Tom Cruise, Scientology bash psychiatry; APA fires back

"It is irresponsible for Mr. Cruise to use his movie publicity tour to promote his own ideological views and deter people with mental illness from getting the care they need."

So states Dr. Steven Sharfstein, president of the American Psychiatric Association (APA), in response to recent talk show activities of actor Tom Cruise. Weeks earlier, Cruise had criticized actress Brooke Shields for taking anti-depressants for postpartum depression. Cruise believes all psychiatry to be pseudoscience, chemical imbalances to be imaginary, and all psychotropic medication and therapy to be unnecessary and dangerous. His solution to the roller coaster of life? The Church of Scientology.

The topic arose while Tom Cruise was promoting the alien-invasion film War of the Worlds. Because celebrity opinions can carry great weight with fans, Cruise's comments worried many in the mental health field. In an appearance on the Today Show, Cruise proclaimed a profound understanding of psychiatry that reinforced his belief that the field was bogus. The gist of Cruise's message was that mental illness was not real and that people should not look to psychology for help. The APA responded with the following statement:

   Science has proven that mental illnesses
   are real medical conditions that affect
   millions of Americans.... Over the
   past five years, the nation has more than
   doubled its investment in the study of
   the human brain and behavior, leading
   to a vastly expanded understanding of
   postpartum depression, bipolar disorder,
   and attention-deficit/hyperactivity
   disorder. Much of this research has been
   conducted by the National Institutes of
   Health and the nation's leading academic
   institutions. Safe and effective treatments
   are available and may include
   talk therapy, medication, or a combination
   of the two. Rigorous, published,
   peer-reviewed research clearly
   demonstrates that treatment works.
   Medications can be an important and
   even life-saving part of a comprehensive
   and individualized treatment
   plan. As in other areas of medicine,
   medications are a safe and effective
   way to improve the quality of life for
   millions of Americans who have mental
   health concerns. Mental health is a
   critical ingredient of overall health. It
   is unfortunate that in the face of this
   remarkable scientific and clinical
   progress that a small number of individuals
   and groups persist in questioning
   its legitimacy....

Brooke Shields also responded: "To suggest that I was wrong to take drugs to deal with my depression, and that instead I should have taken vitamins and exercised shows an utter lack of understanding about postpartum depression and childbirth in general. If any good can come of Mr. Cruise's ridiculous rant, let's hope that it gives much-needed attention to a serious disease."

Shields wrote a book on her experiences, Down Came the Rain: My Journey Through Postpartum Depression, in which she states: "I wasn't thrilled to be taking drugs. In fact, I prematurely stopped taking them and had a relapse that almost led me to drive my car into a wall with Rowan [her newborn] in the backseat. But the drugs, along with weekly therapy sessions, are what saved me--and my family."

Scientology, a movement based on the science fiction novels of L. Ron Hubbard, claims the notion of mental illness is a fraud and a scam. Hubbard himself equated psychiatrists with terrorists. Since the publication of Hubbard's self-help treatise Dianetics in 1950, the American Psychological Association has warned people of the potential danger of scientology's professed "cure." In 1969 the Church of Scientology founded the Citizens Commission on Human Rights, an organization designed to "investigate and expose psychiatric violations of human rights." In an informative article entitled "Scientology's war on psychiatry" (available at salon.com), Katharine Mieszkowski reports:

   Recently, Scientologists have promoted
   legislation in Florida, Utah and
   New Hampshire that seeks to discredit
   psychiatry and drug therapies, especially
   for kids. The laws would penalize,
   even criminalize, schoolteachers
   who recommended mental health
   treatments to students or parents.

Those speaking on behalf of Scientology In the Florida courts included actors Kelly Preston and Kirstie Alley. Those speaking against were trained scientists and mental health practitioners. A Scientology-backed program, Narcanon, has been touring public schools lecturing to children about the danger of recreational drugs. According to the Scientology handbook, "Answers to Drugs," the core treatment for those who abuse drugs like marijuana, Ecstasy, or cocaine is sweating out drug residuals and other toxins by taking saunas and jogging. Remedies also include the B-complex vitamin niacin, oils and other minerals, a detoxification service which "is available under expert supervision in Scientology organizations and missions around the world."