On December 27, 2015, Richard Lewis, a regular contributor to Mad In America, posted on that site Deafening Silence: What Happens When the Whistle Blows and Nobody Hears? Here are the first two paragraphs:
“What happens when someone finally ‘blows the whistle,’ exposing potential harm and possible death caused by today’s mental health system? Is there any government agency or designated persons who are prepared to hear the whistle or even investigate and/or act on the nature of a serious complaint? Are all whistle blowers fired, or are some just ignored and easily dismissed as just an isolated voice in the wilderness? Just how broken is ‘Broken’? Is it even worth the effort of going through official channels to file formal complaints within the current ‘System’? Here is my story and I will let you ponder some of the possible answers to these provocative questions.
September 11th 2015 was my last day working as a counselor/therapist in the U.S. community mental health system. After 22 years working within that system I resigned out of protest having waged a concerted effort (2½ years) to challenge potentially dangerous psychiatric drug prescribing patterns at my workplace. In late April of this year these challenges led to the filing of a major complaint with the Massachusetts Dept. of Mental Health and eventually the Dept. of Public Health. Here is a brief summary of how these events unfolded and ultimately reached a disappointing, but not surprising, final conclusion:”
And here are some more quotes from the body of the article:
“However, I never expected to discover just HOW unprepared, dysfunctional, and totally oblivious the entire state bureaucracy is when it involves any serious complaints detailing possible abuses and harm being done to its citizens by a branch of medicine called Psychiatry.”
“I soon discovered that any supposed “checks and balances” regarding medical safety, as it applies to psychiatric drugs, are nonexistent and the government agencies entrusted with protecting the public in this area of medicine are virtually clueless and totally unprepared to act with any authority. The bottom line is that the overall situation is far worse than even the most cynical critic could ever imagine.”
“…the Massachusetts Department of Public Health is not willing or prepared to even investigate, let alone challenge Psychiatry when it comes to any of the categories of mind altering and often dangerous drugs they prescribe.”
” The entirety of my experience in this endeavor reconfirms my long-held belief that the current ‘System’ is truly broken FAR beyond repair.”
Richard also makes the point that those of us who criticize psychiatry need to
“… work towards developing a broader base of support to maximize the sound and effect of the blown whistle.”
Please take a look at this inspiring article, and pass it along.