To the Editor: Of particular interest to me were a few sentences near the end of the June Open Forum on antipsychiatry and the consumer movement: "Organized psychiatry has found it difficult to have a constructive dialogue with the evolving radical consumerist movement. Consumerist groups are viewed as extremist, having little scientific foundation and no defined leadership. The profession sees them as continually trying to restrict 'the work of psychiatrists and care for the seriously mentally ill.' "
Our message is actually very simple. We don't like the way the profession treats people. The purpose of a consumer-driven mental health system, as suggested by the President's New Freedom Commission Report, is to give life to the voices of the people who are being affected by the system.
Mr. Haan is a consumer advocate in Seattle, Washington.