The Treacherous Dichotomy
Physical Illness versus Mental Illness
by
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The label "mentally ill" implies that those illnesses are somehow not as "real" as physical illnesses, that an act of will can overcome them. The label is also stigmatizing, which holds back hundreds of thousands of suffering individuals from wanting to admit they could have a "mental illness, thus throwing up obstacles to early intervention and timely diagnosis and treatment.
The majority of psychiatrists still believe there is such a thing called "mental" illness, and the deep psychological conflicts are at the root, requiring them to use weekly forty minute "psychoanalytic" psychotherapy, often for years, if the patient can afford it.
In the past decade, a new body of scientific information has become available in the field of neuroscience which gives overwhelming evidence that "mental" illnesses are the result of physical brain abnormalities, and indeed, are physical illnesses. most psychiatrists are unable or unwilling to master this complex new information of neuroscience and its associated treatment arm, complex clinical psychopharmacology. The result is unnecessary suffering, symptomatology, disability and suicides in the current "moth eaten" so-called "mental health-care" treatment system.
The whole business requires radical revision in this the twenty first century. Psychiatrists need to be trained like neurologists, focusing on the physical brain and its pathologies. Lay therapist (PhD's and MSW'S) are perfectly well suited to offer the weekly psychotherapies.
Even the terminology requires revision. Psychiatrist (Psych - psycho) should become "neuriatrists", neuro meaning physical as in neurologist. The stigmatizing label "mental" as in illness must be changed and given the root "neuro" as in neuriatric" illness. We must change our approach.
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About the Book
Scientists have shown that “mental” illness is actually the result of physical brain abnormalities, but most people are still using misleading terminology.
The stakes are high, as the way we look at, label, and treat mental illness has resulted in unnecessary suffering, symptomatology, disability, and suicides.
Stefan Lerner, M.D., challenges the status quo in this treatise, arguing that psychiatrists need to be trained like neurologists, focusing on the physical brain and its pathologies. Lay therapists, he says, are perfectly suited to offer psychotherapy.
According to the author, the label “mentally ill” implies that those illnesses are not as “real” as physical illnesses, that an act of will can overcome them. The label is also stigmatizing, which prevents individuals from seeking help.
The bottom line is the very concept of an illness being “mental” is scientifically wrong. They must be reclassified as physical brain illnesses like neurological illnesses. This is the most effective way to reduce stigma and improve diagnosis and treatment.
Join the author as he tackles a weighty topic with serious implications for doctors, psychiatrists, and hundreds of thousands of everyday people.
About the Author
Stefan Lerner, M.D. is a senior physician/psychiatrist who has been in practice for more than forty years. He is a diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and a member in good standing of The American Medical Association. His primary clinical practice is in clinical psychopharmacology and its background basis, neuroscience.