Harvard University & Mass General Addiction Conference 2023 — What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
I’m a vegetarian. I’m also a pediatric nurse turned psychiatric nurse with expertise in addiction and trauma. The breakfast spread that greeted me on arrival to Addiction in 2023 — An Update for Professionals Conference was somewhat traumatizing. I started craving a mimosa.
Fortunately I’d already eaten my yogurt with homemade granola and fresh fruit before leaving home, and I’d brought supplies for my own caffeine addiction to the event, so there was no need to partake in any of the offerings on hand.
The unappetizing introduction to the conference did not bode well for the event, but I gave it my best shot. I made it to about 10 minutes into the afternoon breakout session before walking out. The misinformation (aka — propaganda) was over-the-top.
Self-identified “experts” in the field of psychiatry who claim to have positive intent are causing untold harm, but nobody seems to care because their victims have no voice. We are ignored. The more we try to be heard, the harsher the silencing by those with power.
Non-compliant is the most abused and abusive phrase in all of psychiatry.
Positive intent does not excuse, nor does it erase, harmful impact.
Dr Kathleen Brady, a top psychiatrist from the University of South Carolina who specializes in addiction and PTSD, was the first presenter. As required by law, she flashed her Conflicts of Interest up on the screen as if nobody was paying attention. I was paying attion.
It was no surprise when Dr Brady started touting the benefits of SSRI medications for the treatment of PTSD.
Of course Dr Brady should be aware that SSRIs have been shown to be no better than placebo in the longterm when all the studies are considered. Is the “good” doctor ignorant or is her lack of transparency intentional? If it’s ignorance, she’s clearly in the wrong profession. If it’s intentional, we need to ask ourselves — Who benefits from the deceit and who is harmed?
I have been harmed by the system. I used to think it was just me, but now I know I am not alone. I find both comfort and despair in that realization — comfort in a sense of belonging, despair in understanding the extent of the trauma perpetuated by these charlatans.
I’ve been part of this corrupt system for a long time as both a practitioner and a patient. I signed up for the Addiction Conference with good intentions — I wanted to find like-minded professionals who share my core values of authenticity, integrity, curiosity, and compassion.
I left the conference feeling a deep sense of betrayal. These people clearly don’t care about me. It’s become evident that they don’t care about anyone but themselves. Every single one of these leaders in psychiatry could qualify for a diagnosis of NPD: a pattern of need for admiration, a grandiose sense of self-importance, a sense of entitlement, take advantage of others or lack empathy.
Those with unfettered power over the rest of us are are the source of much trauma — not the healers that they pretend to be. However, the real tragedy lies in the fact that those in power, the narcissists, are programming well-meaning, but naïve, practitioners to serve as flying monkeys in their dangerous game.
Enough is enough. I’m no longer a patient, and I’m done being patient. I’m done with the incrementalism and the abuses of the Dominant Narrative. The status quo will never change until we take power away from the abusers.
I refuse to be complicit in the abuse any longer. Complacency in the face of abuse is complicity.
It’s beyond time that those with power — the oppressors, the purveyors of the Dominant Narrative — start paying attention to those of us who have been abused.
The oppressed have a story to tell. We are sharing our Counter Narrative. We will be heard. We are rising strong.
P.s. There is, in fact, a one-size-fits-all solution to all mental health struggles, including all addictions. It’s called compassion. It’s free.
The irony —
I learned far more about compassion in my 15-minute conversation with the Hispanic catering employee than I did in my 5 hours of listening to and conversing with mental health professionals. Power players need to stop just paying lip service to diversity, equity, and inclusion. We want change. We want it now.
