3 ms·

The history of Geel, and the future of mental healthcare

47 points by benbreen 10y ago

tcj_phx 10y ago
from the link: > In recent decades the ‘two-layered system’ – family care supported by a medical safety net – has been constantly adjusted to reflect developments in psychiatry. The most abrupt shift came in the 1970s, as the asylums emptied and mental healthcare was reconceived to become more flexible and extend further into the community. Antipsychotic and antidepressant medications, central to the new treatment model, were initially resisted by many families who felt they would turn boarders into medical outpatients, but they soon proved their worth in helping to manage the worst of the depressions, crises and public incidents. (emphasis added) Robert Whitaker is an investigative journalist who has looked into the claims of proponents of psychotropic drugs. He has found the evidence supporting their use to be lacking, and makes the case that these medications create and maintain the conditions they supposedly treat: http://www.madinamerica.com/2016/07/the-case-against-antipsychotics/ http://www.madinamerica.com/2016/07/the-case-against-antipsy... My friend needed sobriety, but all she got were tranquillizers. She briefly escaped from her tormentors, and her new treatment providers allowed her sedation with anti-psychotics to lapse. She was given the SSRI she asked for, which she thought had helped her before. But Serotonin is NOT the 'happy chemical' - the drug caused rapid heartbeat, resulting in tremendous anxiety. She took her last benzodiazepine (class of addictive anxiety medications), which caused her to 'fall apart'... sigh ...
- dsego 10y ago
  Yeah, I for one am glad my brother's main problem now is apathy and anhedonia. Better to deal with that while he is on zyprexa, haldol, leponex, risperidone or whatever, even for life, than having him live out bizarre fantasies, running naked through the streets for 2 days straight, burning down all family photo albums, accusing all family members of rape, having false memories, draining my parents emotionally, psychologically and financially. God bless modern psychiatry.
  - tcj_phx 10y ago
    The tragedy of the mental health status-quo is that Science now knows enough to help these people... They knew enough 40 years ago. A recent study found that psychotic patients don't produce cortisol upon awakening [1]. This indicates problems with the mitochondria, and the flow of energy in the body. [1] https://www.jcu.edu.au/news/releases/2016/june/stress-hormone-link-with-psychosis https://www.jcu.edu.au/news/releases/2016/june/stress-hormon... "These distinctive alterations of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis function may have important implications for CAR as a marker for transition risk." (emphasis added) [2] [2] http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0149763416300549 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0149763416... But Medicine is much more a haphazard form of "applied science" than a rigorous application of what's been discovered by physiologists. Our medical corps are disproportionately influenced by the industry they serve. So they sedate their psychotic patients, rather than help them.
finnh 10y ago
The "Invisibilia" podcast devoted an episode to discussing Geel: http://www.wnyc.org/story/invisibilia-problem-solution/ http://www.wnyc.org/story/invisibilia-problem-solution/ Some great interviews in there, IIRC.
fraqed 10y ago
The CBC radio program "The Sunday Edition" also aired a documentary about Geel in 2014 http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/psychiatric-community-care-belgian-town-sets-gold-standard-1.2557698 http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/psychiatric-community-care-belg...
agumonkey 10y ago
I've seen news talking about similar ideas (one in France) where a woman just host a bunch of people with mental afflictions. They seem to live way better than in hospitals. At first they almost look like any normal family. Just thinking about it makes me happy. Social bond seems to be more important than "medical therapy" in common hospitals.
orionblastar 10y ago
Mental Hospitals in the USA, a lot of them closed down. I used to have a good one near me that had a STEPS program that worked quite well. It was shut down as part of the ACA act. I had to go to another hospital farther away that treated all patients like criminals and had everything locked down. STEPS would have a level 1 to 4 that patients could earn privileges like wearing a belt or shaving themselves. This new system in the hospital I went into they can lock down everything and you have to ask a nurse or technician to get it for you or help you with it. There are so many patients that they can't all get showers or shaving or new scrubs etc. In Steps we were allowed to wear our own clothes and underwear and stuff. In the new system you wear disposable scrubs, footie socks, and disposable underpants. You can't wear a watch or have any clocks or anything in your room. The only clock is on the wall near the staff desk and it is hard to see by your room. I am certain Geel has a STEPS program and other stuff that doesn't lock things down like a prison. If a person is depressed, you don't throw them into a prison like environment and hope they get better, you have to have a better environment than that. We need more mental hospitals that aren't run like prisons.

