Holistic or harmful? Examining socio-structural factors in biopsychosocial model of chronic illness,‘MUS’& disability, 2022, Hunt

Robert 1973 · Nov 7, 2022

Trish said: ↑

I can't help wondering how it came about that people with ME/CFS type physical symptoms were ever referred to psychiatrists like Wessely in the first place. When I had post viral symptoms back in the 1970's for about 6 months, there was no suggestion from GP's that there was anything going on that required a psychiatrist or a rehab specialist. I was simply left to rest until I recovered. Similarly when my father had post infection debility for several years and intermittently after that he was prescribed rest from both physical and mental activity until he got better.

So how did Wessely end up claiming such patients as his territory?
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He partly answered this himself in that interview in on The Life Scientific (the one where he claimed that nobody liked people with ME/CFS):

Jim Al-Khalili: And at the beginning, you didn’t really see yourself doing medical research?

Simon Wessely: No, not at all. But you couldn’t keep that going at the Maudsley, you really couldn’t. The research culture was very strong.

And as I got a bit older I had a stroke of luck that I went to Queens Square, The National Hospital for Neurology and that was in this fantastic hospital, surrounded by neurologists, so there were only three psychiatrists, and that’s when I really started to get interested in research, and that’s where I got interested in “chronic fatigue syndrome”.

And because these patients were being seen there. I have to be honest, and say nobody really liked them.

Jim Al-Khalili: Tell me about some of these patients, that you saw at Queens Square.

Simon Wessely: Well, there were people being referred (Queens Square is the home of neurology), and, at that time, it was felt that this might be a mysterious muscle disease, there was a headline in one newspaper and of course Queens Square is the best place on earth to deal with mysterious muscle diseases. They rapidly concluded it wasn’t a muscle disease and then didn’t really want to have anything to do with the patients to be honest with you. So they started – this happens a lot when people don’t know what to do – they do ask psychiatrists to get involved. So I started getting involved, and I was the only one, and I just got more and more fascinated.
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A “stroke of luck” for SW. A hammer blow for people with ME/CFS.

Full transcript of interview: https://meassociation.org.uk/2017/0...life-scientific-bbc-radio-4-13-february-2017/

I can’t find the S4ME thread on the interview but I’m sure it was discussed.

Meanwhile, welcome to the forum @Josefina. I’ve not been able to contribute much for a while but great to have you here unmasked.

rvallee · Nov 7, 2022

Simon Wessely said:

So they started – this happens a lot when people don’t know what to do – they do ask psychiatrists to get involved
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Basically: "here, wing it". It's absurd how casually it's admitted that psychiatry is a dumping ground for medicine, and yet everyone pretends otherwise. And of course this is because there is no accountability. If there were accountability this practice would end quickly. But making psychiatry accountable would end the dumping practice, which would reveal the massive negligence.

Sly Saint · Nov 7, 2022

Robert 1973 said: ↑

I can’t find the S4ME thread on the interview but I’m sure it was discussed.
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https://www.s4me.info/threads/who-is-simon-wessely.9364/#post-16841

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Holistic or harmful? Examining socio-structural factors in biopsychosocial model of chronic illness,‘MUS’& disability, 2022, Hunt

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