluid approach to diagnosis and different criteria for recovery.Formulation and diagnosis should work hand in hand, not in opposition to one another.Angela Gilchristnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3737633890176949647.post-35905170717892528072013-05-16T14:24:30.549+01:002013-05-16T14:24:30.549+01:00Wow! It must have been really difficult to have be...Wow! It must have been really difficult to have been well for 23 years and suddenly find oneself in the position of being regarded as 'bipolar' again. I can fully understand why the writer might wonder whether she still needs the label or not. Perhaps it's not so much the original diagnosis that's the problem, but the fact that the establishment still clings onto diagnoses, even when they've outgrown their utility. Many people DO recover from serious mental illness, but it seems this is hard for the establishment to acknowledge.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3737633890176949647.post-12904751541935198222013-05-16T14:17:53.481+01:002013-05-16T14:17:53.481+01:00Thanks for this post. I think it's interesting...Thanks for this post. I think it's interesting that so many people speak about attaining recovery but mental health professionals rarely believe that this is possible. I think the problem is that diagnoses rarely add anything to understanding an individual's experience; in fact they detract from this and mean that the main issues a person has with managing emotions/relationships/life (to put it crudely) are not addressed. In addition to this the person has the trauma of being hospitalised and the stigma of a diagnosis to contend with. It's not surprising that the prognosis is bleak. It seems that fighting the labels together with a willingness to experience and process meaningful emotions is what can lead to genuine 'recovery'.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3737633890176949647.post-60027078975626553032013-05-16T11:07:00.629+01:002013-05-16T11:07:00.629+01:00Interesting post. Thank you. I do think though tha...Interesting post. Thank you. I do think though that doctors are in a difficult position. After all you might have walked out the door and done something terrible! RosieRosienoreply@blogger.com