LanguageProblemsHoldUP

Please read the second comment contribution to this blog - it's both hilarious and spot on. Consequently, being ever reflexive and responsive but with little time, we are going to copy out a brief draft for discussion below to indicate that we have a serious side, it pains us to do it but we're aware we have to do. We're in editorial conflict here as the jamie of us is in earnest and the james is in spats.

So What is wrong with Mental Health Service Provision?

For a start off, Psychiatry is at the apex of the power structure of mental health law, classification, explanation, identification, restraint orders and treatments.

It has the legal status of an 'expert' 'science', it has the political and social status and power of a fully competent and coherent medical science and it has the consequent public funding to train new 'experts' and to lead and supervise the provision of mental health services, including legal powers to arrest citizens identified under Sections of the 1983, now revised 2007? Mental Health Act to isolate them from society for extended periods of time; to recommend they lose employment and to force unwanted drug treatment upon them on the grounds that such measures are in the interests of their own and/or others safety and 'well being'.

However: Among those who have received psychiatric 'care and treatment' a number have complained that their needs are not being met by psychiatric provision, that the provision is at best incomplete, at worst inappropriate and brutalising.

Therefore one thing that is wrong with Mental Health Service provision is that Psychiatry has too much power, status and share of funding for provision.

A Proposed Change
That Mental Health Service Provision should be jointly and equally developed, funded and led by and interdisciplinery team composed of psychologists, bio-chemists, social workers, service users and additional complementary therapy representatives.

PROBLEM

This will not come about until the following proposition, or something like it, is accepted - in law - to be the 'truth' vis a vis knowledge and expertise a bout mental illness and dysfuntion:-
"Relatively little is yet properly understood about the aetiology of moderate to severe mental health problems. Causation appears to involve multiple factors of interaction. Available medications can be observed to mask symptoms and calm behaviours but not to heal underlying syndromes, especially in the case of severely psychotic illnesses. Strong and empathic social support can be shown to impact significantly and positively on a wide range, if not all, sufferers of mental health problems. Ditto social inclusion in the social infrastructure, such as employment.

Functional psychiatry has yet to develop a testable, that is, falsifiable, theory of mental illnesses. The most successful psychotropic medications have been 'lucky accidents' rather than anything else.

Psychiatry does not have a sufficient cluster of relevant and fully reliable instruments for diagnosis or follow up treatment evaluations to constitute a medical science, or indeed a science, as such at all of any respectable variety.

Psychiatry as a paradigm of knowledge is in crisis. For the keenest minds this is an exciting time to be joining the profession - it is time to go back to the beginning and ask ourselves:-If we see Kraepelin as analogously pre-Galilean in his conceptions of mind and of mental illness then how can we acquire the equivalent of a Galilean take on Mental Ilness?

The first question we need to address, going back to the drawing board, is 'What is the relationship between the mind and the body, and between the body and its environment?

Cf Karl Popper, Enemies of the Open Society; Thomas Kuhn, Structures of Scientific Revolution (1962 I think but don't quote me)

This is only one angle on stuff but it's a bit of seriousness to be going on with.

First Posting from your editor

Hi there :-)

In lieue of MissionMiraculous's website being up and running (watch this space) I decided to follow the lead of the blog tutorial I went to at CEIMH Birmingham Uni recently and set up a blog - now anyone who wants to 'watch this space' on MissionMiraculous can do so from here - don't expect anything exciting to view on the blog page at least for now - I just haven't got the time at the moment.

I shall, of course, be inviting some of the hats to take over some responsibility for the editorial role of MM-us. Track changes of style and typo..

Yes - MM-us is not an individual but a group. It began as an idea, got bounced off a friend in a crimson hat that sported a particularly large 'rose' and moved on into the inspiration of an entire bag of hats. From there it caught up with an increasing number of hat admirers and persifler* aspirants and appreciators.

Some of us are mad, some of us try to be mad, some of us get mad if we're called mad and some of us are simply cheeky monkeys. One or two of us, well, one of us are highly qualified in madness while none of us yet have any qualifications in forensic madness.

All of us are firmly convinced that the ultimate and highest order question in relation to the cosmos and the meaning of life is 'What is six times seven?' and that we would all get much nearer to connectedness to the essential meaning of life if only more of us were wearing hats.

Consequently we are setting an excellent example and are encouraging hat wearing of the most decorative and amusing varieties to become a long lasting and much foregrounded fashion within our culture. Scarves are not to be discouraged either but we would recommend a consideration for health and safety matters in such choices. Meanwhile spats were once all the rage - what was wrong with them?

More serious matters, much to our exhilaration, are subject to MM-us's attention and purpose. However, it's Friday night, 22.33pm and the most serious matter in my mind just now is "what in hecks name am I doing on a Friday night writing a blog for MM-us when my favourite hat is almost certainly having a riot out on the town showing off it's latest wearer!

A special and very personal message for Jez: Jez - you lost my fantabulous jester's crown, how could you do it!! And forget you had it ! I only forgive you because I forgot to take it off you before we parted last week.

Apologies to the rest of our readers, but these personal jibes will not be a habit, just a pleasure lol.

I have no idea how to set up a situation where if you hit on this blog you can write to me and I can publish highlights of correspondence - give me time, just give me time ...

From your pretty IT incompetent Editor in Charge of Hats

Jamie