Response to the Viewpoints article

This letter is in response to the Viewpoints article in the February 4 issue by Dr. Ahmed Okasha.

First, I would like to comment on Dr. Okasha's statements. The Soviet All-Union Society of Psychiatrists and Neuropathologists resigned from the WPA, but, as someone then intensely involved, it was quite evident that this step was taken to spare them the indignity and notoriety of being expelled. Furthermore, it was evident that the WPA's unwillingness to be further cowed and intimidated was a significant lever to the Soviet change of position.

Shifting to the current situation, I believe it is a “straw man” argument to write, “As an organization committed to the well-being of patients and the dignity of our profession, we are committed to helping our colleagues and our patients, not to cornering them for the self-satisfaction of having made an `abstract,' politically correct decision.” Sham solutions are not acceptable.

As long as genuine progress is made at a reasonable pace, all would agree on the course of action supported by Dr. Okasha. But we must not naively betray psychiatric patients, colleagues, and the integrity and soul of psychiatry.