Tag Archives: mental health

New online depression course for 2020: “Understanding and Recovering from Depression”

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I am pleased to say that I am launching a new online course on depression in 2020, entitled Understanding and Recovering from Depression.

While this course is primarily for people who struggle with depression, mental health professionals will likely find the material insightful and useful in their work with people struggling with depression, as will people who want to understand depression better, for example, so they can be better able to support loved ones who suffer with depression.

If depression is an issue for you in your life, you will likely find much within this course that can help you.

Currently (early January 2020) there are over five hours or audio-visual modules and presentations within this course. The slides that I created for these modules are also included.

I will be adding more material pretty much on a weekly basis going forward.

Would you like to check out some of the material on this course?

Here are two of the many presentations on the course that are in this course:

1. Overcoming Fear, Terror and Dread in depression (18-minute video)

2. Depression, Self-empowerment and the Tennis Court (39-minute video)

Here is the link to the course again:- Understanding and Recovering from Depression (online course)

 

 

The media – and the public – must apply a critical approach to mental health information

 

The high public trust in the medical profession carries risks

In surveys, the medical profession is consistently in the top 5 most trusted professions. Most people instinctively trust doctors, with good reason. It is nevertheless important for the public and the media to maintain a critical and questioning approach to information conveyed by the medical profession into the public arena.

Being too trusting can result in important issues not being noticed or addressed.

Here is just one of hundreds of examples I have encountered where a more critical approach might have painted a more comprehensive picture.

 

A Guardian article from July 2019

On 12th July 2019, the UK Guardian newspaper published an article entitled ‘Ketamine-like drug for depression could get UK licence within the year’.

While the author of this Guardian article did attempt to include some balance in this article – including a comment from a Harvard psychiatry professor that ‘the upshot is that the drug is an over-hyped ripoff’, no references were made to a factor that should always be taken into account – potential conflicts of interest.

The several million daily readers of the Guardian might have been in a better position to come to an informed conclusion about this article if the author had included the fact that one of the interviewed psychiatrists who enthused about this substance receives consultancy fees from Janssen, the manufacturer of this substance, and received funding worth £163,635.00 from Janssen in 2016:  

(link to this tweet – click here)

The Council for Evidence-based Psychiatry  – CEP, who issued the above tweet – did some further investigative work, and found that a second psychiatrist who was enthusiastic about this substance in the article was a listed co-inventor on a patent application for the use of ketamine in depression, thereby having a serious vested interest in relation to potential mega-royalties:

(to access this tweet, click here)

The media have a responsibility to provide the public with the information necessary to make an informed opinion/conclusion. Failing to include potential conflicts of interests – as this Guardian article was guilty of – means that the public are deprived of potentially highly relevant information.

During my 35 years a medical doctor with a special interest in emotional and mental health, it has become clear to me that the medical approach to mental health is seriously biased and off track, realities that I discuss in detail within my ‘Depression: Its True Nature online courses.

The medical approach to mental health is fundamentally biased, because it consistently favours a biological approach and understanding –  regardless of the fact that there is very little evidence to support such a stance. 

The medical approach is seriously off track, because it systematically fails to appreciate the place of emotionality, psychology, trauma and its consequences within the experiences and behaviours that become categorised as various ‘mental illnesses’.  

Psychiatric enthusiasm in relation to ketamine is based far more upon the fact that this fits within its ideological preferences, than on an objective commitment to the public interest.

Over the years, I have encountered hundreds – possibly thousands – of psychiatrists. There have been few psychiatrists that I can say I truly respect. American psychiatrist Paul Minot MD is an exception to this. In a Twitter thread following the publication of this article, Paul Minot wrote in concerned tongue-in-cheek fashion;  

(to access this tweet, click here)

In the same Twitter thread, Paul Minot MD added;

(to access this tweet, click here)

At both the individual and collective level, mental health is far too important to allow vested interests to influence the direction of mental health globally.

One might reasonably have expected the two psychiatrists – referred to within the tweets included here – to have volunteered any potential conflict of interest to the Guardian journalist, in the public interest.

Failing that, it is regrettable that the Guardian author of this article or the Guardian editors overlooked the issue of potential conflicts of interests.

The public deserve better.

Dr. Terry Lynch online courses:

For mental health professionals:

Depression: Its True Nature.

Working Therapeutically With Clients With A Psychiatric Diagnosis.

Bipolar Disorder: Cracking The Code.

For the general public:

Depression: Its True Nature.

Bipolar Disorder: Cracking The Code.

Black Friday/Cyber Monday 2018: Prices of my mental health courses reduced by 50% for limited period

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About Black Friday and Cyber Monday:

Traditionally, Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving falls annually on the fourth Thursday in November, and the following day has become widely known as Black Friday.

Being the first day after the last major American holiday before Christmas, Black Friday has unofficially become known as the unofficial beginning of the Christmas shopping season.

