There’s an interesting article on the New York Times website: Talk Doesn’t Pay, So Psychiatry Turns Instead to Drug Therapy (March 5, 2011). The essence of the article is that psychiatrists no longer engage in talk therapy to any great extent, but instead prescribe behavior-altering drugs. What’s interesting about this is that the author, Gardiner… Continue Reading
Drugs and Alcohol (Part 3)
This post was edited and updated on June 29 2014, to include additional thoughts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A Rational Policy on Drugs and Alcohol In my last post I argued against government prohibitions against drugs and alcohol. My position is that substances… Continue Reading
Drugs and Alcohol (Part 2)
In my previous post on this subject, I discussed addiction to alcohol and other drugs. I made the point that addiction to these substances is not an illness, but rather an extremely strong habit. Treatment Programs The notion that alcoholism is a disease gained popularity in the 50’s and 60’s. At about the same time,… Continue Reading
Drugs and Alcohol (Part 1)
The APA’s DSM lists two broad categories of diagnoses in this area: dependence and abuse. So we have alcohol dependence and alcohol abuse; amphetamines dependence and amphetamines abuse; cocaine dependence and cocaine abuse. And so on. Dependence is defined by the presence of three or more of the following criteria: tolerance, as defined by either… Continue Reading