Analysis of 'Making a Killing': A Documentary about Psychotropic Drugs

Kaut and Dicknson (2007) states “a growing challenge for mental health counselors is to understand the potential benefits and limitations of many different types of drugs “(.p204-205). Drugs are prescribed to have an effect on the brain and behavior of clients. Mental health counselors are advised to be trained in how psychotropic medications can benefit and be at risk for their clients and to develop a collaborative approach to treatment (Kaut & Anderson, 2004; King & Dickinson, 2007). While mental health counselors cannot prescribe medication, they can recommend medication and educated their

This resulted in them asking their doctors, mostly primary care physicians who have little training in psychology, about a variety of prescription drugs. The doctors, whom are easily influenced by the young, sales representatives, are given free samples from drug companies which further pushes the prescribing of expensive medications. Primary care doctors prescribe 80% of psychotropic drugs and as mentioned prior have little training and/or little interest in psychiatry; in addition they spend little time actually evaluating symptoms. A majority of these doctors tend to favor pill solutions and some even build their practice on becoming known for passing out prescriptions for whatever the patients wants. A consequence of diagnostic inflation leads to an increased cost for unnecessary drugs and psychiatric treatment.

Although we tend to think that drugs are here to comfort and heal people, we must also take into account that behind every drug, we have a drug company that is making millions of dollars off of consumers who by their products. Behind every consumer, we have a doctor that is recommending and prescribing the medication. In “The Medicated Child,” we learn that the researchers who advocate the use of psychiatric medications, receive enormous support from drug companies. Firsthand doctors inform us that theses drug industry funded studies influence their decisions on what drugs to “push” or prescribe. This is a major conflict of interest because the decisions and results of the studies are

Special attention should be giving to understanding informed consent and any challenges that may be presented and prescribing ethically medications to special populations such as children. According to the Gerald Tietz of the Washington law review (1986), indicates that it is well within a practitioner’s scope of duty to inform the patient of significant effects were injuries that may be related to the prescribing of any particular pharmacological treatment. This informed consent should be expanded to include the harms were dangerous presented also with non-use of additional treatment interventions such as therapy or CBT. Additional trends identified in ambulance pediatrics (Cooper, Arbogast & Ding, 2006), or the trends and the prescription of antipsychotic medications for children in the United States of America. The information taken from the national ambulatory medical care survey in regards to the US population indicated that between 1995 and 2002 there were nearly 6,000,000 visits to health providers by children in the US that had been subscribed or prescribed antipsychotic medications. Nearly 1/3 of the prescriptions for lease populations were provided by non-mental health service professionals. The study of the department of pediatrics at Vanderbilt University in Nashville also indicated that over half of the prescriptions for these children were given based on behavioral indications or affective disorders which find a way

“Hallucinations and voices that caused schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders have been stopped with the use of new medications”. (MHT, 2) “Just as aspirin can reduce a fever without curing the infection that causes it, psychotherapeutic medications act by controlling symptoms,” (MFMI, 4). “Another advantage of these medications is an increased understanding of the causes of mental illness. Scientists investigate the results of the medications, and through these results, they have learned a great deal about the working of the brain system.” (MFMI, 4) The use of new drugs has made it possible for mentally ill persons to live a normal life.

We in America tend to take medications for almost any problem we have, from headaches to gastrointestinal pain, to more serious chronic disorders such as depression and attention deficit disorder. While many of the uses of such medications may be necessary and legitimate, many are not, and due to this fact, many people become dependent on medications, mentally, and or physically. This problem is not simply the fault of the individual; in fact, the blame can also be placed upon the medical community, and the pharmaceutical companies who produce the drugs. How often can one turn on the television to see advertisements for Claritin, Aspirin, Pepto-Bismol, or even Zoloft or Ritalin? The pharmaceutical industry is motivated by monetary

Perry, P. J., Alexander, B., Liskow, B. I., & DeVane, C. L. (2007). Psychotropic drug handbook (8th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

