Sir, - I very much welcome Dr John Owens's reply (August 15th) to my letter of August 1st and would certainly second his proposal that the public need to "take up the fight" for the provision of "quality services" for the treatment and of the vulnerable within our society.
Dr Owens's misinterpretation of the essence of my letter was unfortunate. He appears to have perceived my words as being a "rejection of the reality" of mental health problems, which was certainly not my intention.
On the contrary, I most certainly recognise the reality but I also question the attitudes and approaches to treating this reality.
The tendency to focus on behaviour, label on the basis of behaviour and medicate accordingly without proven scientific evidence of the efficacy of the medication is worrying, to say the least. Of course there are situations when medication is useful, but how often is the true nature of a person's condition overlooked in the haste to provide that magic quick fix? My belief is that it is the person and not the behaviour that should be the focus of treatment and by nature, human beings respond better physically, mentally and emotionally when treated with respect, compassion and understanding, rather than as things needing fixing.
To suggest that mental health problems do not exist would indeed be counter-productive to any attempts at de-stigmatising them. Education and awareness-raising are essential to acceptance and understanding. There is also a need for a radical change in treatment services that continue to label vulnerable people on the basis of behaviour.
Never, thankfully, would you hear of tuberculosis sufferer labelled "a tuberculosis" or a cancer sufferer "a cancer". Yet, a person displaying symptoms of schizophrenia is labelled "a schizophrenic", a person displaying addictive behaviour is "an addict" and one displaying symptoms of psychosis is "a psychotic". With labels such as these (and there are many), is it any wonder stigma persists? A person is not their behaviour and should not be labelled as such.
When psychiatry can move away from the urgency to provide that "quick fix" towards providing a more holistic, humane, person-centred and non-threatening approach to the treatment of vulnerable individuals in distress, perhaps the reluctance of needy people to seek its services will diminish and the stigma which seems to cover the area of mental health like a fog will begin to lift. - Yours, etc.,
Orla Farrell, Loreto Avenue, Rathfarnham, Dublin 14.