The
executive order establishing the US President’s Make America Healthy Again Commission has caused concern amongst leading psychiatric organisations because it proposes to assess the prevalence of and threat posed by the prescription of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), antipsychotics, mood stabilizers and stimulants (see
Psychiatric Times article). As far as these psychiatric organisations are concerned psychiatric drugs are safe, effective and can be life-saving (see
joint statement). They urge the Federal Government not to disregard the critical role played by the appropriate use of evidence-based psychotropic medications in the treatment of individuals with psychiatric conditions that carry inherent high risks for suicide or other dangerous or life-threatening behaviors.
At face value it seems difficult to see why the Commission should not give due consideration to the value of psychotropic medication. If such medications are so safe, effective and life-saving, why should an assessment of their risks cause such concern?
As I have said before, mainstream psychiatry will never accept that psychiatric medications are not effective (see eg.
previous post). But it does need to acknowledge the limits and potential disadvantages and harms of such medication. Overstating the case for psychotropic medication is not necessarily in the interests of patients, even if it may suit the institution of psychiatry. Maybe only the politicians can effectively counter such institutional bias.
