Letter: Psychiatrists have helped many

Ellsworth says "it is time to take away the ability of psychiatrists to dispense drugs." Psychiatrists must train to be medical doctors whose practice requires dispensing medication. It is recent history that in the 1950s new drugs dramatically changed the treatment for mental and emotional illness. Hundreds of patients could then live more "normal," useful lives, rather than be institutionalized as was the case previously.

It is a mistaken idea that psychiatrists tell people they are not responsible for what they do. Psychiatrists aim to help troubled individuals understand what life experiences have influenced their actions and to inform them of the consequences of their behavior and the personal responsibility.

Despite Ellsworth's claim, psychiatry has saved many lives. Society, in general, is more judgmental than knowledgeable about mental and emotional illness and its treatment. Ellsworth insists that psychiatrists are responsible for violent acts of their patients. He is uninformed or misinformed, or both.

LILLIAN GARBIAN

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