The common use of the term ‘Black Friday’ dates back to 1966, when Philadelphia police used this term to describe the major traffic jams and overcrowding in stores that occurred on the day after Thanksgiving. The term ‘Cyber Monday’ was first coined in 2005. It is traditionally the first Monday after Thanksgiving.

In 2018, Black Friday occurs on November 23rd and Cyber Monday happens the following Monday, November 26th.

Traditionally, Black Friday refers to instore prices reductions and Cyber Monday to online reductions.

My courses, 50% price reduction:

In keeping with the spirit of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, all of my courses are available at a 50% price reduction between now and the end of November 2018.

But first, some of my credentials:

 

Official appointments:

 

Some of the talks I have given:

 

 

And some testimonials:

Now, back to my mental health courses:

My courses, 50% price reduction:

30-day no quibble money-back guarantee applies to all courses.

Continuing professional development (CPD) applies to my courses for mental health professionals.

Courses for the general public:

1. Depression: Its True Nature:

This is a comprehensive course on depression, setting out a far more extensive understanding of the experiences and behaviours that come to be collectively referred to as ‘depression’ than the prevailing medical understanding.

Here is a link to the full course information and 50% price reduction: Depression, its true nature (general public). 

Some testimonials from people who have undertaken this course:

Carole: “I am blown away with what I have learned so far.”

John: “Fantastic course, brings enlightenment to a very confused profession!”.

Natalie: “It is the most fruitful course I ever did in my life. Thank you for being honest, you gave me hope for humanity.”

Margaret: “Absolutely superb; really helped me sort out the misinformation I have amassed over the years. I am enjoying your course on depression so much. It is giving me an understanding that I have never had before even with constantly reading and researching on mental ill-health.”

David: This is excellent. Great work Terry, thanks”.

Andrea: “Most interesting”.

Anne: “I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart . . . This course has been tremendously helpful in understanding my child and myself. And I have downloaded it and will refer back to it over time. And treasure the contents of this enlightening and revealing course on this overwhelming condition called ‘depression’.”

Here is a link to the full course information and 50% price reduction: Depression, its true nature (general public). 

2. Bipolar disorder: Cracking the code:

A comprehensive and detailed explanation of bipolar disorder.

Unlike the common understanding of bipolar disorder, in this course I explain the degree to which the prevailing medical understanding is correct, and I provide a comprehensive account of the emotional and psychological aspects (including trauma), aspects that are regularly overlooked within the prevailing approach to bipolar disorder.

Here is a link to the bipolar disorder course for the general public:  Bipolar disorder: Cracking the code (general public).  

Here are some testimonials from people who have undertaken this course:

Doug: “Since watching your Cracking the Code course on Bipolar disorder, I have been able twice to prevent episodes of manic psychosis. The short version is that I was able to recognize that I was using daydreaming/fantasy as an escape from (previously unidentified) anxiety that arose from trauma triggers. So instead of continuing to daydream/fantasize, I applied coping techniques for anxiety (e.g., What’s the worst possible thing that could realistically happen? Plan for that.) Thank you so much for your great, life-saving information!”

Joseph: “I am really enjoying your ‘Bipolar disorder: Cracking the code’ course”

Deirdre: “I am enjoying the course. It is making a lot of sense and helping me to understand things better. I look forward to tuning in for future presentations.”

Antoinette: “Thank you Terry this is a wonderful resource.”

John:“The information and continuing revelations are a blessing.”

Here is a link to the bipolar disorder course for the general public:  Bipolar disorder: Cracking the code (general public).  

Courses for mental health professionals:

1. Working Therapeutically With Clients With A psychiatric Diagnosis:

Currently over 17 hours of audio-visual material, more added several times a month.

There is a considerable amount of misinformation surrounding the psychiatric diagnoses within the training of non-medical mental health professionals. This misinformation is corrected within this course. A comprehensive understanding of the main psychiatric diagnoses – incorporating trauma and the emotional and psychological aspects.

Here is a link to the full course information and 50% price reduction:  Working Therapeutically With Clients With A Psychiatric Diagnosis (for mental health professionals)  

CPD applies.

Certificates of Attendance/Completion issued when required.

Here are some testimonials from mental health professionals who have undertaken this course:

Deborah: “I have found the course very useful and informative. It has given me ideas on how I work with clients, although I have over the last few years I have come to my own understanding of how trauma and challenge in people lives thwarts a healthy sense of self and emotional awareness and regulation. I have long since moved away from the medical model and prefer to support people in their humanity’. Your course has highlighted and reinforced this to me and to be more aligned with my views even though these often go against mainstream opinion including some of those in the mental health professions. Thank you.”

Swee Eng: “The information given is so helpful”.

Margaret: “I am learning so much from your course, thank you. So much of what you are saying I have thought but dismissed as lack of knowledge on my part. I am overwhelmed and shaking from what I have learned, and thirty years in the dark. I now see a chink of light.”

Maria: “This is a very interesting case study” (in relation to one of the many case studies included in this course).

