Since 2009 we have been fighting our struggle against coercion in psychiatry
with our special psychiatric advance directive, the PatVerfue, forbidding any
medical doctor to make a psychiatric diagnosis and of course forbidding him to
execute any forced measures, see: http://www.patverfue.de/en
Since then we always predicted that although this is only an individual
solution and not a new law abolishing all obnoxious mental health acts, each
PatVerfue in use will fundamentally erode psychiatric power, because each one
undermines the criteria of objectivity. For any medical illness it is basic that
the illness is objectively detectable. If a criteria of objectivity is not fulfilled, an
alleged «illness» remains esoteric blabla.
So if a PatVerfue, just such a piece of paper, can prevent a psychiatric diagnosis,
one can get this mysterious illness only if one does not have such a
document. Merely the diagnosis is the illness. An «illness» which only nonPatVerfue
signatories can get, is nothing but esoteric blabla. [Of course I don’t
deny anyone a «right to illness», if he so wishes or has previously agreed in a
personal advance directive also to the use of force.]
The result of our prediction is now to be seen in Germany: on 25/2/2016 an
article was published in one of the major newspapers in Germany stating that
five psychiatries in charge locally work better without any locked doors at all.
The towns with such non-violent psychiatries are: Memmingen, Landsberg,
Herne, Heidenheim and Hamm.
Here is the article (unfortunately only in German):
http://www.sueddeutsche.de/gesundheit/medizin-psychiatrie-entwertunghinter-verschlossenen-tueren-1.2876702
http://www.sueddeutsche.de/gesundheit/medizin-psychiatrie-entwertunghinter-verschlossenen-tueren-1.2876702-2
The same author, the senior physician of the St. Marien-Hospital in
Hamm, Dr. Beine, also wrote an article in a scientific psychiatrist magazine,
«Psychiatric Practise» 2016 43(02): page 69-70, with the title: Let’s Open the
Doors… see here: https://www.thieme-connect.com/products/ejournals/
html/10.1055/s-0042-102279
Surprise, surprise, now a 15-year observational study also just appeared
in the Lancet: Suicide risk and absconding in psychiatric hospitals with and
without open door policies: http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpsy/article/
PIIS2215-0366 (16)30168-7/abstract with the result that, on the condition that
«healing» is the aim, open doors and no forced treatment is more successful than
locked doors plus forced treatment.
So logically, then «healing» is only a «medical» pretext and locked doors and
forced treatment are mere repression.
Another one of these five senior physicians, Dr. Zinkler, in 2012 wrote in an
open letter to the federal minister of justice that he had better results when he
could not forcibly treat people after the supreme court sentence in 2011 ruling
that the use of forced treatment was never reconcileable with the constitution.
Despite this, the federal law makers made a new law for forced treatment in
2013. Dr. Zinkler continued his no-forced treatment policy due to the better
results. Recently he published in Laws 2016, 5(1) this report: http://www.mdpi.
com/2075-471X/5/1/15
Germany without Coercive Treatment in Psychiatry — A 15 Month Real
World Experience
Dr. Zinkler, remaining consequent in his opinion, has now taken the next step
by publicly endorsing the abolishment of psychiatric forensic units. He wrote
the following application to become a member of the «Cartel against paragraph
63 penal code». The cartel is a group of lawyers who have publicly announced
to fight the «insanity defence» in order to abolish all forensic psychiatric units,
see here: http://userpage.fu-berlin.de/narrwd/kartell.htm Dr. Zinkler
Ladies and gentlemen,
I would like to join the cartel against the Paragraph 63 (§ 63 StGB). In Italy,
after the abolition of the forensic psychiatric hospitals, now the insanity defence
is also to be abolished. I consider this to be progress to help Article 12 of the UN
CRPD to come into force. In this respect, according to Paragraph 63, special
incarceration in psychiatric wards instead of prison also has no place.
Of course, prisons need at least equally good psychiatric and psychotherapeutic
treatments such as those in the community; but the consent of the convicts
to accept these offers should not be in any way associated with the length of
sentence or early release from prison.
Of course, forced treatment should never be used in custody, just as it should
never be used in freedom...
We can only strongly recommend fighting for a law ruling that medical
advance directives are valid for all medical decisions, no matter in which phase
an illness is. Important is that also any diagnosing can be legally refuted.
