Pills for the Soul: When Psychiatry Forgets to Listen to Suffering

Abstract

The mental health care model has turned worryingly towards pharmacology in recent decades, relegating psychotherapy and the understanding of human suffering to a secondary plane. This tendency medicalizes normative human responses and impoverishes the quality of care. It was decided to write this article with the aim of critically analyzing the excessive prescription of psychotropic drugs, the underutilization of evidence-based psychotherapy, and the human consequences of ignoring the experiential dimension of psychic suffering. In its development, the driving forces of overmedicalization are examined, the evidence of psychological versus pharmacological treatments is contrasted, and the clinical and existential impact of neglecting the narrative of suffering is explored. It is concluded that the abuse of psychotropic drugs and the neglect of psychotherapy represent a social iatrogenesis that dehumanizes care, so there is an urgent need for a rebalancing towards practices that prioritize listening, the therapeutic relationship and the understanding of pain as a meaningful experience, using pharmacology with moderation and wisdom.