Wanda: “The importance of agency and self-efficacy makes me think of a young client I work with who is v low on both and v depressed. I would love to see an integrated set of services for young people whereby they are assisted in developing their talents or capacity “to do” (manage life) in addition to therapy”.

Margaret: “Thank you for your valuable presentations and research Terry”.

Here is a link to the full course information and 50% price reduction:  Working Therapeutically With Clients With A Psychiatric Diagnosis (for mental health professionals)   

2. Depression: Its True Nature (for mental health professionals)

A comprehensive course on depression for mental health professionals. CPD applies. Over 17 hours of audio-visual material, plus the slides used in the presentations.

Here is a link to the information on this course and the 50% price reduction: Depression: Its True Nature (for mental health professionals)  

Here are some testimonials by mental health professionals who have undertaken this course:

“A ground-breaking new course for all mental health professionals” – Lucy Johnstone, UK clinical psychologist, author and trainer, September 2016, stated in a tweet, @Clinpsychlucy

Robert: “Thanks Terry very insightful and I look forward to revisiting and reflecting over the material in months ahead”.

Yi Ling (Singapore): “Thanks Dr. Lynch. You made the learning easy and the references were very helpful. I have learnt so much and I look forward to other courses.”

Evelyn: “Very informative course and as a psychotherapist, invaluable insight”.

Julie: “I very much enjoyed the course on Depression. For me I found the last sections on Wounding etc very helpful. It has given me an added dimension of understanding and also confidence. I found as I was listening to you speaking I could apply it to certain Clients which has been so helpful. Definitely had some “a ha!” moments! So I just wanted to give you that feedback and thank you for putting together such a comprehensive course on a subject that is so misunderstood. A course like this has been badly needed I feel.”

Thomas: “I just finished the depression course and want to congratulate you on the course, content and delivery. I enjoyed every minute of it and it has been most thought provoking”.

Carole: “Highly recommended course. Transformational and worth every cent. Looking forward to the next one!“

Claire: “. Your work is a massive achievement, a revelation and has personally validated my personal experience of mental emotional distress in the past and provides massive hope for the future and my career”.

Anne: “I finished the ‘True Nature of Depression’ course this evening. To be honest I did not want it to end. I don’t think anything I can say could properly do justice to the mind-boggling breadth of area you cover in the three sections. As someone who has been involved in education for most of my own career I have never come across a better designed course to get across so successfully, such a potentially complex subject.

The truth about the prevailing view that you encapsulate so powerfully is actually quite devastating so it has been greatly appreciated that it is delivered with such true warmth in your face to face delivery.

Thank you so very much for it all.

I do want to go over certain parts again and that is a great thing that I can do that. There is a great deal for me to reflect on both professionally and personally re my own mental health situation in view of what you present.”

Nicole: “Insightful and thought-provoking”.

Kathy: “I finished your course Depression, its true nature about a week ago. I have never come across such a course before and found it excellent. You challenge the prevailing viewpoint repeatedly but always backed up by rigorous and thorough research. You tell the truth but do so in a courageous, respectful and dignified manner. Most of all, you offer real HOPE of recovery to those in mental distress. I respect and admire your work very much and am very glad to know you. I will recommend you (and have already) to anyone interested and open to alternative viewpoints of mental health states”.

Andrew: “A highly worthwhile undertaking! – Thank you very much Terry for an intriguing and insightful course backed up by solid evidence. A huge amount of work obviously went into compiling the course, backed by immense knowledge and experience, and I would recommend it to anyone who is open minded enough to begin to question the medical orthodoxies around depression.”

Anne: “I knew from your previous work that this course would be good but to say it has exceeded any expectations I had is a serious understatement.”

Valerie: ” A highly impressive course”.

Donal: “Terry, I am really enjoying the course. Full of detail and brave argument. As I complete each section there is a sense that no stone is left unturned.”

Patrick: “I’m learning a lot from this course.”

Alastair: “Course is highly interesting”.

Mark: “This was a very comprehensive course, thank you”.

Here is a link to the information on this course and the 50% price reduction: Depression: Its True Nature (for mental health professionals)  

3. Bipolar disorder: Cracking the code:

A comprehensive course on bipolar disorder for mental health professionals. CPD applies. Over 11 hours of audio-visual material, plus the slides used in the presentations. More material added regularly.

Here is a link to the information on this course and the 50% prices reduction: Bipolar Disorder: Cracking The Code (for mental health professionals) 

Here are some testimonials from people who have undertaken this course:

Alastair: “I enjoyed the course immensely. It is a most refreshing mixture of neglected common sense coupled with wisdom. Thank you very much indeed.”

Valerie: “Wow! The course you provided on bi polar was absolutely awesome. It’s really opened my eyes.’

Chris: “Many thanks for providing such an interesting and helpful course. I have found your meticulous unpacking of received medical ideas extremely useful as also your provision of a very important and enjoyable psychological alternative approach.”

Rebecca: “I found your course very thought provocative and useful”. 

