It’s really a bad situation when doctors have strong financial incentives to use certain medications. Unfortunately what’s best for the patient doesn’t always come first.
I hadn’t heard of Paul McHugh before, but it sounds like his reforms are something that psychiatry really needs. I remember in university learning about some treatments for mental health, and the lecturer told us that we really have no idea why these drugs work, but it seemed like depressed patients got a little better if you gave them lithium, so we just kept doing it! We are starting to understand the brain better, but there is still a long long way to go.
RE: Psychiatry: Moving From Ice Pick Lobotomies and Chains Into a Brighter Future