Psychiatrist attacks gap in mental health services

PEOPLE with mental health problems are “so out of it on drugs” that they cannot function properly or tap into therapeutic care, psychiatrist Dr Ivor Browne has said.

Addressing a mental health conference at UCC, Dr Browne, chief psychiatrist for the Eastern Health Board, said medication was rendering people helpless.

“They are functioning at about 30%. Drugs can be useful, but only as a way into someone’s problem. The person has to do the work themselves and has to address the pain and suffering that caused the problem in the first place.”