Serena: “Loved it. Thank you. What I also love about the course is being able to go over aspects of the course again, whenever I want”.

Anne: “Thank you so very much for producing this course. It is hard to put into words how incredibly useful all your presentations were. You have finally made sense of what bipolar disorder is in a world that has no idea. The title is very apt.”

Claire: “This course is by far the most useful thing I have ever encountered about bipolar disorder in over twenty years.”

Mark: “I am really enjoying your ‘Bipolar disorder: Cracking the code’ course”.

Patricia: “This course is excellent, and I’m finding it both interesting and inspiring”.

Maureen: “A very interesting course”.

Here is a link to the information on this course and the 50% prices reduction: Bipolar Disorder: Cracking The Code (for mental health professionals) 

If you have any questions about any of this, email me at terry@doctorterrylynch.com (copy and paste this email address if emailing me).

 

All of my mental health courses at 50 per cent price reduction until end August 2018

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Updating all courses and creating more:

I began creating mental health courses for the general public and for mental health professionals in 2016. To date, I have created five detailed and comprehensive courses.

My intentions in creating these courses are:

1. To provide a clear picture of the current prevailing approach to the psychiatric diagnoses

2. To critique the current prevailing approach to mental health and the psychiatric diagnoses

3. To provide an understanding that honours the emotional and psychological aspects of the psychiatric diagnoses to a far greater extent than the current prevailing approach includes.

I have just begun to review the material on these courses and to update the course material as appropriate.

Over the coming 6-12 months I intend to create further courses on aspects of the psychiatric diagnoses.

Fifty per cent reduction on all courses until end August 2018:

From now until the end of August 2018, all of my online courses are available at a 50% price reduction. This includes all updates and further material that may be added to these courses. My courses and how to access the course information and prices reduction are detailed below:

Courses for the general public:

Depression: Its true nature:

Link to course information and price reduction:- Depression: Its true nature – general public, end summer 2018 sale.

Bipolar disorder: Cracking the code:

Link to course information and price reduction:- Bipolar disorder: Cracking the code, general public, end summer 2018 sale.

Courses for mental health therapists:

Working Therapeutically With Clients With A Psychiatric Diagnosis:

Link to course information and price reduction:- Working Therapeutically With Clients With A Psychiatric Diagnosis course, end summer 2018 sale.

Depression: Its True Nature :

Link to course information and price reduction: Depression: Its True Nature – mental health professionals, end summer 2018 sale.

Bipolar disorder – Cracking the code:

link to course information and price reduction:- Bipolar disorder: Cracking the code – mental health practitioners. end summer 2018 sale

Email me at terry@doctorterrylynch.com if you need any further information.

Just Published – First book in new series – ‘The Systematic Corruption of Global Mental Health’. £0.99 Kindle introductory price

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I am delighted to announce that I have just – within the last 24 hours – published on Kindle the first of a new series of books.

Book title:

‘The Systematic Corruption of Global Mental Health: Book One – Prescribed Drug Dependence’

Price:

Introductory price on Kindle: £0.99.

Book rankings on Amazon:

This morning (02 August 2018) as I write this, a little over 12 hours after becoming available to the public, this book is ranked on Amazon.co.uk at no. 2 in ‘Psychiatry’ category, no. 5 in ‘Medicine’ category and no. 11 in ‘Medical Sciences A-Z’ category. 

On Amazon.com.au (Australia) it is currently ranked no. 1 in ‘Mental Health’ category, no. 2 in ‘Psychiatry’ category, and no. 8 in ‘Medicine and Nursing’ category. 

Links:

Below are links to this book on Amazon sites:

Amazon.co.uk.

Amazon.com.

Amazon.com.au.

Amazon.ca.

Reviews matter

If you do purchase this book, I would be very grateful of you would write a review on Amazon – a sentence or two is enough.

Book Series Title:

The title of this book series is ‘The Systematic Corruption of Global Mental Health’.

I will be working hard on this important project. 

If you have any comments, I’m happy to hear them. You can email me at terry@doctorterrylynch.com 

 

 

Anxiety, glorifying the brain, false cause logical fallacies and the American Counseling Association

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The notion that the brain is the holy grail in relation to emotional and mental health has been a dominant theme for over half a century within mental health globally.

This notion sounds attractive and alluring. It is widely promoted by the psychiatric wing of the medication profession, and has been taken on board as factual by many other professions and bodies.

On 25 June 2018, a blog was published on the website of the American Counseling Association entitled ‘Anxiety and the Brain’, written by Deb Del Vecchio-Scully, counsellor.

According to this article, ‘the root cause of anxiety is found in brain waves and how effective or ineffective they are working’.

Regrettably, the author of this article has fallen into the common trap of assuming and referring causality to the brain – the brain as the master.

This is a cause-correlation  (or, false cause) logical fallacy – assuming that when two phenomena occur concurrently, one causes the other, when such conclusions have not been established as correct.

