“Critical Psychiatry”
Unlike the BBC’s Panorama (1), The British Medical Journal (BMJ) gives space to a wide range of views on mental health and behavioural disorders. An article on adult ADD / ADHD last week is an example of how polarized debates can become. One side repeated, as fact, Panorama’s “unfair and not open-minded” opinion on the poor long-term outcome for medication in ADD / ADHD (2).
The BMJ published my own comment online (3), pointing out the need to test and monitor new nurse-led adult ADD / ADHD diagnosis and treatment (4). Of course, the Department of Health is quite right to look for the most cost-effective ways of delivering services, and nurses bring their own distinct and valuable skills to a wide range of clinical settings. But I have already had two conversations with specialist NHS nurses working with children and teenagers, who were concerned at being pushed into taking on too much responsibility too soon.
“Critical Psychiatry” is generally skeptical about all “medicalisation” of problem emotions and behavior. So it seems a bit odd to me that the authors of this piece attacking adult ADD / ADHD suggest that “more established diagnoses…depression, anxiety, and modern conceptions of bipolar and bipolar spectrum disorder” be kept in preference.
This does, though, raise a further question about clinical specialists. Why should adults with “non-established” ADD / ADHD have less direct access to NHS psychiatrists and clinical psychologists, than people with “established” conditions? Surely it is more logical that they have more?
(1) See my last two Blog postings
(3) http://www.bmj.com/cgi/eletters/340/mar26_1/c547#233820
(4) http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/nov/17/nurses-drugs-children
Published at www.DrNM.org.uk on 2nd April 2010; transferred to DrNMblog.wordpress.com on 10th October 2011
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