I think it is about time the Providence Journal take an
editorial position on the tragic failure of 50 years of
deinstitutionalization of the severely mentally ill. Too many mental
health professionals have been corrupted by FOR PROFIT health care. Or
they are too timid to speak out. With all these horrible news stories
about the numerous crackups ( " Nope, no problem here ! " said the good
doctor. ) you would think that our more competent psychiatrists and
mental health therapists would be ashamed of their profession. And
bottles of anti-psychotic pills ( self-administered ? ) are no
substitute for clearly seeing the troubled human soul.
As the late Dr, Viktor Frankl-the founder of logotherapy-
and a Nazi death camp survivor- author of " Man's Search for Meaning " -
taught his disciples : the mentally ill must also be shown that their
existence still has meaning, even a transcendental one. The
manic-depressive's soul is a lot more than a lithium solution.
For-profit psychiatry laughs at the human soul. And look all around you
for its fruits !
Rather than be a jail-house for the mentally ill ( " lock
them all up ! " ), a modern mental institution can resemble one of those
comfortable , idyllic Roman Catholic " retreats ". Where recovery is
indeed possible. Where now healthy souls do one day just walk out the
door.
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Ron