That will bring progress in our whole political struggle!
with our special psychiatric advance directive, the PatVerfue, forbidding any
medical doctor to make a psychiatric diagnosis and of course forbidding him to
execute any forced measures, see: http://www.patverfue.de/en
Since then we always predicted that although this is only an individual
solution and not a new law abolishing all obnoxious mental health acts, each
PatVerfue in use will fundamentally erode psychiatric power, because each one
undermines the criteria of objectivity. For any medical illness it is basic that
the illness is objectively detectable. If a criteria of objectivity is not fulfilled, an
alleged «illness» remains esoteric blabla.
So if a PatVerfue, just such a piece of paper, can prevent a psychiatric diagnosis,
one can get this mysterious illness only if one does not have such a
document. Merely the diagnosis is the illness. An «illness» which only nonPatVerfue
signatories can get, is nothing but esoteric blabla. [Of course I don’t
deny anyone a «right to illness», if he so wishes or has previously agreed in a
personal advance directive also to the use of force.]
The result of our prediction is now to be seen in Germany: on 25/2/2016 an
article was published in one of the major newspapers in Germany stating that
five psychiatries in charge locally work better without any locked doors at all.
The towns with such non-violent psychiatries are: Memmingen, Landsberg,
Herne, Heidenheim and Hamm.
Here is the article (unfortunately only in German):
http://www.sueddeutsche.de/gesundheit/medizin-psychiatrie-entwertunghinter-verschlossenen-tueren-1.2876702
http://www.sueddeutsche.de/gesundheit/medizin-psychiatrie-entwertunghinter-verschlossenen-tueren-1.2876702-2
The same author, the senior physician of the St. Marien-Hospital in
Hamm, Dr. Beine, also wrote an article in a scientific psychiatrist magazine,
«Psychiatric Practise» 2016 43(02): page 69-70, with the title: Let’s Open the
Doors… see here: https://www.thieme-connect.com/products/ejournals/
html/10.1055/s-0042-102279
Surprise, surprise, now a 15-year observational study also just appeared
in the Lancet: Suicide risk and absconding in psychiatric hospitals with and
without open door policies: http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpsy/article/
PIIS2215-0366 (16)30168-7/abstract with the result that, on the condition that
«healing» is the aim, open doors and no forced treatment is more successful than
locked doors plus forced treatment.
So logically, then «healing» is only a «medical» pretext and locked doors and
forced treatment are mere repression.
Another one of these five senior physicians, Dr. Zinkler, in 2012 wrote in an
open letter to the federal minister of justice that he had better results when he
could not forcibly treat people after the supreme court sentence in 2011 ruling
that the use of forced treatment was never reconcileable with the constitution.
Despite this, the federal law makers made a new law for forced treatment in
2013. Dr. Zinkler continued his no-forced treatment policy due to the better
results. Recently he published in Laws 2016, 5(1) this report: http://www.mdpi.
com/2075-471X/5/1/15
Germany without Coercive Treatment in Psychiatry — A 15 Month Real
World Experience
Dr. Zinkler, remaining consequent in his opinion, has now taken the next step
by publicly endorsing the abolishment of psychiatric forensic units. He wrote
the following application to become a member of the «Cartel against paragraph
63 penal code». The cartel is a group of lawyers who have publicly announced
to fight the «insanity defence» in order to abolish all forensic psychiatric units,
see here: http://userpage.fu-berlin.de/narrwd/kartell.htm Dr. Zinkler
Ladies and gentlemen,
I would like to join the cartel against the Paragraph 63 (§ 63 StGB). In Italy,
after the abolition of the forensic psychiatric hospitals, now the insanity defence
is also to be abolished. I consider this to be progress to help Article 12 of the UN
CRPD to come into force. In this respect, according to Paragraph 63, special
incarceration in psychiatric wards instead of prison also has no place.
Of course, prisons need at least equally good psychiatric and psychotherapeutic
treatments such as those in the community; but the consent of the convicts
to accept these offers should not be in any way associated with the length of
sentence or early release from prison.
Of course, forced treatment should never be used in custody, just as it should
never be used in freedom...
We can only strongly recommend fighting for a law ruling that medical
advance directives are valid for all medical decisions, no matter in which phase
an illness is. Important is that also any diagnosing can be legally refuted.
That will bring progress in our whole political struggle!