Caricature of psychiatry

Published on Monday 29 December 2008 20:18

Your readers should be aware that the Citizens Commission on Human Rights (UK), on behalf of which Brian Daniels writes (Letters, 27 December), was created by the so-called Church of Scientology.

L Ron Hubbard, the founder of scientology, had a violent prejudice against psychiatry, and his followers have retained it.

Mr Daniels presents a caricature of the views of psychiatrists, according to which the overriding cause of mental affliction is "a brain-based chemical imbalance" and the sole remedy is treatment with drugs.

All psychiatrists, on the contrary, recognise the immense complexity of the problem of mental illness. Many of them, I have no doubt, believe that a society characterised by inequality, stress, perverse ideals and unattainable aspirations is one which encourages it – just as, I would add, a rather similar set of social evils encourages the spread of absurd cults like scientology.

PAUL FLETCHER

Baronald Drive

Glasgow