Professor Middleton
Psychobiographies: English 466
14 November 2005
An
Auto-Psychobiographical look at Psychotherapy Gone Bad
If a wealthy person were
never poor, would they truly be appreciating their economical status? Does a prostitute in Burma, who never had the
opportunity or access to resources, appreciate the negation of their current
condition? Would a person that has not
tasted a strawberry be able to say they appreciate or not appreciate the fruit? Human existence is filled with questions. More importantly the ability to question is
indicative of humanity. In times of
adversity the negation of it, usually a situation of better qualitative value
is desired; yet, those moments of happiness are few and far between and never
last for long. While the inevitability of human existence are disheartening Girl, Interrupted brings forth the importance of adversity as a
necessary condition for embracing humanity’s ability of hope and transformation
through an auto-psycho-biographical self-analysis of an intelligent author
attempting to understand and cope with the adversities of inadequate therapy.
Individuals within humanity are subjected to
psychiatric diagnosis. The medical
community is not always correct. “Like
Prozac Nation, this memoir [Girl, Interrupted] points toward a critique of
‘bad’ psychotherapy and of the institutions that control the decisions
regarding mental health” (Marlan 4). The
medical community’s methods for treating patients are not always effective
either. The patient suffers the
most. Adversities of life are a
necessary condition for being a human.
In One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, a patient named McMurphey goes through a similar ordeal like Susanna
Kaysen; however, McMurphey is not voluntarily institutionalized like
Kaysen. Nevertheless both characters
have to deal with the medical community as an institution. While institutionalized a patient gives away
a part of their freedom and must submit to the power dynamics of the
institution.
Like Girl, Interrupted, One
Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest parallels how the human condition of hope is
still alive even under extreme conditions of oppression. “They (the Combine) don’t bust you that way;”
says McMurphey in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest to Chief, “They put
things in! They install things. They start as quick as they see you’re gonna
be big and go to working and stalling their filthy machinery when you’re
little, and keep on and on till you’re fixed! ” (Kesey 189). This is to say
that the Combine, metaphorical for groups with overwhelming power relations and
influence, is the evil culprit. There
is, in McMurphey’s eyes, hope that the control being harnessed onto them is
temporal. Moreover, his testimony
implies that an outside group “installed” things or conducted behavioral
conditioning. So, if it can be learned,
then it can be unlearned. If someone can
transform another person in society, can a person transform themselves? The dialogue between McMurphey and the Chief
reiterates how adversity is a way to cherish humanity’s ability of hope. It is possible, according to McMurphey to
transform oneself because he believes it to be true. Without hope, even under conditions of
extreme oppression, humans no longer would be.
Hope allows people to move on or like in the Hawaiian culture “Imua”
move forward. Hope allows a person to
move forward regardless of the situation.
Hope keeps a person alive.
Girl, Interrupted is interesting in that
it is a psycho-biographical self-analysis.
A highly intelligent woman confined within a medical institution,
Kaysen, attempts to deal with the power dynamics of the institution she voluntarily
has chosen to be confined in. In the
chapter entitled Checks in Girl, Interrupted the power dynamic of
the McLean Hospital are oppressive.
“Five-minute checks.
Fifteen-minute checks. Half-hour
checks” (Kaysen 54). These are the
various intervals of time that nurses must insure the safety of their
patients. “Five-minute checks. Not enough time to drink a cup of coffee,
read three pages of a book, take a shower”
(Kayesen 54) Also, the consistent
checking is the institutions way of maintaining its power relations. If there were no individuals that required
medical attention, then medical professionals would not have a job. Perhaps the struggle between patients and
medical professionals is the process of diagnosing a patient, categorizing
them, creating a treatment plan, and deciding to prescribe medication. Some where on the road to recovery the medical
institution is not really required, but merely a hindrance to wellness.
Kaysen
was able to recover and realize what she was going through and to deal with the
adversity of being human. People get
depressed. People attempt to commit
suicide. “Too much acetylcholine, not enough
serotonin, and you’ve got depression” (Kaysen 137). When a person becomes a threat to themselves
they become institutionalized. Although
the McLean Hospital was helpful to a certain extent in treating Kaysen, Kaysen
worked the system. This is to say that,
Kaysen was a highly intelligent woman that was able to release herself from the
oppressive institution. Kaysen’s treatment to recovery was through writing and
although the McLean medical professionals seemed to be a part of that, they
were merely a sounding board for her.
She helped herself. She knew that
the medical community was not entirely correct with how patients are dealt
with. “That’s because the analysts are
writing about a country they call Mind and the neuroscientists are reporting from
a country they call Brain” (Kaysen 143).
In other words, not everyone in the medical community really knows how
to absolutely treat someone. At the same
time, the medical community may not be entirely certain about what they are
talking about. Kaysen was perceptive
enough to understand this and took her life into her own hands.
“Kaysen
is always aware of the world outside of herself, even when her treatment of
these materials undermines the authority of the outside” (Marlan 4). It is important note this characteristic
because being aware is indicative of a person that is considered normal. People not considered normal are not entirely
aware of what is going on internally and externally. “The question is not ‘who’ is crazy, but who
makes the decisions regarding another’s sanity, how is the decision made, and
what might it mean to be insane?” (Marlan
5). The criterion for making
classifications about sane and insane carry implications that may be
counterproductive for the patient. The
professionals creating the definitions have a power because they are imbued
with the authority to make decisions and to enforce them. Kaysen, herself, was the key to her own
recovery.
Girl,
Interupted and One
Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest point out the flaws and frailties of medical
institutions and their practices.
McMurphey was attempting to jump from one institution to another,
pretending to be insane to gain freedom, but realizing that in doing so one
must adhere to the power relations of the institution; most of the time it
involves relinquishing one’s freedom for the perception of it. Kaysen goes through a self analysis of
herself and the adversities of life realizing that the medical community,
especially within the context of psychotherapy is not necessarily good. As an intelligent author, Kaysen is able to
change the dynamic of the medical institution.
Instead of them treating her, she treats herself. She gives them the perception that they are a
key factor in her recovery, but really uses them as a sounding board for her
progress. What really helps Kaysen is
writing. Her therapy was writing. It was through writing where Kaysen goes
through a self analysis, examining herself like a psychoanalyst would, and
providing the course of action internally.
WORK SITED:
1. Kaysen, Susanna. Girl, Interrupted. New York: Random House, 1993.
2. Kesey, Ken. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. New York: Penguin Books, 2003.
3. Marlan, Dawn. “Reviews.”
Chicago Review 1996: p93, 10p.
Academic Search Premier. EBSCOhost.
University of Hawaii at Manoa Library., Honolulu, HI. 12 Nov. 2005.
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