Critical thinking stop point 30.2

Possible answer to: In what other forms of therapy and practice do you recognise some of the values of TCs?

This is a key question for all non-medical, social, or psychosocial alternatives. The most obvious tensions would appear to revolve around incongruity with the mainstream biomedical systems. Simply, this could result in problems at the interface, such as with referrals. More profound issues may concern lack of appreciation amongst colleagues elsewhere that could result in undermining the value of the alternative. The scientific quest for evidence-based practice can be deployed unfairly against alternatives, which are relatively starved of research funding. Similarly, clients socialised into the mainstream, and indeed wider society, may not be ready for the democratic milieu of TCs and opportunities for agency. Some of this begs a question regarding the extent of mental distress in societies typified by unequal power relations. The model of critical psychiatry advocated by Double in Chapter 9 offers a more receptive home for alternatives like TCs.