The notion that emotional and mental health issues arise from the brain is now erroneously accepted as a given, as a fact.

It is disappointing and worrying to see the American Psychological Association give a thumbs up to this fallacy.

Brain imaging studies have demonstrated that changes in brain activity occur after the person’s reaction – i.e. the brain is reflecting the person’s reaction, not creating it: 

Clink here to see the article in which this image appears.

Rather than being the master, the brain is here being the servant of the being. 

The maintenance of the illusion that in such circumstances the brain is the master is essential for the maintenance of psychiatry’s dominant position in global mental health – which is why this fallacy is repeatedly emphasised from within psychiatry.

One might have thought that the counselling professions would question this assumption rather than unquestioningly accept it as a known fact.

It is high time that, in the public interest, the counselling professions became more courageous and questioned the assumptions that govern global mental health, rather than sheepishly accepting medical pronouncements on mental health that originate from self- and group-interest, that hinder real progress in global mental health.

Those who assume that the brain is the answer and that neuroscience is and will continue to be the main source of answers and progress might reflect upon the 2015 words of Thomas Insel MD, former Director of the American National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), arguably the most influential mental health organisation in the world:

 

Click here to access this article 

Dr. Terry Lynch.

www.doctorterrylynch.com  

Dr. Terry Lynch mental health courses:

Online courses for mental health professionals:

Working therapeutically with clients with a psychiatric diagnosis, online course – https://goo.gl/duxz9j  

Depression: Its true nature  – https://goo.gl/28DhfY  

Bipolar disorder: Cracking the code. https://goo.gl/Kz9M5u  

Online courses for the general public:

Depression: Its true nature – https://goo.gl/gzD9MR

Bipolar disorder: cracking the code – https://goo.gl/3BV93F

Dr. Terry Lynch Books:     

Links to these books:- https://doctorterrylynch.com/my-books/  

Selfhood: A Key to the Recovery of Emotional Health, Mental Wellbeing and the Prevention of Mental Health Problems (2011) – 23 Five-star reviews on www.amazon.co.uk  

Depression Delusion: The Myth of the Brain Chemical Imbalance (2015) – Foreword by Robert Whitaker.

Beyond Prozac: Healing Mental Distress (2004) – Best seller in Ireland in 2001, reaching no. 3 in non-fiction best sellers.

Keynote Speaker, William Glasser International Biennial Conference, Colombia, June 2018.

Guest Speaker, Irish Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy Annual Conference, October 2018.

Keynote Speaker, Samaritans Annual Conference, 2015.

Mental health professional, physician, psychotherapist, best-selling mental health author, provider of recovery-oriented mental health service.

Member of the Expert Group on Mental Health Policy (formulated A Vision for Change (2006), Ireland’s official mental health policy document).

Member of the Implementation Group for A Vision for Change (2006-9), the Second Monitoring Group for A Vision for Change (2009-12), and the Irish Health Service Executive (HSE) Expert Advisory Group on Mental Health (2006-8).

As a general rule, when psychiatrists say ‘we know’, read ‘we believe, and we want you to believe’. No. 1. – ‘brain disorders’

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When psychiatrist say ‘We know that . . .’, as a general rule, take this to mean ‘we believe that . . .’ 

Of the many problems that exist within mental health globally, one of the most significant and pernicious is one that most people do not even realise exists.

Presenting itself as the major source of solutions to emotional and mental health problems, mainstream psychiatry is in fact a creator of many of the problems within global mental health. 

While working as a GP over twenty years ago, it gradually dawned on me that, generally, when psychiatrists stated ‘we know‘, they often didn’t know – they believed.  

Here is one such example:

‘We know that mental disorders are brain disorders’

The American Government-backed National Institute of Mental Health is arguably the most powerful and influential mental health institution in the world. On their website, this institute unequivocally (mis)informs the public that ‘mental disorders are disorders of the brain’, and ‘Through research, we know that mental disorders are brain disorders’. Here is an edited screenshot from their website:  

 The National Institute of Mental Health does not know that mental disorders are brain disorders; they believe this, and they want you and everyone else to believe this too.  

The truth: Psychiatric diagnoses are not known brain disorders

Psychiatric diagnoses are not known brain disorders – and that is the simple truth. If they were known brain disorders, they would come under the remit of the acknowledged medical brain disorder experts – neurologists.

Brain disorders – such as multiple sclerosis, dementia, brain tumours, Parkinson’s Disease – have identified brain pathology that is specific to that disorder. No such brain pathology has been identified in relation to any psychiatric diagnosis – including depression; bipolar disorder; schizophrenia; obsessive compulsive disorder; schizoaffective disorder; personality disorder; eating disorders; anxiety disorders. 

There are no characteristic physical findings in any psychiatric diagnoses, as there is in, for example, Parkinson’s Disease, where people develop a characteristic tremor and their way of walking, known as a “shuffling gait” 

There are no brain or other tests that can be carried out that confirm the presence of a brain disorder in relation to any psychiatric diagnosis, as there are in multiple sclerosis, brain cancer and the majority of brain disorders.

