NaturalNews – August 03, 2013
by Mike Bundrant

As manager care insider and licensed mental health counselor for many years, I understand that what I am about to tell you harms the credibility of the industry.

I’m glad, because the conventional mental health system is a cruel joke.

What I am about the share comes from my personal experience working under the supervision of psychiatrists and clinical psychologists, as well as the bean counters that make the rules in standard mental health practice.

It’s ugly.

Nevertheless, the following is based on the actual “supervision” I regularly received as well as interactions with colleagues over a 10-year period.

1. Get ’em on drugs and out the door.

The practice manager actually said these words to me when I approached her to get approval for additional sessions for a particular client. More sessions equals more expense for the insurance company and practice managers must fall in line and keep counselors on a tight leash.

2. Hospitals don’t heal anyone.

In mental health, hospitals are viewed as an expensive liability protector. When someone may kill themselves or someone else, they are sent to the hospital to cool off, but only if the insurance company views this as a way to keep from getting sued. “Nobody gets better in a hospital.” I still remember these words from my supervisor.

3. Cover your butt first.

I was once told that it didn’t matter which decision I made on behalf of the client, as long as I could make a good case for it in my notes. The perspective is this: Write your case notes knowing that they may be reviewed one day as part of a lawsuit and make sure your butt is covered, regardless of how you direct the client.

4. Money determines the diagnosis.

Stronger, more serious diagnoses get obligatory approval for more sessions, which means more income for the practitioner. In the agency I worked for, counselors routinely and automatically diagnose the worst mental illness they could possibly justify, as you can imagine… Read the rest of the article here