Psychiatric Profession Not Racist Say Experts Friday 22nd September 2006 The high rates of mental illness among black people in Britain is because they are less likely to seek help for psychiatric problems rather than "institutional racism" within the service, according to experts. The greater stigma of mental illness in the African Caribbean community might act as a barrier between them and the medical profession until a crisis develops, say Professors Swaran Singh and Tom Burns. Meanwhile, the relationship between ethnic minority patients and mental health services deteriorates, thereby creating a spiral of "downwards engagement", they maintain. Profs Singh and Burns add that accusing Britain's psychiatric system of institutional racism is "erroneous, misleading, and ultimately counterproductive". Last year, the Count Me In census for England and Wales showed the rates of admission into mental health hospitals were at least three times higher for black and mixed race groups than the average. It also showed that they were 44% more likely to be detained under the Mental Health Act and once in hospital, more likely to experience seclusion or physical restraint. Several reports and inquiries have also alleged that psychiatry is institutionally racist. But writing in the British Medical Journal, Profs Singh and Burns say there may be reasons for the disparity that have nothing to do with discrimination. They said: "Higher rates of mental illness in migrant groups have been proposed as evidence of racism within psychiatry. "Yet rates of psychiatric disorder are high for all migrants, irrespective of ethnicity. This suggests an explanation that is not ethnic specific and is environmental rather than genetic." They went on: "High rates of detention and adverse pathways to care for ethnic minority patients have also been attributed to racism. "Yet a recent UK study suggested that the greater stigma of mental illness in the African Caribbean community might act as a barrier to early help seeking until a crisis develops. "It also suggested that, over time, the relationship between ethnic minority patients and mental health services deteriorates, thereby creating a spiral of downwards engagement." The high rates of black people inside Britain's psychiatric system has concerned both the medical profession, and the black community for many years. There is a hugely disproportionate number of black men inside the hostels, hospitals and secure units of Britain's mental health care system, many with the symptoms of schizophrenia, which can include erratic behaviour and feelings of paranoia. Prof Singh, of the Health Sciences Research Institute at the University of Warwick, and Prof Burns, of the University of Oxford, said it is legitimate to ask whether some groups of patients are more likely to refuse help from psychiatric services. They added: "These findings highlight that there are perfectly reasonable alternative explanations for why the rates and manner of admission vary between different ethnic groups. "Construing racism as the main explanation for the excess of detentions among ethnic minorities adds little to the debate and prevents the search for the real causes of these differences. "In psychiatry, accusations of racism simply feed into ethnic minority communities' alienation and mistrust of services. "They create a self fulfilling prophecy whereby ethnic minority patients are primed to expect services to be poor and racist, decline all offers of voluntary admission, are detained, and disengage with services over time. "There is a serious risk to potential patient care if charges of institutional racism deter staff from taking clinically appropriate decisions and actions. "Hence, any potential solutions must go beyond the health sector and involve statutory as well as voluntary and community agencies. "The problem does not reside exclusively in psychiatry and hence the solutions cannot emerge from psychiatric services alone." http://www.lse.co.uk/ShowStory.asp?...psychiatric_profession_not_racist_say_experts
I agree! There are various and sundry "definitions" that would and could apply to each and every one of us. Now remember, that does NOT include me ....'cause my definition uses my own mental condition as the one and only stable condition! Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Baron Max