47 points by benbreen 10y ago

from the link: > In recent decades the ‘two-layered system’ – family care supported by a medical safety net – has been constantly adjusted to reflect developments in psychiatry. The most abrupt shift came in the 1970s, as the asylums emptied and mental healthcare was reconceived to become more flexible and extend further into the community. Antipsychotic and antidepressant medications, central to the new treatment model, were initially resisted by many families who felt they would turn boarders into medical outpatients, but they soon proved their worth in helping to manage the worst of the depressions, crises and public incidents. (emphasis added) Robert Whitaker is an investigative journalist who has looked into the claims of proponents of psychotropic drugs. He has found the evidence supporting their use to be lacking, and makes the case that these medications create and maintain the conditions they supposedly treat: http://www.madinamerica.com/2016/07/the-case-against-antipsychotics/ http://www.madinamerica.com/2016/07/the-case-against-antipsy... My friend needed sobriety, but all she got were tranquillizers. She briefly escaped from her tormentors, and her new treatment providers allowed her sedation with anti-psychotics to lapse. She was given the SSRI she asked for, which she thought had helped her before. But Serotonin is NOT the 'happy chemical' - the drug caused rapid heartbeat, resulting in tremendous anxiety. She took her last benzodiazepine (class of addictive anxiety medications), which caused her to 'fall apart'... sigh ...

dsego 10y ago
Yeah, I for one am glad my brother's main problem now is apathy and anhedonia. Better to deal with that while he is on zyprexa, haldol, leponex, risperidone or whatever, even for life, than having him live out bizarre fantasies, running naked through the streets for 2 days straight, burning down all family photo albums, accusing all family members of rape, having false memories, draining my parents emotionally, psychologically and financially. God bless modern psychiatry.
- tcj_phx 10y ago
  The tragedy of the mental health status-quo is that Science now knows enough to help these people... They knew enough 40 years ago. A recent study found that psychotic patients don't produce cortisol upon awakening [1]. This indicates problems with the mitochondria, and the flow of energy in the body. [1] https://www.jcu.edu.au/news/releases/2016/june/stress-hormone-link-with-psychosis https://www.jcu.edu.au/news/releases/2016/june/stress-hormon... "These distinctive alterations of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis function may have important implications for CAR as a marker for transition risk." (emphasis added) [2] [2] http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0149763416300549 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0149763416... But Medicine is much more a haphazard form of "applied science" than a rigorous application of what's been discovered by physiologists. Our medical corps are disproportionately influenced by the industry they serve. So they sedate their psychotic patients, rather than help them.

finnh 10y ago

The "Invisibilia" podcast devoted an episode to discussing Geel: http://www.wnyc.org/story/invisibilia-problem-solution/ http://www.wnyc.org/story/invisibilia-problem-solution/ Some great interviews in there, IIRC.

fraqed 10y ago

The CBC radio program "The Sunday Edition" also aired a documentary about Geel in 2014 http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/psychiatric-community-care-belgian-town-sets-gold-standard-1.2557698 http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/psychiatric-community-care-belg...

agumonkey 10y ago

I've seen news talking about similar ideas (one in France) where a woman just host a bunch of people with mental afflictions. They seem to live way better than in hospitals. At first they almost look like any normal family. Just thinking about it makes me happy. Social bond seems to be more important than "medical therapy" in common hospitals.

orionblastar 10y ago

Mental Hospitals in the USA, a lot of them closed down. I used to have a good one near me that had a STEPS program that worked quite well. It was shut down as part of the ACA act. I had to go to another hospital farther away that treated all patients like criminals and had everything locked down. STEPS would have a level 1 to 4 that patients could earn privileges like wearing a belt or shaving themselves. This new system in the hospital I went into they can lock down everything and you have to ask a nurse or technician to get it for you or help you with it. There are so many patients that they can't all get showers or shaving or new scrubs etc. In Steps we were allowed to wear our own clothes and underwear and stuff. In the new system you wear disposable scrubs, footie socks, and disposable underpants. You can't wear a watch or have any clocks or anything in your room. The only clock is on the wall near the staff desk and it is hard to see by your room. I am certain Geel has a STEPS program and other stuff that doesn't lock things down like a prison. If a person is depressed, you don't throw them into a prison like environment and hope they get better, you have to have a better environment than that. We need more mental hospitals that aren't run like prisons.