ouch. i wouldn't want to equate believing in overcoming mental illness without medication with scientology. there are many people who believe that it is better to overcome mental illness without medication who consider themselves far removed from scientologists spiritual / religious views about aliens and so on and so forth.

personally... i have a great deal of sympathy for the notion that the best way to recover from schizophrenia is through social supports (if you can get it) and i'm very sceptical indeed about medication for schizophrenia.

how come?

WHO study. they couldn't believe the findings so they replicated the study. they did three studies in all. they found that the worst predictor for recovery from schizophrenia was living in a developed western nation (with better access to psychiatrists and medications). Basically... two thirds of people with a dx of schizophrenia recovered in the developing nations whereas only one third of people with a dx of schizophrenia recovered in the so-called developed nations. of course the million dollar question is precisely what it is that accounts for this discrepency in recovery rates (yes the groups were matched for severity).

there are some psychiatrists (who identify with the anti-psychiatry movement but NOT the scientology religion / spirituality) who have opened their homes up to people attempting to recover from schizophrenia in a medication-free way. they offer accounts of how these people managed to pass through crisis and get back to their lives without medication.

there are some psychiatrists (who identify with the anti-psychiatry movement but NOT with scientology) who have maintained (and provided evidence for their claims) that medication works by SEDATING people (a chemical straight-jacket). while this is useful for managing people when you have a busy institution that is under-staffed these medications tend to cause such things as ventricular enlargement, tardive dyskinesias (movement disorders), and tardive dementias (loss of cognitive functioning) when used long term.

if you look at the chemical action of anti-psychotics they work similarly to lobotomy. the effects of anti-psychotics were praised (upon their invention) as having all the benefits of lobotomy with the added bonus of being reversible (though now we are finding that they cause longer term brain damage). many of the negative symptoms of schizophrenia might well be the result of medication...

this is of course controversial. it is a scientific theory that is on the table, however, and it isn't given the attention that it deserves. the reason why it isn't given the attention that it deserves is largely sociological...

i think it is important to take some of these considerations seriously, however. and... to not conflate them with scientology...