ADDICTION

When we examine the actual root of drug addiction, we find that simply put the root is unhappiness, discontent. If individuals lived in a society that was just, where equality and opportunity was present and there did not exist oppression and the current class divisions and economic hardships, there would be little desire for individuals to alter their state of consciousness as they would exist in a high level of contentment. Incarceration of people undergoing addiction does not resolve any issue, it does not provide them with new skills, it does not resolve the issues which led them to addiction. If we are truly to wage a 'war on drugs', then we must wage war against poverty, social injustice, and every means of oppression. We must radically change our attitudes and the ways society operates.

-Dan L. Edmunds, Ed.D.
www.humanepsychiatry.info

INVOLUNTARY COMMITMENT

Oftentimes individuals are involuntarily committed to psychiatric facilities, deprived of their liberty based on the supposed premise that they are a threat either to themselves or to others. However, there are many individuals who are threats to themselves or others who we do not deprive of their liberty. Therefore, who we deem as dangerous is a subjective call. Unless a person has actually committed a criminal act, and has gone through due process, and been convicted, this should be the only time that a person's rights and liberty should be limited. This concept of 'dangerousness' is merely a means of social control, it is to separate from society those who we subjectively deem undesirable. If these persons actually have committed a dangerous act which has infringed on the rights of others, then this should be handled by criminal law procedures. This conception has been argued vehemently by those such as Thomas Szasz.


-Dan L. Edmunds, Ed.D.
www.humanepsychiatry.info

SOCIAL INJUSTICE AND INEQUALITY- PEOPLE BEFORE PROFITS

We are seeing the collapse of our economic system based on the greed that has been inherent in this system. It is a disgrace that some individuals are able to accumulate wealth individually that is greater than that of some small nations while children are starving, and the middle class continues to shrink and struggle for their survival. It is the barriers of class, religion, race, and so forth that leads to conflict and ultimately our downfall. Our society has lost its sense of community and connectedness, and the desire for profit has caused us to lose sight of the humanity of others. All of these barriers lead to our isolation and alienation. We are each day become more and more alienated from each other, so absorbed into selfish interests. And even the so-called 'helping professions' have become more about the profits that can be gained that the true desire to be with others and to come to their aid. In the age of managed care organizations, the needs of distressed persons are limited by the elite's need to earn profit. The downtrodden are dehumanized, they are looked upon as lesser, and ultimately as a source of profit. They must be kept in their place. If they actually 'got better', where would the profits come from? So, it is easier to drug them into compliance and conformity. It is easier just to 'maintain them', as then we know that our profits are not in jeopardy. Is it possible for us to come to a point where we will place people before profits? What will it take? What must we do?

-Dan L. Edmunds, Ed.D.
www.DrDanEdmunds.com

FREEDOM FOR CHILDREN

Children have been seen as property, with few rights, and subject to the domination of others who may not always have their best interests in mind. Children are viewed as slaves, as dependent. If adults treat them badly, they have little recourse. When the reach the arbitrary age of 18, they are then expected tom assume the role and responsibilities of an adult. What if we gave children the rights of adults and taught them responsibility from the beginning? Adult society has been involved in numerous wars, conflicts, attrocities, why do we think we know what is best for children, why do we think we know better than children themselves? Holt (1973) suggested that children should hasve equal treatment under the law. They should be able to participate in the political process, to be legally responsible for their choices and acts; to have privacy; to manage their education; and to decide who is to be their guardian. If we taught children the concept of freedom combined with responsibility, we would certainly see the lessening of many of the troubling scenarios facing young people today. Instead, adult society seeks to control children, and does not provide them with the proper guidance and support, it creates children who are oppressed and neglected, who then rebel against the adults who have hurt them in often unproductive and self destructive ways. If all human beings, children and adults, were accorded the same basic humanity, society could be much for the better.
We spend thousands on residential treatment facilities, detention centers, treatment programs, etc. for youth, but what if we could be pro-active, what if we could instead take these funds and invest them into what our children truly need? The money spent on residential treatment which has dubious outcomes is enormous. And at times a child is placed in such facility from a troubled family life, it makes them more of a conformist to the facilities expectations, and then returns them back to the troubled family dynamics, only to create a vicious cycle. If the children were allowed the ability to live on their own or to choose their guardian from those who may actually care for them, just think what funds which are now funneled to the psychiatric establishment could do for the advancement of children. We are speaking of around $70-100,000 per year, the child could have the best education, travel and explore, and be out of situations of poverty and oppression. But instead, the establishment would rather have its hands on these funds and it needs to keep the vicious cycle going as this is its source of profit. Keep people distressed, keep them labeled, make them "ill' and we will constantly have a flow of profits.

-Dan L. Edmunds, Ed.D.
www.DrDanEdmunds.com

The medical model misses the entire picture

A father recently came to me for a consultation in regards to his seven year old son. He began to tell me of the child's oppositionality and decline at school and left things pretty much at that. Let's say (as seems to be common practice under a medicalized model) that I left things at that and identified the child as the 'problem'. Instead, I met individually with the child who told me of his sadness that his parents fought daily and dad had destroyed objects in fits of rage. Fortunately, the father was willing to acknowledge concerns and asked for help for his entire family. But what if we chose to ignore this child's experience and the social context, only looking at the child's behavior, and this behavior as reported by one source. What outcome would be derived? What 'treatment' would be delineated?
-Dan L.Edmunds,Ed.D.
www.DrDanEdmunds.com