In 1997 a group of 10 psychologists working for a UN agency, who had access to psychiatric data from all over the world, said:

'The biological theories of the causation of mental illness are international psychiatric myths having no foundation in fact'

In 2001 this same agency called upon the governments of the developed world to stand up to the aggressive tactics of the drug companies. They said there was a danger that psychiatric drugs would be used to control those with social and psychological problems.

So - what causes schizophrenia?

Statistical evidence indicates that if the mother experiences physical or mental distress in the 5-6th month of pregnancy AND as a result the mother in some way blames the child and adopts a negative attitude towards it during its second year then there is a likelihood that the child will develop schizophrenia in adult life. Laing's concept of 'psychoschizogenic' mothers has a basis in reality. French researchers have come up with the theory that some mothers are genetically predisposed to subject one or more of their offspring to schizophrenia inducing psychological abuse. The idea that schizophrenia (at least, some types of schizophrenia) is caused by the mother is still being researched - but such is the influence of the drug companies one seldom reads about it.