The Medical Model Monopoly

I am going to be very critical of the Medical Model (1) and their attempts at domination within the mental health field. I do believe that medications and diagnosis may be one appropriate way consumers want to go when it comes to treatment. However, I think that what is more appropriate is getting accurate information to the public as a form of informed consent. In my opinion, the Medical Model's attempts at domination in order to monopolize mental health as "their way is best practice" has to be confronted.

I constantly get bombarded with fear tactics when I go to ethics courses that are mandated to keep my licensure. A better suited title for these ethics courses should be called "How to cover your ass when sued." I keep hearing the ridiculous catch phrases of the day which include: "Best Practices and Standards of Care." Then comes the scare tactics about how lawsuits are on the increase. Instead of learning from the lawsuits in order for the profession to change and grow, we learn, "Document, document, document." You will be safe, as long as you follow the Medical Model procedure and document it well. It does not matter if the client has been harmed as long as you have documented what you did and most of all "Cover your ass." Your license to practice will be revoked if you do not follow the Medical Model Monopoly with the appropriate documentation. In other words, using a Star Trek "Borg" analogy, "You will be assimilated, resistance is futile."

The Medical Model's attempts at holding mental health hostage will be discussed further in the upcoming blogs. Due to time constraints, I have to start writing one blog per week. I look forward to continuing to spread the awareness about what I perceive as happening within the mental health field. Feel free to write your comments about any of these blogs. Thank you for reading.

(1) Refer to blog on September 15, 2004