Michael C. Thielmann
Newton
The Newton Daily News and Newton Police Department deserve a lot of credit for organizing the discussion of mental health issues at city hall on Nov. 10. The good turnout indicates a lot of community interest.
I am hoping that a future discussion will include some of the questions not addressed at the forum. Questions such as — are Iowa’s outpatient commitment laws just? Is it a human rights violation to drug mental patients against their will? What are some of the problems with psychiatric drugs? How scientific is the discipline of psychiatry? Do pharmaceutical manufacturers influence the educational process for psychiatrists to an undesirable degree? Is the medical model always appropriate? Can outpatient commitment be more oppressive than institutionalization?