"Impostors" in Psychiatry

Inara

Inara

Senior Member (Voting Rights)
No, this is not about psychiatrists as impostors - although it could be :D - but about people who pretended to have a degree in psychiatry and got - partly central - positions in a clinic.

A TV part (ZDF) about Alexandra Beek who pretended to have a PhD and was a psychiatrist two years in Wuppertal and then in Berlin (in the "Wilhelm Sander House", a highly secured forensic prison).

ZDF: "The hospital is silent about how it came to the employment of Alexandra B. At that time, in December 2015, there are several applicants for the advertised specialist office. A panel of senior psychiatrists and the clinic management conducts the interviews. It's all about Alexandra's PhD thesis."
Alexandra Beek: "They asked: What did you do for a PhD? What was the name of the topic? Then I said: Limits and possibilities of modern psychopharmacotherapy on the example of schizophrenic residuality."
ZDF: "Alexandra describes experiments she has just made. The reaction of the expert panel surprises Alexandra herself."
Alexandra Beek: "Then they wanted to know what the result was, and I said: "For people who have been taking high-doses of these drugs for so long, nothing would have changed their condition. Not even without medication." They would be very excited about it - that would have been a scientific breakthrough and interesting as well."
ZDF asks: "Did they want to see the doctoral thesis?"
Alexandra Beek: "No - they did not exist either!"
ZDF: "It seems to be very convincing: the clinic chooses her."
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Here's the source, with a video in German: https://www.zwangspsychiatrie.de/2017/06/beweis-forensik-psychiater-wissen-gar-nix/

There's a third impostor, Henry T. It seems, his story was in "BILD" and "Focus online" (two big magazines). I found it here: https://www.zwangspsychiatrie.de/2017/10/psychiatrie-alles-nur-hochstapler/
Henry T. was previously diagnosed with a psychiatric illness, and then himself became a psychiatrist in the East Frisian Ubbo-Emmius clinic (who is known to apply forced treatments, like electro shocks).

The first was Gert Postel, who did the same and succeeded.

Maybe the Rosenhan experiment is already known:
The Rosenhan experiment or Thud experiment was an experiment conducted to determine the validity of psychiatric diagnosis. The experimenters feigned hallucinations to enter psychiatric hospitals, and acted normally afterwards. They were diagnosed with psychiatric disorders and were given antipsychotic drugs. The study was conducted by psychologist David Rosenhan, a Stanford University professor, and published by the journal Science in 1973 under the title "On being sane in insane places".[1][2] It is considered an important and influential criticism of psychiatric diagnosis
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https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosenhan_experiment

Edit: Unfortunately, this doesn't change psychiatry's power, which - to me - proves it's not about objectivity but politics.
 
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Webdog said:
I had the pleasure very long ago of being sent to this quality licensed practitioner. He mysteriously vanished one day and I had to get another referral. :speechless:

http://articles.latimes.com/1998/nov/20/local/me-45588

Rather astonishing he was given back his license after his first 6 month suspension.
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That story is just hilarious! :laugh: the question obviously is who is the "sick" one: the psychiatrist or his "patient"? Reminds me of Freud, Jung, ...

In Germany it's so easy to get psychopharmaceuticals, i.e. no false pretenses needed. :D
 
It's a religion and as such only requires initiation by other members of the priesthood. As a faith, of course they needn't check facts!
 
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