If talk therapy fixes a measured neurochemical imbalance, great. If temporary use of pharmaceuticals can help patients overcome negative thought patterns, also great. So in that regard, I don't think the distinction matters so much as long as the problem is solved.
If I were to design a diagnostic and treatment system for psychological conditions, I would take an engineering approach. I would start by identifying all the inputs and outputs of the system and correct undesired inputs one by one until the outputs reach their intended values.
I'm not particularly well versed in control theory, but I'd be willing to wager that one could use feedback loops to model the tricky bits of the human mind where one element (e.g. a particular neurotransmitter) could be considered either an input or an output. Maybe it doesn't matter whether you treat the thoughts or the chemicals, because rather than one being cause and one being symptom, they're both elements in a feedback loop, and all you have to do is interrupt the loop.
I certainly agree with what you're saying about the feedback loops, as long as you're able to manipulate the loop into healthier behaviour then it doesn't really matter where in the loop you intervene. My issue with pharmaceuticals is that they are used completely inappropriately. There are people who have neurochemical imbalances which do require pharmaceutical intervention. Taking the USA as an example though there is a huge proportion of the adult population taking pharmaceuticals for psychological issues. Many of these issues are related to what you might call experiential issues i.e. they're not happy with the circumstances of their life. In these cases there is no physiological issue that requires correction, the brain is functioning correctly. The issue is with the configuration of the neurons and while drugs can encourage reconfiguration in a particular direction (happier say), it would be far more useful if those individuals could learn to deal with the hardships of life without external intervention.
Definitely. Hopefully the move away from the DSM will also facilitate a much more responsible use of pharmaceuticals. Instead of chemically making people apathetic about crappy lives, we should be making better lives.
If I were to design a diagnostic and treatment system for psychological conditions, I would take an engineering approach. I would start by identifying all the inputs and outputs of the system and correct undesired inputs one by one until the outputs reach their intended values.
I'm not particularly well versed in control theory, but I'd be willing to wager that one could use feedback loops to model the tricky bits of the human mind where one element (e.g. a particular neurotransmitter) could be considered either an input or an output. Maybe it doesn't matter whether you treat the thoughts or the chemicals, because rather than one being cause and one being symptom, they're both elements in a feedback loop, and all you have to do is interrupt the loop.