The mental health industry today is dominated by what is known as the biomedical model of mental illness, which essentially believes “that mental disorders are brain diseases” and emphasizes primarily pharmacological treatment (Deacon).
One way to wrap your head around the medical model of mental illness accepted by the psychiatric world is to compare its fundamental beliefs to a set of tenets endorsed by a similar organization, specifically, the four noble truths of Buddhism. The first noble truth of Buddhism states the fundamental nature of the human condition: life is suffering. The starting assumption of the Medical Model is similarly straightforward: mental illnesses are brain diseases. Just as the second noble truth of Buddhism states the cause of the condition mentioned in the first noble truths, the cause of suffering his desire, so the second noble truth of the Medical Model is that the cause of mental illness is a chemical imbalance in the brain. If the second noble truth of Buddhism states the cause of suffering, the third noble truth provides the cure, namely, that if you want to stop suffering you must stop desire. The third noble truth of the Medical Model likewise informs us how to stop suffering, specifically, the suffering of mental illness: Give medication. The fourth noble truth of Buddhism is not really a single statement but a set of practices known as the eight-fold path, which is designed as the means by to implement the third noble truths and stop suffering. The guide for the Medical Model has slightly more than eight steps. By some counts, the fifth edition of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder or the DSM 5 as it is more commonly known, list over 300 conditions in its 900 plus pages to guide the provider as he attempts to determine what medication to prescribe.
Granted there is some unfairness and comparing the medical model to one of the world some major religions. The Buddha exhorted his followers to test out their claims and to disregard any that their experience did not validate. By contrast, some fundamental concepts of the medical model, for example, that depression is caused by low serotonin levels, have no empirical support. Or again, the basic idea that medication reduces the suffering of mental illness is contradicted by studies showing in the case of depression 80% of the benefit from depression medication is reproduced by placebos. But if the medical model seems to have less rigorous standards than Buddhism, one has to admit its followers are just as devoted.
Deacon, BJ. (2013).The biomedical model of mental disorder: a critical analysis of its validity, utility, and effects on psychotherapy research. Clin Psychol Rev 33 (7):846-61.
