Behaviorism and Mental Health

Alternative perspective on psychiatry's so-called mental disorders | PHILIP HICKEY, PH.D.

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“Normal” Bereavement

March 13, 2012 By Phil Hickey | 3 Comments

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There was a nice article in the Lancet last month.  The article posed the question: “When should grief be classified as a mental illness?”

The author criticized the APA’s draft version of DSM-5 for blurring the distinction and for making it more likely that people in bereavement will be “diagnosed” as depressed and, of course, “treated” with prescription drugs.

There has been a good deal of criticism against the APA on this issue, and it is likely that the final version of DSM-5 will reflect some retreat in this matter.

The problem is not new, however.  DSM-III included “uncomplicated bereavement” (V62-82) as a V code (i.e. “conditions not attributable to a mental disorder.”)  V62-82 occurs also in DSM-IV, but without the word “uncomplicated.”  What is noteworthy, however, is that in DSM-IV, a list is provided of “symptoms” that can be used to distinguish a normal bereavement from major depression.  The APA’s agenda is clear and has always been clear:  to pathologize for their own profit, and for the profit of pharmaceutical companies, as much of human existence as possible.  There is clear and steady progression in this regard from DSM-III to DSM-IV and now to the draft DSM-5.

There are no mental disorders.  There are people with problems, one of which is the loss of loved ones.  These human problems are not helped by drug-taking.  Bereavement in particular should not be addressed in this way.  Attempts to smother the feelings of loss and despondency with chemicals are always counter-productive.

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Filed Under: A Behavioral Approach to Mental Disorders Tagged With: DSM-5

About Phil Hickey

I am a licensed psychologist, presently retired. I have worked in clinical and managerial positions in the mental health, corrections, and addictions fields in the United States and England. My wife Nancy and I have been married since 1970 and have four grown children.

 

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The phrase "mental health" as used in the name of this website is simply a term of convenience. It specifically does not imply that the human problems embraced by this term are illnesses, or that their absence constitutes health. Indeed, the fundamental tenet of this site is that there are no mental illnesses, and that conceptualizing human problems in this way is spurious, destructive, disempowering, and stigmatizing.

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