"Clinician Seemingly Recommending Non-Evidence Based Alternative Treatment"

I spoke to MHERL for support and guidance recently not long after 9pm on how to deal with a prescription medication-induced impulse control disorder, and I was shocked by the recommendation I received.

The clinician was pleasant but I recall told me, you must not be feeling great about that, when I was describing medication-induced impulsive spending and hypersexuality. I was then strongly recommended to explore a group called Grow Recovery as it offers an alternative from the medical model of mental illness offering spiritual and emotional perspectives.

This isn’t the first time this same clinician has answered a call I have made to MHERL and offered Grow Recovery as an alternative to the medical model either.

I find it deeply concerning and irresponsible for a state public mental health triage line to seemingly be directing people away from evidence-based medical treatment towards a group that I understand has no medical or psychological oversight.

I believe that Grow Recovery actively encourages members to reduce and come off of their psychiatric medications. I have seen that they have published surveys that detail the number of times members have been admitted as inpatients, as well as tracking the number of members who have successfully ceased psychiatric medications or lowered their doses since joining the group.

I know better than to take on that advice. My urgent concern is that someone more naive or vulnerable than me may join that alternative organisation based on MHERL’s recommendation, cease their medical treatment without medical guidance, and experience a severe mental health episode.