There are no specific findings upon examination of the brain at post-mortem, as there is in dementia, for example.

The truth is therefore simple and straightforward: Psychiatric diagnoses – also referred to as so-called mental illnesses or mental disorders – are not known brain disorders.

Psychiatric diagnoses are not included in comprehensive lists of brain disorders

A reliable way of checking whether or not psychiatric diagnoses are known brain disorders is to examine authoritative sources that contain comprehensive lists of brain disorders. If psychiatric diagnoses were known brain disorders, then obviously they would be included in comprehensive lists of brain disorders.

So I checked out the website of the American National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). The NINDS website contains an extensive list of neurological and brain disorders, the most comprehensive such list that I have seen in 35 years as a medical doctor.

As the following screenshot shows, pretty much the first thing you see when you access their website is their list of brain disorders:  

 Clicking on the ‘Disorders’ tab on the NINDS website opening page takes us  here: 

On the lower left hand side of the above screenshot, you can see a whole series of links in alphabetical order – links to the list of known brain disorders that begin with each letter of the alphabet. 

Of the main psychiatric diagnoses, schizophrenia would generally be considered to be towards  the most severe end of the spectrum. The experiences and behaviours that are collectively referred to as ‘schizophrenia’ are widely believed to be a known brain disorder.

Many authoritative medical sources unequivocally assert that schizophrenia is a brain disorder. The following screenshot from the website of the American Psychiatric Association is just one of many such examples:

According to the American Psychiatric Association, as illustrated in the first line of the above screenshot, it is a known fact: ‘Schizophrenia is a chronic brain disorder’.

Given that the medical profession is one of the most trusted professions in the world, one might reasonably assume that these words of the American Psychiatric Association must be true, must be based on solid facts. Surely if the American Psychiatric Association says that ‘schizophrenia is a chronic brain disorder’, this must be an established fact, right?

And if this is indeed an established fact, one should fully expect to see schizophrenia listed as a brain disorder in the extensive list of brain disorders on the website to the National Institute of Mental Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) I mentioned earlier.

So let’s check this out. Here is that screenshot of that extensive brain disorder list again, from the NINDS website ;-

I clicked the ‘S’, for schizophrenia. I arrived at the following page:

This is just a screenshot of the top of this webpage, which includes all known brain disorders beginning with ‘S’. There are 41 known disorders beginning with ‘S’ on this page. Since disorders are listed in alphabetical order, it is easy to identify where schizophrenia should appear on this list. Here’s the relevant screenshot:

If schizophrenia really is a known brain disorder, then it would definitely appear here, between the sixth entry, ‘schizoencephaly’ and the following entry, ‘Seitelberger Disease’. But there is no mention whatsoever of schizophrenia. 

This is the most extensive list of brain disorders I have ever seen. It contains many hundred brain disorders so rare that I have not heard of them in 35 years as a medical doctor – including seven of those listed in the above screenshot alone. Yet schizophrenia is not referred to at all, despite assertions that schizophrenia is not uncommon, affecting 1% of the population.

How can this be?

How can we make sense of this apparent contradiction – the American Psychiatric Association asserting unequivocally that ‘schizophrenia is a chronic brain disorder’, the National Institute of Mental Health stating that ‘mental disorders are brain disorders’, while its sister’s organisation – the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke – does not include schizophrenia or any other psychiatric diagnosis in its very comprehensive list of mental disorders?

Squaring this circle

The answer is simple: schizophrenia is not a known brain disorder, and this is why schizophrenia does not appear on this extensive list – and why there is no mention on this brain disorder list of depression; bipolar disorder/manic depression; obsessive compulsive disorder; eating disorders; anxiety; or any other so called mental disorder.

How about other lists of brain disorders?

Other lists of brain disorders similarly make no reference to schizophrenia or other so called mental illnesses. 

WebMD is a respected medical site, providing information for the public on a wide range of medical problems. The WebMD website includes a list of brain diseases, within which there is no mention of schizophrenia or any other so called mental illness.

The Australian Brain Foundation website also contains an extensive list of brain disorders – no mention of schizophrenia or any other so-called mental illness there either.

So what’s going on?

The medical profession want you – and everyone else – to believe that the experiences and behaviours that come to be collectively described as so-called mental illnesses are brain disorders.

They want you to believe this, not because it is true – it isn’t true – but because you and everyone else believing this strengthens their position at the top of the global mental health pyramid. 

Major benefits accrue to psychiatry as a consequence of being widely seen as the most expert mental group.

Psychiatry wants their dominant position in global mental health to continue. And this is why so many supposedly authoritative medical sources like those I have referred to here – the American National Institute of Mental Health and the American Psychiatric Association – are willing to misinform the public, asserting unequivocally that so-called mental disorders are known to be brain disorders, when the facts clearly state otherwise. 

