The Only Medical Specialty That Survives on Lies

Brownstone Institute ^ | September 8, 2025 | Peter C. Gotzsche

[Twotone]

I am a specialist in internal medicine and have a keen interest in statistics and research methodology.1 My general approach to science has led to publications in many different areas because people came to me when they suspected something fishy in their specialty.1

In 2007, midwife Margrethe Nielsen from the Danish Consumer Council wanted to find out if history was repeating itself. I offered her a PhD student scholarship and we found out that the withdrawal symptoms are very similar for depression drugs and benzodiazepines, but they were described as dependence only for the latter.2

This started my interest in psychiatry and I quickly realised that a lot else was also misrepresented in this specialty. The lies psychiatrists convey to the public are so common and so harmful for their patients that I published my own textbook of psychiatry where I document what is wrong in the official textbooks used by medical students and psychiatrists in training.3 Much of what is claimed in the textbooks is scientifically dishonest, and frequently cited research is often totally unreliable because the data were tortured till they confessed.4

Psychiatry is the only specialty I know of that causes more harm than good; in fact, vastly more harm than good.5 This disaster can only survive because psychiatrists constantly lie to the public about what they can achieve with their drugs. Psychiatrists also routinely violate elementary human rights about informed consent and use forced treatment even though it is harmful.5,6

The title of my most recent psychiatry book summarises the issues: “Is psychiatry a crime against humanity?”5 As you shall see, I am not exaggerating.

[PeterPrinciple]

Psychiatry is the only specialty I know of that causes more harm than good; in fact, vastly more harm than good.5 This disaster can only survive because psychiatrists constantly lie to the public about what they can achieve with their drugs. Psychiatrists also routinely violate elementary human rights about informed consent and use forced treatment even though it is harmful.

---

noted

[ComputerGuy]

One in five citizens is on an antidepressant, which can cause falls, and when elderly people break their hip, one-fifth will die within the next year.

[lightman]

I knew an old-school psychiatrist who believed the EST was far more humane that a lifetime on meds which would constantly need adjustment and augmentation.

He certainly practiced by “first, do no harm”.

[philman_36]

Your problems are never solved in psychiatry. When one problem is solved another is diagnosed so more sessions are needed to resolve the new problem that has been discovered.

Rinse and repeat for wealth and an endless line of patients.

JMO, YMMV

[Worldtraveler once upon a time]

Thanks much and muchly for posting this article. A worthy read. Hearty thanks.

[Liz]

Dr Peter Gotzsche’s most recent psychiatry book summarizes
the issues: “Is psychiatry a crime against humanity?”
<><>As you read the book, you find he is not exaggerating.
<><>Psychiatry is the only specialty that causes more harm than good;
<><>in fact, vastly more harm than good.
<><>because psychiatrists constantly lie to the public about what they can achieve with drugs.
<><>Psychiatrists also routinely violate elementary human rights
<><>like informed consent
<><>and use forced treatment even though it is harmful.

(Excerpt) Read more at brownstone.org ...

[9YearLurker]

I’d say pediatrics isn’t looking particularly good right now either.

[Jeff Chandler]

I wonder what effect psych drugs have on unborn children?

[ConservativeMind]

Psychologists, in my experience, and with a former crazy girlfriend who went on to become one, are typically people trying to figure out themselves (however, she wrote to me her sole reason was to figure me out).

Psychiatrists are unreformed psychologists with prescription pads.

Imagine that someone justifies their psychology issues with the addition of being a whole lot more “certified,” and you can now understand how psychos help make ever more psychos.

Psychologists have a credible chance of addressing their issues (I don’t know if that ex-girlfriend ever did, but she became some other guy’s lifelong problem). Psychiatrists never have to address their issues because they got their issues covered with a “medical” wrapper, like a gift box.

[ConservativeMind]

Erhard Seminars Training (EST)?

[lightman]

Electro Shock Therapy

[Dr. Sivana]

I have known people who were unable to function in society without meds to alter brain chemistry. They are not 20%, but the number is well above zero. For people who have borderline, schizophrenia, bipolar …. imperfect meds are better (usually) than no meds. (nb: Dr Sivana is a comicbook doctor. I feign no advanced medical knowledge, just expressing an opinion).

[ShadowAce]

L. Ron Hubbard despised psychiatry. His books are full of that hatred.

It's the only thing I agree with him.

[Brian Griffin]

Psychiatry came of age after WW2 when many traumatized veterans had to deal with killing Germans and Japanese.

The veterans were basically normal people forced into bad situations. They could be talked out of their misery.

Then there are abnormal people. Psychiatrists try to help these people through chemistry and talk.

The chemicals don’t always work.

The talking doesn’t always work, and can sometimes be counterproductive.

Pills can cause a mentally paralyzed person to be become active. The resultant activity can be positive, or negative.

The best thing to do is to determine by talk therapy whether chemical therapy should follow talk therapy dealing with dangerous mental attitudes. Negativity needs to be dealt with by talk therapy before pills are prescribed.

Depression runs in my family. I know about the issues personally. I have taken SSRIs.

I stopped taking SSRIs when I decided that spending $100/month on things that would make me happy was better than spending $100/month on mere pills.

I will sleep off any negativity.

I will do what I can.

What I can’t do will have to be somebody else’s problem.

There may be people that can be addicted to SSRIs, but I was not among them.

The people that can be addicted to SSRI’s probably also have an active addiction problem.

Psychiatrists might ask if a patient is prone to addiction before prescribing a SSRI.

[adorno]

I read some time ago (not sure if it’s still true), that the profession with the most suicides is psychiatry.

IOW, we’re trusting that our insanity will be cured by somebody insane.

[Brian Griffin]

SSRI risk profiles:

High risk of ADS: Paroxetine (Paxil®, Pexeva®) and fluvoxamine.
Moderate risk of ADS: Citalopram (Celexa®), escitalopram (Lexapro®) and sertraline (Zoloft®).
Low risk of ADS: Fluoxetine (Prozac®).

SNRI risk profiles:

High risk of ADS: Venlafaxine (Effexor®) and desvenlafaxine (Khedezla®, Pristiq®).
Moderate risk of ADS: Duloxetine (Cymbalta®, Drizalma®, Irenka®).
Low risk of ADS: Milnacipran (Savella®) and levomilnacipran (Fetzima®).

MAOIs (monoamine oxidase inhibitors), tricyclic antidepressants and tetracyclic antidepressants also typically carry a relatively high risk for ADS.

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/25218-antidepressant-discontinuation-syndrome

[unverified by me]

[jimwatx]

In my experience most psychiatrists and psychologists appear to have unresolved mental health issues themselves.

[RWGinger]

Good for you
I wish you a long life

[sopo]

gee, he could have googled this during his extensive internet research:

“During the study period, 101,759 antidepressant prescriptions (6 percent of all prescriptions) were written by 158 physicians for 19,734 patients. Only 55 percent of antidepressant prescriptions were indicated for depression. Physicians also prescribed antidepressants for anxiety disorders (18.5 percent), insomnia (10 percent), pain (6 percent) and panic disorders (4 percent). For 29 percent of all antidepressant prescriptions (66 percent of prescriptions not for depression), physicians prescribed a drug for an off-label indication, especially insomnia and pain. Physicians also prescribed antidepressants for several indications that were off-label for all antidepressants, including migraine, vasomotor symptoms of menopause, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and digestive system disorders.

“The findings indicate that the mere presence of an antidepressant prescription is a poor proxy for depression treatment, and they highlight the need to evaluate the evidence supporting off-label antidepressant use,” the authors write.https://muhc.ca/newsroom/news/antidepressants-rise-label-prescriptions