Letter to the Galway Advertiser on an article by Mary O Connor.

This letter was not published.
It was written in response to the following article: http://www.advertiser.ie/galway/article/62726/one-in-five-clients-of-new-counselling-service-seek-help-for-anxiety printed on 1/08/13
Here is my letter:

78 Lower Salthill,

Galway,

5/08/13

Dear Editor,

I'd like to make a few comments on Mary O'Connor's article in last week's Advertiser; "One in five clients of new counselling service seek help for anxiety." The article details the work of the Lets Get Talking Galway health care service which has recently opened in the city. Such a service is to be welcomed at any time but especially in these current times when people seeking help with mental health issues seem to be on the increase.

The language used in referring to people with mental health problems is very important. We all are familiar with such derogatory terms as "loony bin," "nuts," "bonkers." etc. However I question some of language as used in the article. To quote: "Meanwhile a “small” but “significant” number of people who contact the service have mental health disorders, such as schizophrenia or are bi polar."

There is a small but growing group of people both professionals and former users of psychiatric services who disagree with the labelling systems used by the psychiatric profession. Professor Ivor Browne, former chief psychiatrist of the Eastern Health Board, Professor Pat Bracken, Clinical Director of Mental Health Services in West Cork and Dr. Terry Lynch. G.P., psychotherapist and author. In fact Terry Lynch became so disillusioned in constantly prescribing medication for people with mental health difficulties that he abandoned his practice, trained as a psychotherapist and has written books in the area of mental health including "Beyond Prozac" and "Selfhood." Pat Braken in the recent Maudsley debate argues that a psychiatric diagnosis can disempower people rather than help them. Professor Ivor Browne also disagrees with labels also preferring to call people who seek his help “clients” as opposed to “patients.”

I do not know if the above words "disorder," "schizophrenia" and "bi polar" are Ms O'Connor's words or were used by someone connected with the centre but we need to be mindful of the language used in these matters. I myself am diagnosed as bipolar but I haven't set foot in a psychiatric hospital in over 20 years.

For a centre offering much needed counselling sessions to people, let's dispense with the labels and give people dignity in recognising their emotional distress rather than further stigmatizing them in saying they have "disorders,"

Yours sincerely,

Thomas Roddy