Over- and mis- diagnosis of mental disorders (Was: Bipolar Disorder)

[festive1]

I don't think I could trust one... Having a therapist who has a "mental illness" either treated or untreated just can't be right, no matter how brilliant they may be.
A treated mental illness usually involves medication and therapy although sometimes it can be treated with therapy alone. Medications can have numerous side effects and anyone who has taken them can describe the effects of incorrect dosages, new drugs or even when ceasing any particular medication. Some medications prohibit the operation of heavy machinery for a reason. For this reason alone, I could name numerous occupations where any person on mind-altering medications (legal and non) should be prohibited. This would also include non-mental medications too depending on effects. The people you entrust with your well-being and safety should be fully responsible for their decisions. Specifically, possesing a drug free and rational mind...

I think if a professional therapist had bipolar that it would also give them a bias towards bipolar disorder. "Hey, I have it too, here, take this drug, it works for me!!!" Then you have the whole emotional aspect of dealing with people's problems. I don't think that someone who is sensitive to their environment should be poking around in some of the darkest corners imagineable.

Either way, it just looks like a lose-lose situation for both parties.

Yes, drugs can cause side effects. However, not everyone experiences them, and as Psykhronic pointed out, they can go away with time. Also, some side effects aren't mental process ones, but physical. Some, but not all, meds can cause impaired motor functioning.
I'm pretty sure you've known someone on an anti-depressant, whether you were aware of it or not. You've probably worked or known socially someone on psychotropic meds and were not even aware of it.
Any doctor that exhibits the type of bias you mention in your last paragraph, is not a good doctor. A good doctor recognizes that people are different and respond to medications in an individual way. Simply putting everyone on the same meds doesn't work. In therapy, there are patient/therapist boundaries which prevent the therapist from sharing their own, personal issues with a patient. A patient would likely be unaware that their therapist is being treated for a mental illness. Same goes for psychiatrists.