~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fact Sheet:
LACK OF INSIGHTa Barrier to Voluntary Treatment
"Lack of insight" (the inability of a person to realize, or accept, that he is suffering a mental illness) has long been believed to stem from defensive denial, partly because of the stigma associated with these diseases. While denial no doubt contributes to some people with mental illness refusing treatment, research shows that lack of insight just as frequently results from the underlying brain disorder itself. The brains of those who suffer from this particular symptom of mental illness are often structurally different from those who do not. Treatment refusals stemming from lack of insight are thus not "informed medical decisions." It is the malfunctioning of the brain itself that causes the impaired decision-making. There is nothing civilly right about denying treatment to people with impaired decision-making who are too sick to obtain help for themselves.
Many scientists in numerous professional publications have reported significant correlation between poor insight and deficits in frontal lobe functioning. Others, some of whom are quoted below, have reported on the devastating consequences of the lack of insight:
______________________________
� See the following journal articles: Young et. al. Schizophrenia Research, 1993; Lysaker et. al. Psychiatry, 1994; Kasapis et. al. Schizophrenia Research, 1996; McEvoy et. al. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 1996; Voruganti et. al. The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 1997; Lysaker et. al. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 1998; Young et. al. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 1998; Morgan et. al. Schizophrenia Research, 1999a; Morgan et. al. in the journal Schizophrenia Research, 1999b; Smith et. al. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 1999. Also see Bell et. al. in the book Insight & Psychosis, Amador and David, Eds., Oxford University Press.
***This document was compiled by the California Treatment Advocacy Coalition***
general
resources | legal resources | medical
resources | briefing papers | state activity
hospital closures | preventable
tragedies | press room | search
| home
The contents of TAC's website are copyrighted by the Treatment Advocacy Center unless otherwise indicated. All rights reserved and content may be reproduced, downloaded, disseminated, or transferred, for single use, or by nonprofit organizations for educational purposes only, if correct attribution is made. TAC is an I.R.C. � 501(c)(3) tax-exempt corporation. Donations are appreciated and are eligible for the charitable contribution deduction under the provisions of I.R.C. � 170. Please note that TAC does not accept funding from pharmaceutical companies or entities involved in the sale, marketing, or distribution of such products.
Treatment Advocacy Center (TAC), 200 N. Glebe Road, Suite 730, Arlington, VA 22203 703 294 6001/6002 (phone) | 703 294 6010 (fax) | www.treatmentadvocacycenter.org (website) [email protected] (general email) | [email protected] (press contact) [email protected] (webmaster) |