Paula Caplan writes in Psychology Today about ethics complaints which have been filed with the APA (including one by her as an “interested party”) over the DSM, “a product whose latest edition has brought $100 million in profit for its publisher, the American Psychiatric Association, but that is not scientifically grounded, helps little, and leads to a devastating array of kinds of harm.”
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That’s action. Not sitting around chatting on the Web about what somebody else might do to make a difference.
Congratulations, Dr. Caplan. What a feisty and ingenious move.
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There have been theorists and philosophers for centuries that talk about what other people can do to make a difference. For many reasons, whether it be physical illness or different ability status (read: “disability”), potential for losing a job or societal status, or even lack of resources for carrying out said “difference,” some people are more comfortable and able to talk about what may be done to make a difference than actually going out and acting on what they are talking about. Not everyone is blessed with the ability to action. Also, not everyone is blessed with the ability to critically think about these problems. Don’t put someone down who thoroughly has thought about the issue at hand and is sharing it with others via the internet. The internet is a great place to put our thoughts down and discuss them with others. I’m not really sure what you were attempting to prove, Altostrata, with your comment. If you feel that talking via the internet is a waste of time, why would you read anything? Why would you comment? I would suggest saying something constructive or just moving on. People take different paths in making a difference in our society. Talking about issues and problems is one of them. Once you understand that you will realize why things like this are “sitting around chatting on the Web about what somebody else might do to make a difference.”
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If you think you can do a thing or think you can’t do a thing, you’re right. – Henry Ford
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Dr. Caplan is asking that other patients and PROVIDERS add to the complaint about DSM diagnosis to the APA — see
http://www.psychologytoday.com/comment_redirect/228770
pcaplan has commented on: “Patients Harmed by Diagnosis Find Their Voices”
Subject: anyone interested in filing an ethics complaint
If you have been directly harmed because of psych diagnosis (not JUST by drugs — there is a huge array of kinds of harm, we know) OR if a loved one has OR if you are a professional who has seen the harm first had and/or hates being caught in a system that requires use of psych diagnosis, you may file a
complaint. Since this has not been done before, as far as we know, there is no way of knowing the likely outcome.
There is no “complaints procedure” yet. I have to be very careful about what I post publicly, but anyone interested in filing a complaint should email me through the contact form on this page for me, and I will reply privately if
you send your email address.
The contact form is at http://www.psychologytoday.com/experts/paula-j-caplan-phd
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