“The Defeat Depression Campaign was successful in changing wary public opinion. Now, 24 years on, some patients are still being given the same story about chemical imbalances, a theory that has never been proven, and about withdrawal not existing.”
This article by Steve Lewis has been published in the British Journal of General Practice. It begins:
“The Guidance for Psychological Therapists: Enabling Conversations With Clients Taking or Withdrawing from Prescribed Psychiatric Drugs1 was published in December 2019. I was invited to play a small part in its production as I am a campaigner bringing to the attention of governments, the NHS, and the public the difficulties that some people have with severe and protracted physical symptoms when trying to withdraw from SSRI antidepressants.
We know from the advance research quoted at the beginning of the Guidance that 96.7% of therapists work with clients who take at least one psychiatric drug. Of the therapists surveyed, 93.1% reported they would find it either ‘useful’ or ‘very useful’ to have professional guidance to help them work more competently and confidently with such clients.1 This prompted the development of the Guidance as an accessible source of information for therapists about each class of psychiatric drug, how it works, what it is prescribed for, and what is known about its effects on the body and while it is exiting the body. Anything specifically written about a drug is referenced, and everything is evidence based …”
You can read more from here.
