A Guide To Anger And Conflict Resolution
Welcome to From Insults to Respect. In a recent post, I shared some of my views about the pros and cons of the mental illness concept. I’m retired now, but derived my way of looking at these issues when I was employed in various settings as a PhD level psychologist. During my career, I often interacted with people who, upon accessing mental health services, came…
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Welcome to From Insults To Respect. Last year I published a post titled “Are Antipsychotics Beneficial?” (see HERE). Although I had personally reviewed the research, I relied on my method of presenting this information to readers by summarizing a free PDF written by the highly regarded science writer, Robert Whitaker, titled, “The Case Against Antipsychotics: A Review of Their Long-term Effects.” By clicking on the blue…
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Welcome to From Insults To Respect. I’m Dr. Jeffrey Rubin. Typically, here on this blog I aim to write posts that suggest how we might deal with various intrapersonal and interpersonal conflicts in a manner that will enhance the respect that we have for ourselves, and others have for us. But today we will look at a set of circumstances that is a bit more complicated….
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Welcome to From Insults to Respect. Many people have come to feel that the psychiatric profession has failed to treat them respectfully. Several issues have inflamed them, arguably the most emotional being involuntary drug treatment which, to them, is often viewed as torture. Among the groups that agree with this torture notion is the National Association for Rights Protection and Advocacy (NARPA). Its mission statement reads:…
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Welcome to From Insults to Respect. A while ago, as I began to think about what topic to write about for my next post, I received an email from Mindfreedom International (MI). It brought attention to a demonstration it was planning. As MI expressed it in part: A mock funeral mourning those lost to psychiatry or who have had their spirits broken and struggle to survive is…
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In America, the polarization of opinions is incredible. Many Americans, for example, have enormous respect for President Trump, while many others have the polar opposite opinion. There is something similar to this when it comes to how Americans feel about psychiatrists. There are many people who hold the belief that psychiatrists are enormously helpful to our society by relieving suffering while others believe that psychiatrists…
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In an article titled “The Roots of Mental Illness,” the author, Kirsten Weir, tells us about Eric Kandel, MD, who believes that the experiences that doctors refer to as mental illnesses are brain diseases. Dr. Kandel defends his belief with the following statement: “All mental processes are brain processes, and therefore all disorders of mental functioning are biological diseases. The brain is the organ of the…
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Since as far back as she can remember, Carla, 19-years-old, has been having periods during which she has waves of deeply sad feelings. She has family members who say that depression runs in their family, and she should see a psychiatrist for treatment. So, off she goes, and after a few questions, the psychiatrist declares she has a mental illness called Major Depressive Disorder. Carla…
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“Good morning, Barbara,” I say, as my first counseling case walks into my office. I notice she looks a little angry. Upon sitting down, she declares, “I’m terribly frustrated. I’ve been depressed now for over two weeks, and I just can’t shake it!” It’s easy for me to empathize because I regularly have bouts of what I refer to as melancholy. A deep anguish comes…
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On August 8, 2015, I spoke at the American Psychological Association’s annual convention that was held in Toronto, Canada. My speech was part of a two hour symposium titled: “Beyond the DSM–Current Trends in Devising New Diagnostic Alternatives.” The DSM’s letters stand for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. It is currently used by most mental health professionals to classify people seeking mental health services….
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