Vol. 4 No.1 - Psychiatric Survivor Archives of Toronto

Phoenix Rising 39general meeting they decided instead ofdonating money, they would send me,because of my interest (with othermoney from the Free Clinic and individuals).So in Philadelphia, I decided toget involved in the Movement. Therewere a couple of people there fromMadness Network News and NetworkAgainst Psychiatric Assault (NAP A)which are in the same building. NAPAis both political and a support group.Even before I got involved with them Iwas aware of the politics of hospitals,drugs and psychiatry."I have worked with both groups forthe past five years, on and off. Theyare two separate groups with somemembers overlapping. For Madness Ido some editorial work, bookkeeping,layout, and approving for inclusion.Right now there are six or seven on thecollective, with each person having onevote: it varies. There is no paid editor.Our money is entirely from the sale ofthe newspaper and donations: there isno funding or grants."In 1980, the International Conferencewas in Berkeley. We worked on itfor a year. It was hard, because it was acoalition and some were not ex-inmategroups, and the Coalition AgainstForced Treatment was not incorporated.I was concerned because the previousconference in that region had beendominated by professionals. After a lotof discussion, we decided on the 15percent non-ex-inmate figure."Working on the BerkeleyConference I learned a lot-but it wasalso a real burnout. I left to travel andvisit Movement groups in Europe for afew months after the Conference," saidAnne.Since so much effort was spent onthe Berkeley Ban on Electroshock inlate 1982, and the New York demonstration,Anne decided to cycle to theSyracuse Conference. From there sheplans to cycle to BQ~r~n, Montreal andToronto to visit Movement groups."We miss her a lot," said LeonardRoy Frank, who works with Anne atBerkeley. "She is a tremendous sourceof moral support to all in the Movement,constantly giving of herself, withoutever imposing herself. She's one ofmy favourite people. I never met anyonewho had a bad thing to say aboutAnne. To know Anne is to like her.That sounds trite, but with Anne it'ssimply true."Anne is very strong. That vitalforce, mixed with good judgement,good vibes and good ideas, justsmooths things out when difficultiesarise. She has a point of view everyonein the Movement can relate to."I care for her so much. With herhumanity, intelligence and genuinecaring about people, Anne most representswhat our Movement is all about,"said Leonard.So say we all.HAS PSYCHIATRYGONE TO THE DOGS?By Rev. Kenneth J. WhitmanA recent New York Times story statedthat "in treating cer"tain forms ofschizophrenia, it has been found thatdogs can be used successfully wherehuman therapists have failed."This canine "barkthrough" waspioneered by Dr. Samuel A. Corson atOhio State University.The prime qualification of a psychiatricdog is warmth and friendliness. Amedical degree is not required.In a report, Dr. Corson describes thecase of Marsha, allegedly brought tothe University hospital screaming anddisoriented and was diagnosed as a"catatonic schizophrenic" by a humanpsychiatrist. marsha was given drugsbut did not respond. Next, 25 sessionsof electric shock were administered withthe result that Marsha became"withdrawn, frozen and almost mute."Traditional psychiatric methodshaving not only failed but having madethings worse, a psychiatric dog wasassigned to the case. The report saysthat Marsha "soon began to show signsof recovery, leading ultimately to dischargefrom the hospital. " SaidCorson, "The dogs offer the kind oflove a psychiatrically sick personneeds."All this is certainly a step up thesocial ladder for animals who wereformerly employed as domestic pets,but it is not much of a testimony forthe efficacy of modern psychiatric care.It would seem Dr. Corson has missedthe important point which evolvedfrom his experiment - that warmthand friendliness can do a lot more forsomeone experiencing difficulties inliving than can drugs and shocktreatment.The experience also indicates thathuman psychiatrists have lost touchwith their patients as thinking, feelingindividuals. Perhaps due to theirmedical training and the statusmedicine has achieved in our society,psychiatrists have developed a penchantfor things medical: the use offacilities called "hospitals", drugs,physical treatments and even surgery.These trappings are part of what isknown as the "medical model" whichis simply an attempted analogy betweenphysical illness and mental conditions.The main point that usually getsmissed is that the general practitioneror medical specialist is treating largelyorganic, observable illnesses and thepsychiatrist is not.The human psychiatrist calls problemsin living "illness" and has manyimpressive (and intimidating) diagnosticterms, but these do not help achieveresults. This is one big advantage thatpsychiatric dogs have - they don't"know" that an individual is a"patient" or that he "hasschizophrenia of the paranoid type."The dog just relates to a person. Peopledo this too - friends talk problems outwith friends and marital partners talkthings over with each other, often togreat benefit and relief.If human psychiatrists don't changetheir methods of dealing with troubledindividuals, they may well be replacedby canine therapists. Dogs don't charge$50.00 an hour, they are faster to trainand they have the simple ability torelate to people which many psychiatristshave neglected. After all, no oneever said that man's best friend was apsychiatrist.Reprinted fromMadness Network News