Sir, - Orla Farrell (August 1st), appears to be rejecting the reality of mental illness. She suggests that being diagnosed as having a mental illness is not only invalid, but also stigmatises and shames the person concerned.
In practice, the situation is almost the reverse. People have the right to be regarded as having a mental illness in the same way as they have the right to be physically unwell. In this way, they can accept that their distress and disability is not of their own making and that they and their families are not to be blamed.
Unfortunately, there is still a lingering stigma attached to mental illness and this is often a factor causing delay in seeking treatment. In those with a depressive illness, such a delay may well be a factor in suicide.
Stigma has also been a negative factor in the treatment of other medical illnesses, such as tuberculosis, cancer and AIDS. Mental illness must be acknowledged and dealt with honestly and openly. Only in this way will stigma be decreased.
There is robust evidence for the importance of genetic factors in many psychiatric conditions. Recent developments in neuro-imaging techniques and in neuro-science are yielding important new evidence about the nature of these conditions, which may well result in much more effective treatments.
Many people who are emotionally distressed are responding to life's problems. Their distress is often appropriate and "treatment" involves support, understanding and perhaps counselling. Orla Farrell is right in emphasising the individuality of people with emotional distress. Similarly, people with a mental illness have to be treated primarily in the context of their individuality rather than any illness "label".
There is an urgent need to develop psychiatric services, which allow the provision of broadly-based, individualised treatment programmes. People with psychiatric problems are, for many reasons, inhibited in calling for quality services.
It is necessary for the public to take up the fight on their behalf. - Yours, etc.,
Dr John Owens, (On behalf of the Irish Psychiatric Association), St. Davnet's Hospital, Monaghan.