GPs ‘unhelpful’ in drugs advice role

September 16, 2005 in Community Care

Two out of five people trying to come off psychiatric drugs find
their GP “unhelpful” and one in 10 says their doctor “made things
worse”, research reveals.

The survey of 200 people by mental health charity Mind finds
that 90 per cent of those who sought advice on coming off the drugs
from a counsellor, psychotherapist or support group found them
helpful, compared with about half for GPs.

Patients who tried to come off the drugs against their doctor’s
advice were more likely to succeed than those who had their
support.