NAMI, Lobbyist for Drug Companies

NAMI, Lobbyist for Drug Companies

The National Alliance for the Mentally Ill promotes drug treatment over the rights of persons accused of psychiatric illness. (Sid Gelb, "Treating mental illness in jail," Letter, Boston Globe, April 18, 2006) For Gelb everyone is a psychiatrist. Thus there is no such thing as psychiatry. For NAMI and the psychiatric industry all unusual behavior and speech though protected by the Constitution is mental illness.
Medicalizing social problems is what the Nazis did in Germany. Psychiatrists try to do the same in this country. NAMI is a lobbyist for the drug companies. Put into context what Geld says makes sense. It is good for business. But from the perspective of individual citizens it is one more attempt to abolish freedom.
Gelb says he fears that Mr. Hall will be back in jail shortly. To what does Gelb attribute his fear? Is this paranoia, or knowledge of the future? Why not consider all of the people with real illness who are denied treatment because of the millions wasted on fake psychiatric illnesses.

Roy Bercaw, Editor ENOUGH ROOM

Treating mental illness in jail
Letter, Sid Gelb, NAMI
Boston Globe
April 18, 2006
I READ with amazement and dismay the article ''Inmate's destructive behavior raises tough issues for jails" (April 17, City & Region, Page B3).
Here again is evidence for the need for jail diversion programs and programs of assertive community treatment. The fact that Mr. Hall had to sue, arguing that the jail authorities failed to protect him from himself and did not provide him with the medical treatment he needed, speaks volumes to the issue of mentally ill people in prisons in New Hampshire. What does it say about the intelligence of an official who knows that an inmate had a history of self-mutilation and says he did not understand what caused the inmate to hurt himself? It is obvious to me that there is a great need to educate the jail personnel on the nature of mental illness and the causes of self-mutilation.
Mr. Hall was returned to the jail after his surgery, which cost $40,000. He was released from jail when the criminal charges were dropped. I fear Mr. Hall will be back in jail in a relatively short time.
How many more times must Mr. Hall be incarcerated before he is offered treatment as an alternative to incarceration or, if necessary, required to accept treatment? It costs much less to provide the services for a mentally ill person than to incarcerate one repeatedly. More important, it is the humane thing to help the individual recover from this debilitating illness.
SID GELB
Brookline
The writer is public policy chair for the National Alliance on Mental Illness of Massachusetts.