MY family has suffered greatly at the hands of some psychiatrists who squeezed money from patients who consulted them in search of relief and cure.

The pity is that generally they diagnosed wrongly and, hence, administered wrong medicines. When my son was in Grade VII, we noticed that he was not able to concentrate on his studies, though he was a very bright student earlier.

We took him to leading psychiatrists of the city one after the other, but with no sign of improvement over a period spanning 12 years.

However, once a general physician told us that our son might be suffering from depression. We went ahead with the treatment and my son recovered, though his precious school and college time was lost for ever, leaving us in agony.

My impression is that many patients suffer at the hands of our qualified psychiatrists. There is something wrong with the psychiatry education and practice in Pakistan. Only degrees do not make you good doctors.

Riaz Ahmed

Lahore

Published in Dawn, March 29th, 2015

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