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> I hope one day basic psychological check ups for children become as routine as a dentist visits. Agreed. Everyone should have a mental health professional. I

by nether 11y ago

> I hope one day basic psychological check ups for children become as routine as a dentist visits. Agreed. Everyone should have a mental health professional. I think a huge step to reduce the stigma would be for a US president to mention his own therapist, similar to how Bush mentioned his colonoscopy. This needs to be brought out into the open.

DanBC 11y ago
Hang on - over-testing and over-treatment is a risk of any medicine, and that's true even if there's no meds involved, only talking therapies. I do strongly agree with you that we need to reduce stigma I'm helping my local "health community" (Public Health (part of county council) Clinical Commissioning Group (part of the NHS, who buy services) and my local MH trust) to tackle stigma.
da1 11y ago
> Agreed. Everyone should have a mental health professional. What about an astrologer, do I need my own astrologer also? mental health professionals have very little to do with other specialties. None of those diagnosis are objectively based on hard data. As they stand they're unfounded speculation and you pressing for general testing is very scary and either ignorant or just downright malevolent.
- meric 11y ago
  That's a good reason to not make everyone have a mental health professional. I think it's fine people can seek them out - people can subjectively evaluate whether the particular professional they're seeing is improving their life or not, and if their life subjectively feels better, then the service the mental health professional is providing is definitely of value. You're right, we don't know enough about what goes on in our minds to force it down everybody, and at the same time, people can be aware of their own selves, and I think we have to be cautious in describing how people see themselves and whether a mental professional is improving their lives, even if without hard data, as unfounded speculation.

by nether 11y ago

DanBC 11y ago

Hang on - over-testing and over-treatment is a risk of any medicine, and that's true even if there's no meds involved, only talking therapies. I do strongly agree with you that we need to reduce stigma I'm helping my local "health community" (Public Health (part of county council) Clinical Commissioning Group (part of the NHS, who buy services) and my local MH trust) to tackle stigma.

da1 11y ago

> Agreed. Everyone should have a mental health professional. What about an astrologer, do I need my own astrologer also? mental health professionals have very little to do with other specialties. None of those diagnosis are objectively based on hard data. As they stand they're unfounded speculation and you pressing for general testing is very scary and either ignorant or just downright malevolent.

meric 11y ago
That's a good reason to not make everyone have a mental health professional. I think it's fine people can seek them out - people can subjectively evaluate whether the particular professional they're seeing is improving their life or not, and if their life subjectively feels better, then the service the mental health professional is providing is definitely of value. You're right, we don't know enough about what goes on in our minds to force it down everybody, and at the same time, people can be aware of their own selves, and I think we have to be cautious in describing how people see themselves and whether a mental professional is improving their lives, even if without hard data, as unfounded speculation.