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Vivisection does not, and never will, contribute to patient care, health or wellbeing. And vivisection will never find a cure for psychiatric illnesses. In fact, vivisection has virtually removed the most fundamental, necessary methods of psychiatric nursing: therapy and counselling.

Too often I have witnessed nurses who have observed agitation, low moods, agitation, anger, frustration or confusion simply offer a pill or a liquid solution to the individual in question. The vivisection industry has flooded healthcare with quick fix drugs, therefore making it easier for certain nurses to opt for the medical model method ie. look at the illness first and make the patient peripheral to the disease. The social model should be preferred in psychiatric nursing – look at the patient and their personal history, and then relate it to their condition.

For example the vivisection industry believes that an individual experiencing clinical depression should be given drugs and ‘it will all get better’ (medical model). WRONG! The social model would examine why the individual is experiencing clinical depression, then consider a variety of treatments that may cure or alleviate the condition, such as therapy.

However two of the better forms of therapy are psychotherapy and cognitive therapy, neither of which can be prescribed on drug charts. They are not used nearly enough in psychiatric nursing, despite being fundamental to treating patients. Why are patients not receiving these treatments? The answer is simple: because of the vivisection industry!

To offer necessary therapy to psychiatric patients would require many qualified therapists, or would necessitate qualified nurses being constantly updated on counselling skills. This would inevitably require substantial funding from mental health trust’s budgets. Unfortunately the NHS is not funded enough for this to happen, while the vivisection industry is rich from government funding.

The same government who continually promise more funding for additional doctors, nurses, better wards and hospitals, more beds ... While the vivisection industry holds the monopoly on patient care and treatment via the pharmaceutical and biomedical companies, the government feels justified with the lack of funding towards correct care methods.

From experience, I know that psychiatric illnesses. At best, drugs will only suppress some symptoms. Even then this doesn’t last forever. In many cases individuals on moderate to high drug dosages will build up resistance, thus becoming immune to that particular drug. Animal experiments do not predict resistance by the human body.

Antipsychotic drugs for use with schizophrenia and related symptoms can cause a condition known as neuroleptic malignant syndrome. This can cause horrific side-effects such as hypothermia, low blood pressure, urinary incontinence and muscular rigidity. In some cases this syndrome has been fatal. Yet animals being tortured in hell-holes like HLS did not predict such a syndrome in humans.

Most bizarrely, anti-psychotic drugs have actually been the cause of suicidal tendencies in some individuals experiencing low moods or sadness. An example of this is Seroxat. One of the main complaints about this drug is that it causes deep depression and anxiety. Another drug in psychiatric nursing called Clozaril has a particularly frightening side-effect – it kills the body’s white blood cells, rendering the body defenceless against bacterial invasion. Many of these drugs are also highly addictive, but was this shown by any animal tests? Of course not.

If you read any pharmaceutical dictionary, or even the leaflets inside tablet boxes, it is blatantly obvious that animal experiments are contributing to hospital admissions due to the horrific side-effects from the drugs. How can any medication that has the potential to cause effect such as blood clots, heart disorder, liver and kidney damage, diabetes, nausea, vomiting, weight gain or loss, stomach ulcers etc. be classed as beneficial?

The fact is, no psychiatric drug will ever cure mental illnesses or problems. A drug will not discover or uncover the cause of an illness, or the trigger of a symptom, or the answer to a problem. A drug cannot talk or listen. A drug will only oppress or suppress – it is not able to show empathy, identification or comprehension to an individual who is experiencing mental health issues. A drug can never bring total relief – as soon as an individual ‘comes down’ or wakes up, the symptoms and needs are still there.

Although schizophrenia and depressive illnesses fall under different categories of mental health needs, it is still my opinion that therapy is the best form of care. From experience, I have seen psychotic patients who may be highly aggressive calm down with gentle talking. Following this cognitive therapy may be given, offering the patient ways of coping. Just as I have seen neurotic patients’ moods begin to lift if the nurse has the time to counsel them, or at least just talk to them. Unfortunately this does not happen nearly enough in psychiatric nursing for the reasons I have mentioned.

While vivisection/pharmaceutical/biomedical companies continue to research on animals, true and correct nursing care and treatments will always be held up.

Kerry Whitburn, Psychiatric Nurse