It was not until the 19th century that French and German scientists first studied human behavior from an adaptive perspective that a new paradigm began that he began to see mental problems as disorders, also allowing reflection and the search for attempts to control the symptoms of these disorders through psychopharmacology.
Many psychiatrists were relieved and really liked the idea that their subject matter of study would eventually be included in the list of what was considered science, which could depart from other mentalist theories such as Freud and Jung’s. Der Kolk, we can learn more about the true history of psychopharmacology and some of its influences today.
- In the early 1950s.
- A group of French scientists discovered chlorpromazine.
- A substance sold under various names in pharmacies.
- It reassured patients by reducing symptoms such as agitation and delusions.
- Prior to the discovery of this drug.
- The main treatment for all mental illnesses at the Massachusetts Center for Mental Health (MMHC) was therapy as we know it today.
- Derived from Freud’s psychoanalytic method.
In the late 1960s, Bessel Van Der Kolk witnessed the birth of psychopharmacology; in other words, he has seen the transformation of medical treatment in relation to mental suffering. Bessel worked as a research assistant at MMHC to determine how best to treat young people who had suffered their first psychotic fracture.
Bessel is committed to keeping young people interested in popular activities in her age group and has spent a lot of time with them. He observed details that doctors never looked at during his visits because they were very quick. patients tell stories about their lives, how they had been abused, abused, how they had been beaten and suffered?
During routine morning medical visits, MMHC attendees presented the cases that accompanied their superiors, but very rarely reported the stories patients told about their lives, however, many subsequent studies have already confirmed the relevance of these confessions and conversations.
“It was surprising how cold they talked about their patients’ symptoms and the time they spent trying to control their suicidal thoughts and self-destructive behaviors rather than trying to understand the possible causes of despair and helplessness. “Bessel Van Der Kolk.
Another surprising thing was the lack of attention paid to the small successes and desires of patients, as well as their reports on the people they loved and hated, their motivations, their occupations, their blockages . . . Bessel consulted the medical records, but also interviewed the patients directly. about their lives, and many felt so grateful and even better that they even questioned the need to continue treatment.
Body hallucinations are very common in schizophrenia, as are sexual hallucinations. Most of them bring the same feelings and sensations as real situations. Besel wondered if these stories he heard in the cold hours of the morning were really true.
Is there a clear line separating memory from imagination?What if hallucinations were actually fragments of memories and memories of real past experiences?What research has already shown is that many violent, strange or self-destructive behaviors are the result of traumas sometimes passed, when patients feel frustrated, confused or misunderstood.
Bessel was surprised and even dismayed by the expression of satisfaction that could be seen on the faces of professionals after throwing a patient to the ground, immobilizing him and applying a dose of medication by injection. Gradually, he realized that medical advice had to do whatever it took not to lose control of patients, although on many occasions it meant doing something that was not ideal or even bad for them.
As a result of the administration of antipsychotic drugs, psychiatric patients residing in the United States increased from 500,000 in 1955 to 100,000 in 1996. Gradually, patients were discharged, some hospitals closed their doors and others changed their name to “asylum,” which originates from the word sanctuary.
In 1968, the most famous psychiatric scientific journal, the American Journal of Psychiatry, published the results of the study in which bessel had participated, showing that schizophrenic patients who only received medications achieved better results in their treatments than those who spoke only to institutional therapists three times. In the 1970s, scientists began to find evidence linking abnormal levels of certain brain substances to various disorders, such as depression and even schizophrenia.
In order for researchers to be able to report their results accurately and systematically, they needed diagnostic criteria for patient classification, a need that has consistently given way to the first psychiatric problem diagnosis system: the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). In 1980 it was recognized that this diagnostic system was inaccurate , although a better option was missing, today it remains the most accepted reference and remains a fundamental tool in clinical practice.
Drugs have allowed doctors to be more effective in their treatment, increasing the success and benefits of their practices; In addition, the new perspectives have generated more laboratories full of sophisticated students and research instruments; scientific research on the subject also seemed to require a more serious, more systematic air, now that many things could be studied by chemistry and biology.
As a result, psychiatry departments, which were in the worst halls of universities, began to gain prestige; its rooms have become the main halls. In the 1990s, Bessel noted that the only places in the MMHC where physical well-being (such as swimming pool, gym) could become laboratories to offer a gift to patients.
The other side of the coin is that today, major medical journals rarely publish or fund studies on the treatment of mental health problems that do not involve medication; research also requires controlled protocols and standards that do not meet the individual needs of patients. Hypermedicalization continues to increase thanks to the combination of psychiatric medications and painkillers.
The pharmacological revolution has certainly brought many benefits to psychiatry, the biological theories that explain the chemical imbalances of the brain are of great advancement, but there is also the other side, the negative side: intervention plans to treat patients have deteriorated in many cases. The downside of the advancement of pharmacology is that it has occupied the space of therapy, leaving it in the background and preventing us from addressing the causes of psychiatric problems. Symptoms are treated, but the causes are still ignored.