Mental Health Europe (MHE) is a non-governmental organization “… committed to the promotion of positive mental health and well-being, the prevention of mental health problems, the improvement of care, advocacy for social inclusion and the protection of the human rights of (ex)users of mental health services and their families and carers.” It is composed of associations, organizations, and individuals who are active in the mental health field, including users and ex-users of services, volunteers, and professionals. MHE subscribes to the following values: dignity and respect; equal opportunities; freedom of choice; non-discrimination, social inclusion, democracy and participation. You can read more about them here.
On May 17, MHE published a brief article on their website. It’s called “More harm than good – DSM-5 and exclusively biological psychiatry must be completely rethought.” You can see it here. (Thanks to Lucy Johnstone on Twitter for the link.)
Here are some quotes:
“…DSM 5 represents another step in the increasing dominance of a wholly biological approach to mental health problems…”
“There are many tried and tested psychosocial approaches to treating and supporting people with mental health problems, which have been neglected by the powerful political and commercial interests which dominate western psychiatry.”
“The biomedical approach in the DSM 5 is thus restrictive and harmful, and should definitely be rethought…”
So we have another prestigious organization denouncing the DSM and the bio-medical approach.