Psychiatry has too much to lose to change

Why does psychiatry need to change? Because it misleads people about the nature of mental illness. It tends to encourage people to think that mental illness is caused by brain abnormality. But most mental illness is not brain disease.

Why does psychiatry mislead people in this way? Because it suits its own interests rather than those of the patients it is supposed to serve. As it can convince enough people of its perspective, it gains prestige and economic prosperity. It is institutionally corrupt (see eg. previous post). 

Psychiatry is unlikely to change. It has too much financial leverage. Its funding will continue to rise because responding to mental health need is still required. It suits psychiatry to exaggerate its ability to do so. 

Does the truth about the nature of mental illness not matter? I think it does. Of course we need myths to live by but scepticism about psychiatry’s dogmatic claims and expression of that critique is important. We just need to be realistic that the vested interests of psychiatry are difficult to overcome.