Perhaps surprisingly, the majority of responses to my articles since January on major mental illness were gratifyingly enthusiastic - including some from parents of schizophrenics. One mother wrote that 'unresolved questions/family situations/his feelings of inadequacies, etc are ignored, even though he has written them down in an assessment for assertive outreach support'. Another stated that: 'I'm three years into my son's schizophrenic-type illness... "Psychiatrist" means "healer of the soul"... Have they forgotten their roots? Psychiatrists, assertive outreach workers, et al say that the medication is not enough and an all-round package of care should be available BUT they are afraid to stand up and SHOUT for change.' Another wrote: 'I have a son who well exemplifies your teaching, and is recovering simply by being tolerated and not rejected.'

One reader sent the following non-PC missive. 'I have two acquaintances whose children are diagnosed schizophrenic and I have noticed some similarities between them and their attitudes to their kids. They are both self-absorbed women who have put their own needs before their children's. Insofar as they are attention seekers and narcissistic they are extremely poor friends. The painful thing is the attitudes they have towards their (grown-up) schizophrenic sons. One talks with almost scathing hatred about her son, recalling that he was "impossible" as a child, and interferes unhelpfully in his life.'

One would hope the psychiatrists caring for those offspring are at least prepared to countenance such psychodynamics. At present, during their training most are given no training at all in understanding the way in which parents do occasionally cause schizophrenia. There were many letters from health professionals reinforcing the role of sexual abuse in causing extreme emotional disturbance, and some from victims. These awful stories made me feel it is worth trying to budge the psychiatric profession towards acknowledging that parental care can be crucial.

One consultant therapist and psychologist pointed out the bias of the system towards the medically qualified. When he retires, the most he can be earning will be £50,000, whereas his medical colleagues start at £62,000 and retire at a minimum of £82,000.

John Holt, a former Fine Arts lecturer who founded Aim (Artists in Mind), a mental health charity which provides artistic opportunities for the mentally ill in institutions like Broadmoor, also pointed to the lack of funding for non-biological approaches. 'We believe "creativity is the immune system of the mind",' he wrote.

Unfortunately, the kind of psychiatrists who advise the government would tend to regard such activities as only slightly more worthwhile than basket-weaving. If only the advisers came from the long and vital psychological school that tries to turn the lead of pathology into the gold of insight and art.