I manage the Mental Health services in my neck of the woods, which includes employing two Psychiatrists, a couple of wards and a Community team. While some Psychiatrists have psychological therapy training, most are Medical Doctors with an expertise in ailments of the mind and hormonal systems.
They will often prescribe drugs, some of which are actually low dosages of various poisons like lithium. That's nothing new in medical practise, however, as Warfarin (rat poison) is often prescribed to thin the blood. Some of my nurses have actually stated that they would rather ECT (electric shocks) that drugs to end an episode of depression, but that doesn't rule out the majority of cases for which a good medicinal regimen restores balance to a life.
I guess a clear distinction has to be made between folks with a chronic mental illness with occasional acute episodes and those who hit a state of depression due to their environment wearing them down. Most medicating JWs and exJWs seem to fall into the latter category, though I can't help but wonder whether the Doctors offer drugs too early in the cycle. Most of what people call depression is just a period of "low mood". That having been said, it would be better to let a trained Doctor make that call as to diagnosis.
I've met a wide range of such Doctors (double figures), ranging from the excellent through to those who should be under treatment themselves.