Why this matters

Clearly it is wrong that the medical profession would misinform the public it serves in this manner. This systematic misinforming has resulted in the widespread misunderstanding of the experiences and behaviours of people who become diagnoses with various so-called mental illnesses.

A serious consequence of this misinformation is the failure of health authorities to adequately consider other ways of understanding these experiences and behaviours and the people who experience them.

Thus, millions of people around the world are deprived of opportunities to heal, to progress through their difficulties rather than having to settle for a compromised life, with much distress and despair. 

It is scandalous that they get away with this, but this is what happens when no one polices authority, when authorities – including medical authorities – are not held accountable, as they clearly should be, in the public interest.

 

Dr. Terry Lynch mental health courses:

Online courses for the general public:

Depression: Its True Nature – for the general public: 30% price reduction for limited period

Bipolar Disorder: Cracking the Code – for the general public. 30% price reduction for a limited period

Online courses for mental health professionals:

Working Therapeutically With Clients With A Psychiatric Diagnosis – online. 30% price reduction for a limited period

Depression: Its True Nature – for mental health professionals. 30% price reduction for a limited period

Bipolar Disorder: Cracking the Code – for mental health professionals. 30% price reduction for a limited period

Dr. Terry Lynch Books:     

  Click here for information about my books

Selfhood: A Key to the Recovery of Emotional Health, Mental Wellbeing and the Prevention of Mental Health Problems (2011) – 23 Five-star reviews on www.amazon.co.uk

Depression Delusion: The Myth of the Brain Chemical Imbalance (2015) – Foreword by Robert Whitaker, author of Anatomy of an Epidemic.

Beyond Prozac: Healing Mental Distress (2004) – Best seller in Ireland in 2001, reaching no. 3 in non-fiction best sellers.

 

Testimonials about Terry Lynch’s course “Depression: Its True Nature” for mental health professionals

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“A ground-breaking new course for all mental health professionals” – Lucy Johnstone, UK clinical psychologist, author and trainer, September 2016, stated in a tweet, @Clinpsychlucy

Yi Ling (Singapore): “Thanks Dr. Lynch. You made the learning easy and the references were very helpful. I have learnt so much and I look forward to other courses.”

Evelyn: “Very informative course and as a psychotherapist, invaluable insight”.

Julie: “I very much enjoyed the course on Depression. For me I found the last sections on Wounding etc very helpful. It has given me an added dimension of understanding and also confidence. I found as I was listening to you speaking I could apply it to certain Clients which has been so helpful. Definitely had some “a ha!” moments! So I just wanted to give you that feedback and thank you for putting together such a comprehensive course on a subject that is so misunderstood. A course like this has been badly needed I feel.”

Thomas: “I just finished the depression course and want to congratulate you on the course, content and delivery. I enjoyed every minute of it and it has been most thought provoking”.

Carole: “Highly recommended course. Transformational and worth every cent. Looking forward to the next one!“

Claire: “. Your work is a massive achievement, a revelation and has personally validated my personal experience of mental emotional distress in the past and provides massive hope for the future and my career”.

Anne: “I finished the ‘True Nature of Depression’ course this evening. To be honest I did not want it to end. I don’t think anything I can say could properly do justice to the mind-boggling breadth of area you cover in the three sections. As someone who has been involved in education for most of my own career I have never come across a better designed course to get across so successfully, such a potentially complex subject.

The truth about the prevailing view that you encapsulate so powerfully is actually quite devastating so it has been greatly appreciated that it is delivered with such true warmth in your face to face delivery.

Thank you so very much for it all.

I do want to go over certain parts again and that is a great thing that I can do that. There is a great deal for me to reflect on both professionally and personally re my own mental health situation in view of what you present.”

Nicole: “Insightful and thought-provoking”.

Kathy: “I finished your course Depression, its true nature about a week ago. I have never come across such a course before and found it excellent. You challenge the prevailing viewpoint repeatedly but always backed up by rigorous and thorough research. You tell the truth but do so in a courageous, respectful and dignified manner. Most of all, you offer real HOPE of recovery to those in mental distress. I respect and admire your work very much and am very glad to know you. I will recommend you (and have already) to anyone interested and open to alternative viewpoints of mental health states”.

Andrew: “A highly worthwhile undertaking! – Thank you very much Terry for an intriguing and insightful course backed up by solid evidence. A huge amount of work obviously went into compiling the course, backed by immense knowledge and experience, and I would recommend it to anyone who is open minded enough to begin to question the medical orthodoxies around depression.”

Anne: “I knew from your previous work that this course would be good but to say it has exceeded any expectations I had is a serious understatement.”

Valerie: ” A highly impressive course”.

Donal: “Terry, I am really enjoying the course. Full of detail and brave argument. As I complete each section there is a sense that no stone is left unturned.”

Patrick: “I’m learning a lot from this course.”

Alastair: “Course is highly interesting”.

Mark: “This was a very comprehensive course, thank you”.

