…I am, particularly, quite disturbed by the blurred boundaries in which the practitioners of psychology assume within their disciplinary matrix. The fact that psychologists interact with the poor individuals that are being illegally detained by this imperial presidency, not purely as health care providers, but also as participants in the process of interrogation, is demonstrative of psychology’s schizophrenic role in society, which effectively occupies various capacities, including both the role of the healer and the role of the disciplinarian, who works for institutions such as the military and law enforcement, creating a situation where the ethics are confused to the point that they are virtually non-existent…
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With the controversy that is finally taking shape concerning the participation of psychologists in the interrogation of illegally detained prisoners – incarcerated in a manner that strikes resemblance to the mistreated animals in a traveling circus – conducted by those in military intelligences as well as private contractors, who are not beholding to the constraints of military law, I think that this letter that was circulated to members of the anti-psychiatry movement might be relevant to the present and more general issues we must address.
It is my contention that the manifold roles assumed by practitioners of psychiatry creates a condition, where these individuals acquire capacities that call for the integration of practices stimulated from the imperatives emanating from conflicting identities, belonging to various institutions in civil, government, and sometimes the economy. In short, under the present circumstances, psychologists can contemporaneously operate as healers, interrogators, and functionaries of other modalities of executive authority. This perversion of ethics occurs in both the insidious detention centers situated around the world and, even, within our own domestic boundaries.
Although I fail to raise this possible solution to this pollution of ethical domains that should certainly possess borders that are clear and distinctive – a blurring of responsibilities, resulting in the perverse administration of a psychologist’s acquire knowledge – I would like to suggest that we, as a society, demand that this confused discipline segregate its members into identifiable groups: those practice psychology for the purposes of healing; and those who implement behavior science for the purposes of facilitating the actualization of imperatives generated by those in government and those who are powerful. This proposal would effectively prevent psychologists from creating an aura of insincere intentions when interacting with the vulnerable in our society and other societies that fall under the auspices of American Empire.
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I have been learning more about the various discourses, contributing to the popular insurrection against the mental health industrial establishment and I am curious about what types of reforms we are attempting to enact through activist efforts. I have been a patient to a moderate extent of psychiatrists, off and on, for a few years in the earlier portions of my life, and my experiences have been somewhat different. I stumbled upon practitioners who did not impose any regime of treatment, but, rather, engaged in a dialogical intercourse with me, where both my original positions, regarding the type of treatment I should receive, and the physicians proposed trajectory of treatment, were synthesized into a form that I continued to find desirable and, additionally, more efficacious in respect to the actualization of my goals when receiving treatment. This type of flexibility on both my part and the doctor’s part generated a flexible environment, where I never felt coerced. Instead, I felt as though the physician was providing me with options in order to facilitate the agenda that I had staked out for myself.
As a result of my experiences, I am not so much opposed to the therapeutic practices of the types of psychiatrists that I have been fortunate enough to encounter. Pursuant to the inferences I made from my admittedly limited observations, I decided that I was not opposed to treatment programs that employ medications, rather I am opposed to the narrow classifications that some in the profession impose upon people, which lead to the stigmatizing consequences that place objects of these practices in a position where they must manage and compensate for undesirable social identities that have been thrust upon them.
I am aware of the fact that there are still some in the profession of psychiatry that consider the appropriate manner to interact with patients includes adopting the behaviors associated with a disciplinarian, who subjects the unfortunate soul, assuming the role of the object of manipulation, with imperatives that are most commonly manifestations of value judgments, not suggestions for courses of treatment that facilitate the realization of the aspirations of the individual under counsel.
It is for the reasons stated above that I have trouble understanding the movement in its entirety. Often, it seems as though advocates are voicing objections to the implementation of medical forms of treatment, altogether. I, on the other hand, am simply opposed to coercive treatment that implants negatively connoted social identities onto an individual or, even worse, applies forms of treatment, which are always polluted with the practitioner’s own prejudices regarding what constitutes the Good Life, by means of compulsory – sometimes physically imposed – psychiatric regimes of behavioral modification.
I am, particularly, quite disturbed by the blurred boundaries in which the practitioners of psychology assume within their disciplinary matrix. The fact that psychologists interact with the poor individuals that are being illegally detained by this imperial presidency, not purely as health care providers, but also as participants in the process of interrogation, is demonstrative of psychology’s schizophrenic role in society, which effectively occupies various capacities, including both the role of the healer and the role of the disciplinarian, who works for institutions such as the military and law enforcement, creating a situation where the ethics are confused to the point that they are virtually non-existent.
As I stated initially, some psychiatrists, despite the vows they made when taking the Hippocratic oath, also see themselves as situated within the polluted context, in which psychologists reside when assuming the various functions available to them as members of a profession uninhibited by any oaths, such as the Hippocratic. The requirement of such a sacred promise, should present ethical obstructions to any form of practice that is not integrated into the course of the application of healing remedies. Nevertheless, as I have mentioned with a considerable degree of frequency, some psychiatrists, such as those who testify for the prosecution during death penalty hearings, seem to neglect to obey by the missions they adopted when acquiring a position in their respective profession.
With all of this said, I would like to humbly submit these conceptualizations concerning public issues related to the practices of both psychiatrists and psychologists for further consideration by as many people as possible, who are kind enough to indulge me and my intellectual curiosity. Also, as an incentive for participation, I should state that such a clarification would have an empowering effect, since it would explicitly delineate what we are attempting to achieve through our activist endeavors. When some of the most crucial alterations that we call for are enunciated in a clear and unmistakable manner, it will be harder for the Little Eichmann of society to impose their deleterious, coercive behavioral modification practices.
Thanks for those who took the time reading this rather lengthy essay, and thanks in advance to those who are kind of enough to follow along with me in the trajectory of dialog I have proposed.
Written by Russell Cole, [send him email] who is a contributing author to the www.populistamerica.com, and is the coordinator for the Populist Party’s Midwest Alliance. Read more from Russell Cole at the Midwest Populist Party blog.
