If a patient benefits from antidepressants, that means that they need antidepressants - they only work if you have chemical imbalances.
That's a non-argument.
MDMA makess you REALLY happy. Does this mean that you need MDMA to be really happy?
Hey - if someone feels better on meds, I won't take them away.
But when saying 'If a patient benefits from antidepressants, that means that they need antidepressants', I am missing the important question.
Why does this person need antidepresssants? The chemical inbalance thing is not very scientific. It's a best guess at bests (hey it works don't ask us why but it does).
Look into ' anti-psychiatry'. No, this is not some kind of radical action group. It is research group of psychiatrist who have worked the field most of their lives that argue that psychiatry should not use meds, only as a last resort. The argue that society is moving towards a state where normal feelings are medicalized. You mad bro? Here, take some anti-mad pills.
Why is there a chemical imbalance in the first place? Is it just nature? Or does nurture play a large part? I am not against meds per se. But I do think perscription of mind altering, addictive hard drugs (which most psychotherapeutic drugs are) is done way too soon.
I've had a few patients where going off meds could cause them to be paralysed with anxiety, showing up for appointments days early crying even though they knew they had done nothing wrong, but were overwhelmed with the feeling they had.
These patients either have paralysing anxiety, or they are suffering from withdrawal symptoms from the drugs they were hooked on and will tell you what you need to hear to get more meds. Unreliable witnesses / unreliable test susbject.
The question is raised too, was their anxiety ever THAT severe before they were put on meds and then stopped them? Did the meds actually make it worse in their un-medicated state?
For this, let's get back to MDMA. It makes you REALLY happy. Long term use however, and then quitting it makes people clinically depressed. The brain has become too used to extra serotonine being released to it artificially instead of producing it for itself.