A Fragmented and Broken System

Jason was in the intensive care unit for 2 days while the staff monitored his vital organs, especially his heart. His body also required chalk cleansing to absorb the sleeping pills he had taken. From there, he returned to the psychiatric ward for a few more days. We lost count on the number of trips to the psychiatric ward and although we appreciated the care given by the staff, we grew to hate it!

It had been a year and Jason's health continued to decline. He gained a significant amount of weight, another side effect of the medication, and we discovered that he had sleep apnea, a sleeping disorder, which was corrected with a breathing apparatus. Jason continued to feel very little motivation for getting well and he was unable to sense any hope for a future that was free of the emotional pain that seemed so unbearable. He had believed for a long time that the only way out of this pain was to die.

In the past year, we met with a number of professionals from the psychiatric system including psychiatrists, a psychologist, therapists, and others who were trying to help Jason. Everybody had an opinion for what Jason needed but all of these suggestions included the taking of prescribed medication. Counseling was provided by BC Interior Health but was only available monthly. Labels for Jason were freely provided such as "major depression", "social anxiety disorder", "suicide addiction", etc. The latest label given was "Borderline Personality Disorder" or "BPD". We made arrangements for Jason to meet with a psychologist for a couple months who specialized in BPD but these also proved to be ineffective as he was too medicated to gain any benefit from them.

The Canadian Mental Health Association offer a number of options for people struggling with depression, obsessive behavior, and other mental health issues. During the first year, Jason attended their group meetings and volunteered for them as part of the recovery program offered. These programs help a lot of people but did very little for Jason. He was too medicated to benefit from the group meetings and it seemed like most of the others were long term participants, showing little evidence of progress.

When Jason was first admitted to the psych ward, it seemed like everybody took over and we were left watching from the sidelines. The psychiatrist would refer him to a transition house, a case worker to help him learn basic life skills, an alcohol & drug counselor, a CMHA counselor, group therapy sessions, employment counselor, a dietitian, social services, etc, etc. These appointments would all take place when he was discharged, with little or no consideration given to whether the patient was ready for it. The system is not effective because it's not coordinated by anybody to determine timing of these referrals and whether or not the patient needed some of them. Not everybody is an alcoholic and most know how to perform basic life skills. But, everybody is painted with the same brush because they don't know their patient and the privacy laws and fears of liability make it difficult for them to work with the family and determine what the needs might be.

I met with a supervisor at BC Interior Health who oversees the counselors in the area and she suggested (unofficially) one of the therapists who was also familiar with BPD. I arranged to meet with her and she was one of the first professionals who talked about Jason as a person instead of a case study or project. We were impressed and believed she might be able to help. Jason still meets with her every 2 to 4 weeks. I met with his new psychiatrist and he agreed with me when I suggested we simplify Jason's plan because most of the appointments made with the various supporters were either not necessary or premature. We met with his case worker and the alcohol and drug counselor and they also agreed that a simpler approach might be a good idea. Jason hasn't felt a need to meet with them since and his schedule was significantly reduced to sessions with his new therapist and psychiatrist only.

We met a lot of people in Jason's new circle of friends who have no family support and have been receiving care from social services and other provincial government programs. Unfortunately, these programs are not administered very well and don't appear to be effective. Even more unfortunate for these young people is that they have no family support and may have lived in and out of foster homes for most of their lives. One of his friends told us that she has been on psychopathic drugs since she was 10 years old.

Canadians have one of the best health care systems in the world because everybody has access to medical attention, regardless of financial considerations. Nobody is left to fend for themselves. This includes the psychiatry services and that's where things go a little crazy (no pun intended). Physical sickness is confirmed in various ways but not mental illness. With psychological issues, the doctor listens to the patient describe the problem, gives him a prescription from a smorgasbord of psychopathic drugs, and tells the patient to let him know if it's working for them. Further appointments are not to determine if the drugs are required, this is an ongoing assumption. Future visits are to simply pick up another prescription, with possible tweaking, based on the psychiatrist's assessment of the patient's needs and/or desires at the time.

The psychiatrists are the first to admit that they really don't know whether or not the drugs will help. They base it on their experience with other patients who have done well on similar drugs. Of course, these patients are the ones who actually need the medication and recover. Psychiatrists are no longer in the game if a patient stops taking drugs and receive counseling or therapy instead. That's when the psychologists, counselors and therapists get involved and where competition between them and the psychiatrists begin to shine. It's rare to find a psychiatrist and a psychologist "doing lunch" together, they are very often in opposite mindsets about what's good for their patients. Some struggle for decades as their doctors continue to adjust and prescribe newer drugs and some end up committing suicide, a side effect listed on all psychopathic medication. When this happens, the official explanation is that the patient was depressed and it wasn't treated early enough. The truth is that 9 out of 10 of these deaths are a direct result of being prescribed the medication, not the explanation reported by those prescribing them. These drugs have the potential to kill people yet they are prescribed like candy to the young and old. With all the energy placed on perceived safety nets like privacy laws, immunization programs for the newest threats (eg. swine flu), customs and security measures, and so many others, it is amazing that there are no regulations to control the dispensing of psychopathic drugs. The people working in the psychiatric field are sincere and are doing some good, but they don't clearly see the forest for the trees. If they did, they would see all the people who are getting hurt by a system that is broken and in desperate need of repair.

After clearing it with the new psychiatrist, we cut out several of the other professional meetings originally sanctioned by Jason’s former psychiatrist. Jason was getting stressed out from keeping up with these appointments which were all arranged on his behalf with little consideration given as to whether or not he was ready for them. The psychiatrist would arrange a meeting for Jason to see a dietitian who would tell him what foods are healthy and which ones are damaging to his health. At the same time, Jason is preoccupied with planning his next suicide attempt. Does that sound like a well thought out and timely recovery plan?

We had come a long way with arranging what we believed was the best possible care for Jason. Both the new psychiatrist and private therapist gained Jason’s trust right away and seemed to have his best interests at heart. But, Jason was not out of the woods just yet and we had much more to learn.