British Psychiatrists Learning To Ask About Child Abuse

The professional development journal of the Royal College of Psychiatry has commissioned New Zealand psychologist, Dr John Read, to describe a training programme on asking about childhood trauma. The article, 'Why, when and how to ask about childhood abuse', appears in the March edition of Advances in Psychiatric Treatment. http://apt.rcpsych.org/future/13.2.shtml

Extract: "Subscribers to the 'medical model' of the causation of madness emphasise the role of genes and severely underestimate the impact of traumatic events. Childhood physical abuse, sexual abuse and neglect are common experiences among those who suffer from serious mental illness. Unfortunately, victims are typically reluctant to disclose their histories of abuse and practitioners are often reluctant to seek it."

The paper is critical of the pharmaceutical industry for "promulgating simplistic physiological explanations" which deny the role of life events. It describes a one day research-based training programme which Dr Read and others have run in New Zealand since 2001. The training is now available from Manchester University:

Dr. Read: "Now that research has established that childhood trauma is a major cause of mental health problems, including psychosis, it is incumbent on mental health professionals to know how to ask about abuse and how to respond well when the answer is yes. This is not yet the case, largely because of the current label and drug approach."

"We are delighted that British psychiatry is taking a lead from New Zealand in prioritising the taking of trauma histories when undertaking mental health assessments."

Dr Read is editor of the book 'Models of Madness' and is an Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Auckland. His co-authors are New Zealand psychiatrist Dr Thom Rudegeair, and psychiatric nurse Paul Hammersley (Director, Post-Graduate Studies, School of Nursing Midwifery and Social Work, University of Manchester).

The training programme is based, in part, on Read's research into the link between abuse and severe mental health problems, including psychosis. In June 2006 he was invited to London to propose, with Paul Hammersley, the motion 'Child abuse is a cause of schizophrenia' in a debate at the Institute of Psychiatry. The motion was carried 114 - 52

psych.auckland.ac.nz/staff/Read/Read.htm