Council Presentation Rationale

Originally presented at the Adult Quality Committee of the Wisconsin Council on Mental Health, Madison, WI

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Rationale as to why mental health stakeholders should become more knowledgeable regarding the long-term mental health findings in Robert Whitaker’s 2010 book, Anatomy of an Epidemic.

Today, most mental health professionals rely on medications to meet treatment objectives. Probably this results from two factors.

First, the medical model has a long history of medication usage to meet treatment goals. Second, budgetary considerations reduce reliance on worker-intensive patient services. Workers include social workers, psychiatrist, psychologist and other related mental health practitioners.

As we have noted in the field of health services in general, much attention is placed on the fiscal costs of treatment services rather than the long-term salutary effects on patients.

Medication certainly has its place; however, studies of treatment effectiveness indicate that questions may be raised as to effects of extensive medications on patients being treated for mental illness.

The author of this book strongly questions what is happening today and suggests re-evaluation of the current treatment paradigm and probable changes in mental health funding and practice policy.