entarteten:

January 19th 2012 (NYTimes)

Mary Meyer, right, of Ramsey, N.J., said that a diagnosis of Asperger syndrome was crucial for her daughter, Susan, 37.

Proposed changes in the definition of autism would sharply reduce the skyrocketing rate at which the disorder is diagnosed and might make it harder for many people who would no longer meet the criteria to get health, educational and social services, a new analysis suggests

[…] The psychiatrists’ association is wrestling with one of the most agonizing questions in mental health — where to draw the line between unusual and abnormal — and its decisions are sure to be wrenching for some families. At a time when school budgets for special education are stretched, the new diagnosis could herald more pitched battles. Tens of thousands of people receive state-backed services to help offset the disorders’ disabling effects, which include sometimes severe learning and social problems, and the diagnosis is in many ways central to their lives. Close networks of parents have bonded over common experiences with children; and the children, too, may grow to find a sense of their own identity in their struggle with the disorder.

The proposed changes would probably exclude people with a diagnosis who were higher functioning. “I’m very concerned about the change in diagnosis, because I wonder if my daughter would even qualify,” said Mary Meyer of Ramsey, N.J. A diagnosis of Asperger syndrome was crucial to helping her daughter, who is 37, gain access to services that have helped tremendously. “She’s on disability, which is partly based on the Asperger’s; and I’m hoping to get her into supportive housing, which also depends on her diagnosis.”

[…] The changes would narrow the diagnosis so much that it could effectively end the autism surge, said Dr. Fred R. Volkmar, director of the Child Study Center at the Yale School of Medicine and an author of the new analysis of the proposal. “We would nip it in the bud.”

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(Source: doctorofnothing)

justthissideofsane:

I’m writing this partly because my mood is dropping perilously low and partly because I think it needs to be said.

Having a mental illness is not the equivalent of always being mentally ill. One of the things people who have no experience with mental illness often get wrong, is what mental…

(Source: writingrhythmandretail)

drhermy:

One of the things that I find most interesting - and honestly, a little sad - is reading through the psychiatry tag on Tumblr. So many posts are from people who are disgruntled (to say the least) with their psychiatric care. More often than not, the source of the frustration seems to be an unmet expectation — but the part that makes me sad is how misinformed some of the expectations are in the first place. 

Psychiatrists are not psychologists, and a psychiatric appointment is very different from a normal therapy session. A psychiatrist is a physician, and similar to a visit to your PCP, a psychiatric “check-up” may only last 15 minutes or so. Psychiatrists are trained to pull together information from many different sources, including the patient’s therapist, PCP, and the interview, to make the best recommendation for care.

Misinformation about psychiatric meds seems alarmingly common, as well. Psychiatric meds often take a long time to take effect, and shouldn’t be quit too quickly. They are not meant to be like a rescue inhaler (with some exceptions). And meds are only one aspect of good mental healthcare. It’s been proved time and time again that meds only do so much, if coping and cognitive patterns don’t change correspondingly. 

Still, reading these commentaries absolutely worries me, since a lack of patient satisfaction absolutely correlates with the success of treatment - not least because dissatisfied patients are less likely to adhere to the treatment suggested by their psychiatrists. It makes me wonder what can be done to help close the gap between patient expectations and the reality of mental healthcare.

I may have just found my niche: mental health literacy. Public health initiatives have long focused on the idea of “health literacy” and its effect on patient care. It’s time we translate that idea into mental health, as well.

This is so true!  People must be aware of the difference between therapy and psychiatry and this includes people in the health field.  A therapist or psychologist is the only person that can diagnose you, a psychiatrist can confirm this but is not supposed to give you a diagnosis.

Psychiatrist also don’t provide talk therapy, they are there to give you medication and check up with you to make sure the medicine is working, thats it.