Spies Like Us : The True Powers of Forensic Psychiatry In British Hospitals

reply to post by ZIPMATT


Almost anyone I know who has studies psychology regrets it. It messes wiv their heads.

I have, unfortunately, been aware of psychiatric abuse for ooooh 28 years now. I’ve seen their wacky ideas come, I’ve seen them go – and then I’ve seen them come back again. I believe the situation in Scotland to be much worse than down south – we have way more psychiatric beds per capita than you guys do – and they tend to want to hold on to their customers.

I was recently in Liverpool to meet people who termed themselves as anti-psychiatry radicals. I had high hopes for that group but they proved to be a bit of a disappointment when I realised the co-founders who were in a relationship, were earning their living from it.

Nice people and all that – one of them had been a patient just one time and she was so shocked she got involved in campaigning. Her partner was the ex head psychiatric nurse for Birmingham North who openly admitted he had to stop because he knew he was killing people. We’ve all got to make a living – and they were looking for contacts from me so they could come to Scotland and give talks – and charge a fee. Pity- I will not be involved with money on this one – it’s too important.

One psychiatric nurse cited a quote to me, ‘Psychiatry is a new and infantile science which gropes around in the dark and occasionally hits the nail on the head.’ Uh huh – not very comforting when they had my son’s father under a section and I could see the harm they were doing to him.

It was through him that I first became aware of the abuse. In the late 70’s and early 80’s he was a journalist out in Israel. He came back to the UK to apply for a press card to go to Beirut (The Israelis were attacking it) and was refused. He became mildly depressed – someone called a GP – and his life has been in tatters ever since.

The peace studies guy was diagnosed with schizophrenia. Really with that diagnosis you’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t. I know people become psychotic – I’ve seen it many times. There’s always a reason – usually created by masses of stress. If I catch flu once in my life would they call me ‘fluistic’ for the rest of my days? But if you decide not to talk to them – like peace studies man – they say its secondary symptoms.

And no they do NOT care about people being suicidal – not really. I’ve had one nurse say to me ‘If they’re going to do it they’re going to do it – what can we do?’ uuurgh. But – it won’t happen (ordinarily) on a hospital ward – the attitude is ‘not on my watch’. If they kill themselves a week after discharge hey ho.

I’ve reams of info on this stuff. It’s cathartic for me to express it. Even putting it on a site like this means at least the info is out there somewhere.