“The Anti-psychiatry crowd wants it both ways.”
Labeling anyone that questions some conclusions or actions of the psych community “the anti-psychiatry crowd” is just emotional language designed to marginalize anything they might say. It’s a typical leftist tactic used to silence debate. Just because these folks are doctors with advanced degrees, does not mean that they should be free from public scrutiny or debate.
I’ve been critical of psychiatry’s current state for some time now, despite the connections I have to people in the field.
That being said, there IS a legitimate segment of society that believes Psychiatry is “pseudoscience”, typically far-left and far-right types who rather push bizarre theories that mental illness is caused by “structural problems in society”, or that it’s simply evil/ demonic influences.
De-institutionalization was really popular among the leftists who saw asylums as repressive instruments of the state, a form of “psychological imperialism”.
I believe drugs are rampantly over-prescribed by incompetent doctors and cowardly patients who don’t want to have to work out their issues with psychotherapy, behavioral modification and the like. They rather just take a pill and expect everything goes away. I’m with you on that.
However, once people start using people who say that pharmacology is a complete scam, and that things like schizophrenia are “made up”, I will justifiably denounce them for their false statements and throwing the baby out with the water.