Public HealthThe Depression Test
There is a frenzied push by mental health providers--almost all of whom have
financial ties to psychotropic drug manufacturers--to persuade government to
adopt a policy of screening teenagers and women for depression.
The women being targeted at this juncture are vulnerable: they are either
pregnant or have just given birth to a child. In both cases, both mother and
infant are at risk of being harmed by pharmacological interventions.
The problem with mental screening starts with the fact that the method for
mental screening is an unreliable suggestive questionnaire which is noted
for its high rate (84%) for misidentifying normal teens as having mental
disorders.
The diagnostic tools used by psychiatrists remain subjective and
unscientific. And, overwhelmingly, the "therapeutic" interventions
prescribed are dangerous psychotropic drugs that have often aggravated an
emotional problem. Indeed, antidepressants increase the risk of suicide--as
these drugs" warning labels indicate.
Schools should not be turned into medical fishing terminals; it is
devastating for any child to be labeled as having a mental illness as such a
label opens the child to a life of stigmatization, discrimination and
undesirable status.
When the "diagnosis" is false, a crime has been committed: who will assume
responsibility for such a child"s derailed life and shattered dream of
becoming President?
The proponents of screening are disingenuous as they pretend that
non-pharmacological therapies are widely available--they are not, especially
for the non-wealthy.
ABC- Good Morning America will have a segment about this issue tomorrow --
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