Psychiatric diagnosis
Sir: Dr Linklater's attack (July 7) on psychiatric diagnosis being made by junior officials of the Department of Health and Social Security would be more convincing were it not for the fact that qualified psychiatrists paid to give advice to various Departments of State frequently seem to hold somewhat curious, if not unorthodox views. One such gentleman, apropos of the recent sex scandals in high places, wrote in the Daily Telegraph (May 28) that "compulsive sexual activities affect all sections of the community." It may be " compulsive " to have lustful thoughts, but it is really so to put them into practice? The case he writes about may well have been unfortunate, and there are many good psychiatrists around, but speaking for myself, I would rather trust the common sense of the average officer of the Department of Health than a viewy consultant psychiatrist who thinks he knows all the answers but is frequently caught out in a highly complex and still relatively unscientific field.
G. Chowdharay-Best 174 Clay Hill Road, Basildon, Essex
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