Should There be a Great Push BACK About Global Psychiatric Drug Industry?

What do you think of this?

The World Federation of Mental Health (WFMH), which sponsors World Mental Health Day every year on 10 October, recently announced that their annual day will promote their new international campaign "THE GREAT PUSH FOR MENTAL HEALTH."

But will this or other similar global campaigns by mainstream mental health groups take on "The Great Pushers" in the mental health system?

That is, who will challenge the power of the huge pharmaceutical industry, and the narrow medical model that currently rules programs for mental and emotional well being? Understand that MindFreedom is pro-choice on taking prescribed psychiatric pharmaceuticals, and many of our members take them regularly.

But in the last few years, there's been a kind of chemical crusade to promote the western view of the mental health system to the whole world, a view that claims there's a magic bullet that can fix a chemical imbalance, a chemical imbalance that is never found.

For info about the WFMH Great Push see: 

http://www.wfmh.org/00GreatPush.htm

WFMH says there have been, "Perceptions of disunity in the mental health world..."

I have attended several WFMH events. While there are some nice people, I remember a decade ago in Vancouver, Canada when WFMH held an "Assembly of Mental Health." There was a huge amount of psychiatric drug company domination of the event. Some drug companies were even "Gold Sponsors" that had given tens of thousands of dollars.

Today, WFMH says they are reaching consensus during a first round of consulting among all mental health groups. We've been around 24 years, and participated in several WFMH events. But I don't remember MindFreedom being asked. Was your mental health group consulted?

WFMH does say they are calling to create a Center on Human Rights and Mental Health. Sounds like a good idea. But we haven't heard yet from them about that, yet, either.

A few years ago we did inquire with WFMH about their own drug company funding. WFMH said, at that time, that their pharmaceutical donations were mainly kept apart from their central efforts, by channeling these funds into their World Mental Health Day. 

What do you think? I say that the real theme for Sunday, 10 October 2010 ought to be:

"The Great Push BACK Against Psychiatric Drug Industry Abuse"

While of course there are many exceptions, the main "Push" in mental health today is a one-size-fits-all model, bought and paid for by overwhelming support for a psychiatric drug approach.

Feel free to forward a link to this blog entry:

http://www.mindfreedom.org/mfi-blog/wfmh-great-push

I'd be interested in people's feedback. You can e-mail to news (at) mindfreedom (dot) org.

You can also e-mail a civil note to WFMH, their contact info is here: http://www.wfmh.org/00ContactUs.htm

David

David W. Oaks, Executive Director
MindFreedom International

Unite for a Nonviolent Revolution in Mental Health.

Join now! http://www.mindfreedom.org/join-donate

"Human salvation lies in the hands of the creatively maladjusted."
- Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.