Dr. Sandy Steingard on “Critical Psychiatry” – LPP PODCAST Episode 21
Posted on June 21st, 2020 - Last updated: September 28th, 2023
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Dr. Sandy Steingard is a psychiatrist and the chief medical officer of a statewide non-profit organization in Vermont called The Howard Center.
She is also a blogger for Robert Whitaker’s online Magazine called “Mad in America” and she’s the author of a book called “Critical Psychiatry.” For today’s podcast, Zach sat in-person with Sandy and spoke with her for a few hours about why she is critical of psychiatry— her own field, and how she reconciles this with her role, not only as a psychiatrist, but as the chief medical officer of an organization that addresses mental health statewide.
In today’s 30-minute excerpt from this long-from conversation, Sandy and Zach talk about psychiatric drugs and their potential to bring both utility and harm to person’s life. They also discuss how, why, and when she became skeptical of psychiatric drugs to solve overall life-problems.
Most importantly, she talks about the way in which she believes clinical work should happen: client-centered conversations; asking a person what’s going on in his or her life; helping them make sense of their problems in the context the other domains of life (things which seem commonsensical but get lost in the– well, “madness” of day-to-day psychiatric practice).
She makes a distinction between being the kind of psychiatrist who says, I’m the doctor, and I know just how to fix you, and being a psychiatrist who lets her client inform both the discussion and the work.
Zach and Dr. Sandy Steingard discuss these principles in todays podcast – enjoy!
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Dr. Stanton Peele, recognized as one of the world's leading addiction experts, developed the Life Process Program after decades of research, writing, and treatment about and for people with addictions. Dr. Peele is the author of 14 books. His work has been published in leading professional journals and popular publications around the globe.