Testimonials from my online course, “Working Therapeutically With Clients With A Psychiatric Diagnosis”

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This is a new course, created in 2018

Stephanie:

I wanted to also add a big thank you for running this course. I am a fairly new member of Online Events and for the first time I’ve nodded my head and said halleluiah. As a ‘medical professional’ it is so pleasing to hear that you are challenging us as professionals. Im so pleased that you have had the forethought to developed this course to inform my practice as a Psychotherapist. I work within the clients who have experienced sexual trauma and many have already been through psychiatric mental health services and their underlying trauma has never been discussed.

Joy:

“Very interesting material. The information in this course is confirming l my belief that mental health should fit within the psychological model and not the medical.”

Deborah:

“I have found the course very useful and informative. It has given me ideas on how I work with clients, although I have over the last few years I have come to my own understanding of how trauma and challenge in people lives thwarts a healthy sense of self and emotional awareness and regulation.”

Testimonials from inaugural 2017-2018 “Working Therapeutically With Clients With A Psychiatric Diagnosis” course

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Blended learning course – day attendances and online learning

Next intake: September 2018 – email terry@doctorterrylynch.com for details

60-plus CPD hours

David Shannon, C. Psychol. Ps.S.I., Chartered Senior Counselling Psychologist:

‘This course has given me much more confidence in working psychotherapeutically with people with a diagnosis of mental disorder. For this alone the course has been money well spent. Terry’s pragmatic, human and very sensitive way of working with and thinking about ‘mental disorder’ has been very reassuring. Terry’s model of fundamentally seeing ‘wounding’ and distress in its many forms as at the core of human distress is something I know I will return to as a compass bearing again and again in my own professional work. I heartily commend anyone who is interested in learning more about the DSM diagnoses and lacking confidence in working with some of the more ‘severe’ or intractable diagnoses to take this course. Terry’s generosity in sharing his wealth of knowledge and experience, and willingness to continue to do so, has been exceptional in my experience of learning.’

John Woulfe, BSc. Counselling & Psychotherapy Psychotherapist, Pieta House:

‘I thoroughly enjoyed this course; everything from the high quality of research and information provided, to the breadth of knowledge and insight shared by our course tutor Dr Lynch, the experiences shared by fellow professionals whom attended this course, right down to the comfort of the setting where our classes took place. Dr Lynch’s approach to facilitation lends itself to very interesting and engaged discussion on psychiatric diagnoses and the course does well to help expand the remit of a therapist’s role in working with clients with a psychiatric diagnosis. The dominant medical view of labels such as Schizophrenia, Bipolar, and Personality Disorder would lead clients and counsellors alike to believe that the greatest outcome for treatment is simply a “management” of symptoms. However having attended Dr Lynch’s course, I now feel more confident and well equipped to work with diagnosed clients in a much more recovery oriented manner and I see that my clients are feeling the benefits too.’

Ciaran Whyte, BSc (Hnrs), Counsellor and Psychotherapist::

‘Dr Terry Lynch’s work in the field of working with clients with a psychiatric diagnosis is absolutely fascinating. For me personally this course represents a groundbreaking cornerstone of change within the world of integrative psychotherapeutic care. I have been following Dr Lynch’s work for quite a few years now and I strongly recommend this course to anyone who is feeling a little sceptical as to the depth of their own personal psychotherapeutic skills. This course will not only teach you new insights and skills but will also put you in touch with your own personal psychotherapeutic skills that you may not have discovered beforehand. This learning is also strengthened by experiential feedback from other students’. 

Marie Crean, Counsellor:

‘This training course is a must for all professionals who wish to gain more in-depth insights to the therapeutic processes when working therapeutically with clients diagnosed with a psychiatric diagnosis. I have gained more confidence and feel more competence since completing this training as Dr Terry Lynch presents and delivers this training course in such a novel way that holds one’s concentration and enthusiasm and thirst for learning’ 

A.P. Coffey:

“This course allows you to invest in hope for people because it systematically demystifies the myth of the fixed diagnoses and instead highlights the continuum of trauma. Terry respects each individual as a sovereign being who has the capacity to work towards healing by investing in time helping people to understand their wounding and then focusing on necessary skill development. Terry acknowledges the use of medication as a sometimes necessary part of an holistic therapeutic approach towards recovery. This course is for anybody who engages with people who are mentally vulnerable either as health professional because it is honest and truly evidence based. Thank you Terry.”

Desera McCabe, psychotherapist:

‘As an accredited psychotherapist I enrolled on this course to fill what I felt was a big gap in my training to date.  I was not disappointed. Terry displayed enthusiasm and motivation in delivering a high quality course which has positively changed how I view working with clients whom have a psychiatric diagnosis.’

Joanne Hanrahan, psychotherapist:

‘For me, this course really uncovered many of the truths and myths about Psychiatric Diagnoses.  After completing the course I have a much greater understanding of how such diagnoses are made, and, as a result, have much more confidence in working with this cohort of clients.’