Monday, May 16, 2005

Taking Aim Together (Schizophrenia Digest) Article reprinted from Schizophrenia Digest at the NAMI web site - "The relationship between a physician and patient is, inevitably, as fragile and complicated as a cobweb. When problems in the body arise there is, in one corner, a doctor in a starched lab coat, bolstered by academic credentials and the medical community. In the other corner is the patient, naked beneath a paper gown, feeling vulnerable as he or she is poked, prodded and examined. When illness involves the brain, the dynamics between physician and patient become even more complex. A person's most private thoughts, beliefs and life goals are being scrutinized, and ultimately judged, by a psychiatrist. With a prescription pad, the doctor can try to rewrite the script in their patient's mind and-while they’re at it-bring on a cornucopia of side effects that may change the patient's life just as profoundly. The lack of balance in the doctor-patient relationship is particularly acute in schizophrenia, often characterized by a consumer's lack of insight into his or her condition..."