Advocacy for Those Who Need Mental Health Services or Treatment Advocacy?

The State is in a budget crisis, just like the rest of the planet.  I received a message from Disability Rights Washington about the threat to slash the Medicaid budget by discontinuing payment for prescription drugs.  How could this save the taxpayers money?  It would in all likelihood, for those with chronic physical conditions, and those with psychiatric diagnoses cost the taxpayers more than it could potentially save.  Psychiatric medications that are abruptly stopped lead to withdrawal and increased distress and crises; leading to increased hospitalizations, crisis care, and contact with the justice system.  Collectively, all of these are more costly; cause more collateral damage to society as a whole, and fail to provide for, protect or to foster recovery of those with diagnoses.  I would be willing to bet this is a scare tactic to rile the uninformed who advocate for the court ordered treatment programs; and believe that medication is the only way to "treat" certain conditions.

Money problems are prevalent, and are not just about how much or how little we have; sometimes budget issues are value problems.  What is valued by the individual or group whose money is being budgeted?   It is not only a matter of how much there is and how it is being spent, but more importantly, who are we allowing to make these decisions, based on what criteria?  The pharmaceutical companies have perpetrated fraud on a massive scale in this country and across the globe; we as a people have not done our part to stop it.  NAMI has propelled a medicate, by force if necessary, agenda across the country funded by the pharmaceutical industry.  There is an obvious conflict of interest in the relationship between NAMI and big pharma.

My son for several months has been taking Omega 3 from fish oil as an over the counter supplement.  After the recent hospitalization, it is now prescribed; as a prescription drug the same amount dosage-wise for a month costs more than 10 times the price of buying it over the counter.  Some medications manufactured by U.S. pharmaceutical companies are sold to U.S. citizens at 6 times the price the same medications cost in other countries.  With the liberal direct marketing of medications in print, television, billboards, et cetera et cetera, one may believe all you need is a pill; not to learn a skill, or change a behavior.  Children are growing up to believe virtually all undesirable behaviors and feelings are symptoms of disease and need to be medicated.

The fraud and lack of ethics in the pharmaceutical industry would not be possible on the scale it is without the complicity of psychiatry, and so-called grass roots advocates who disseminate the propaganda without question for them.   It can't be stopped without the people taking a stand about what is valued: honesty, integrity, justice and human dignity or fraud, deception, ignorance and bigotry?  I know I feel guilty filling a prescription that costs taxpayers $114., to save my son $10. a month; but it is a choice that we make based on the $674. SSI, that is his sole income.  I wonder if anybody else has a problem with this?  I'm sure GSK and it's shareholders see nothing amiss.

It is unethical psychiatrists, "treatment advocates," and the uninformed unfortunate others who help them to develop and support the NAMI agenda of  Involuntary Inpatient Commitment, PACT and AOT programs, while spreading pharmaceutical industry propaganda,  instead of disseminating the truth.  These "treatment" programs use coercion, threats of, and force of law as tools to gain medication compliance; and ignore or deny the grave disability, and early death often caused by the "treatment."  This agenda is now the law in the state I live, and many others. Constitutional Rights to Procedural Due Process of Law are ignored, and violations are not investigated in a timely manner, if at all.  

We in the consumer/survivor movement recognize that these programs, policies and laws are in fact a giant step backward in helping those who need mental health and supportive services to recover, causing further harm to the people the programs and policies are supposedly to help.  How can it be that denying an individual and groups of individuals who are labeled with particular diagnoses their Human Rights is accepted; justifiable, if the intent in so doing is to help the people who are denied their rights?  The ends do not justify the means.  The road to hell is paved with good intentions.   We, as a society can not do a good thing for others based on deceit and fraud of psychiatry and the pharmaceutical industry!

My son's civil rights have been violated repeatedly, he has been the victim of violent crime, abuse and neglect in the care of "Mental Health Professionals" and service providers under the umbrella of Washington State Department of Social and Health Services.  A court order was obtained in which the original petition contained a forged document, "testimony" that was gossip, and innuendo, and outright perjury.  I reported these crimes on August 10, 2010.  The State of Washington conducted it's investigation on October 26, 2010, I am still waiting to receive the report.

Update:NOT! a real investigation.