The 1950s saw several developments in medications such as antipsychotics. The term antipsychotic refers to medicines or drugs that are primarily needed to manage psychosis. They are usually used to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, though they can be helpful for other mental health problems such as severe depression. In One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, a patient called Chief Bromden, describes his surroundings after taking medication. He said, “The words come to me like water, it’s so thick. In fact it’s so much like water it floats me right up out of my chair and I don’t know which end is up for a while. Floating makes me a little sick to the stomach at first. I can’t see a thing. I never had it so thick it floated me like this.” (Kesey 133) The quote gives an accuate picure of how an antipsychotic would work. Chlorpromazine, the first anitpsychotic, was synthesized in 1950 by the French pharmacuetical company Rhône-Poulenc. It was followed by the creation of many other drugs with diverse chemical structures. In 1954, another

The over prescription of psychotropic drugs is becoming rampant in our society. Psychiatrists and psychotherapists have been replacing the “talk therapy” treatment, and are quick to replace this method with the use the pharmaceutical drugs, for treating mental illnesses (Conley, 2015, p. 434). In other words, they are turning to drugs instead of finding the real solution. Writing a prescription from a drug may be easy, but the side effects can be harmful, if not deadly. There are two particular mental disorders in which the over prescription of medication to treat that disorder is becoming a more and more relevant occurrence. The dangers in an over prescription of pharmaceutical drugs for treating Attention Deficit Hyperactivity

At first it was the cure all people were looking for. Then it became the drug they were afraid to take. Somewhere between these two extremes lies the truth about the drug Flouxetine, better known as Prozac, the most widely prescribed drug on the globe. It is mainly prescribed to patients suffering from clinical depression. It was first brought to the market in 1988 by the pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly co. Even though it was originally prescribed for depression, it has been prescribed for everything from eating disorders to insomnia. It was first considered the wonder drug of the new decade because of the way it helped depression patients when no other anti-depressant could

In the documentary War of Drugs, we learned about how the U.S is taking on the problem of drugs in our country. It shows the police raiding cities with drug problems all over their streets. The own Chief of the police department calls their actions “questionable”, because it requires snooping and sneaking on their citizens. We also saw how the war on drugs is being fought in Columbia by spraying it with pesticide. This documentary was interesting to me. I had no idea that America was spraying Columbia’s coca fields. Also it was nice to see how it shared both opinions about whether or not the war on drugs was working.

Antipsychotics are classified as major tranquilizers that are used to treat mental health illnesses such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and other mental illnesses. They can also treat severe depression and severe anxiety. These antipsychotics drugs reduce or increase the effect of neurotransmitters in the brain to regulate levels that help transfer information throughout the brain. The neurotransmitters that are affected are the serotonin, dopamine, and noradrenaline.

Antipsychotic – Psychotropic drugs are often used for neurochemical problems, behavioral problems, schizophrenia, and other mental disorders. These drugs sometimes cause side effects

Psychological issues affect people with symptoms of depression and/or anxiety. Depression is a condition in which a person’s main emotions withdraw and there is a prolonged sadness over a long period of time. Main causes of depression consist of abuse in one’s lifetime, horrific or tragic events and or certain medications. “About 121 million people world-wide are believed to suffer from depression” (Naurt, 2008). Symptoms consist of low self esteem, disturbed sleep habits, appetite loss and the feeling of being not wanted; “It can lead to suicide and is associated with 1 million deaths a year” (Naurt, 2008). Antidepressants are the common treatment for depression, but music therapy is becoming increasingly popular. The biological perspective on the anti-depressants given to patients diagnosed with depression can have very horrific side effects. One such group of anti-depressants is Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs): “…there is also an established direct link between suicide and violent behavior and the use of SSRIs” (Tyrell, 2001). Most people stop using anti-depressants because of the drugs’ side effects. The SSRIs are just one example of malicious effects anti-depressant drugs that can create on people. Another research study completed by Kikuchi, Mimura, Suzuki, Uchida and Watanabe (2013), affirms their hypothesis that antidepressants has profound negative effects on patients with

I enjoyed reading your response, because there were similarities and difference between our responses, and your post challenged me to assess the documentary from a different perspective. I had difficult time moving past feeling uncomfortable with the premise for the production, because of the sensitive nature of mental illness, and concerning factors I identified throughout viewing both episodes. By reading your post, which addressed many positive components you identified, I gained additional insight needed to consider how this production may have benefited the participants, panelist, and viewers, more so than I initially thought. When you said that the stigma of mental health can be worse than the symptoms, that resonated with me. I have