Site Changes

We are in the process of making some Design Changes to the site. Don't worry, many of the special links and other resources will return shortly, as soon as we figure out some of the new features.

One of the things we wanted was the list of labels, and a better way of showing the archives.

So hopefully this is all for the better

Drug Czar Plays Politics With Mental Illness, Suicide And Marijuana

Via Furious Seasons, a report from the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. This comment at Furious Seasons hits the nail on the head:

Yes, pot makes people kill themselves. That's such a bizarre assertion that it's embarrassing--and, indeed, claiming pot causes anxiety and suicide while perfectly legal drugs such as Paxil, Zoloft, Effexor and so on have been linked to suicidality and suicides and to cases of very extreme agitation is the very height of hypocrisy. A 2001 study published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry found that 8.1 percent of admissions to one hospital's psych unit in a 14-month period were due to "antidepressant-associated mania or psychosis." In fact, a Whether you like or hate pot, you ought to be against the feds making such hypocritical claims or you ought to be in favor of Walters warning parents of teens about the dangers of anti-depressant-caused psychosis. I simply don't know of any studies proving that pot causes suicide. I'm not saying it's impossible, but it's highly unlikely that such a link is very strong.

Anti-depressants are much more of a suicide threat.

The Decline of Psychiatry, Part 4

While people are in shock and horror at the decline of psychiatric services, this is all part of a larger picture where

• the psychs that do exist are moving to big cities where they can charge more and make more money
• Battered over the years, there are less people going into psychiatry as a profession.
• As soon as the organic disease process is identified, the claim of psychiatry is largely undermined and it passes instead to neurology or another specialty.

Of course, there have also been problems of compassion within the mental health industry as well, as evidenced by profiteering, etc.

From the Nanaimo Daily News

There may some logic, based on crunching numbers and bureaucratic mumbo jumbo, in the decision by the Vancouver Island Health Authority to close the psychiatric unit at West Coast General Hospital in Port Alberni, but the closure makes no sense.

VIHA said they had to shut the unit for as long as a year because they cannot find a replacement for a departing psychiatrist. It's hard to believe that VIHA has allowed itself to end up in this position.

In fact, Alberni-Qualicum MLA Scott Fraser is right when he says, "It's not acceptable . . . . It's not an option. You cannot shut down essential services."

To add to Fraser's incredulity, closing a mental health ward approaches irresponsible if not outright negligent.

VIHA might argue they have no control over the comings and goings of doctors, but it's pretty hard to believe that they did not or could not foresee this long enough ago to take appropriate action.

Either way, the fact that they could not negotiate to have the current psychiatrist remain until a replacement could be found, or that they were caught by surprise, indicates something is wrong within VIHA.

What this also seems to indicate is that the health authority has little regard for those in need of mental health care.

Imagine if VIHA allowed the same state of affairs to happen at an emergency ward. The province would have to step in, replacing the VIHA board of directors -- who may also be personally liable for any tragedy -- and take steps to make sure that mandated level of emergency care is in place.

It is pretty shocking when one considers how the VIHA brass in Victoria seem to think about the mentally ill. The need for a psychiatrist in any community has to be seen as crucial as an emergency ward.

What the health authority seems to be saying is that someone in Port Alberni, or anywhere in the VIHA jurisdiction for that matter, who arrives at a hospital with a psychiatric crisis counts less than someone with a broken arm.

Sure, an untreated broken arm can lead to gangrene and death. But untreated mental distress can lead to suicide. And just as time is crucial in treating a medical emergency, so it is with a person in crisis from a mental disorder. Leaving such a person without necessary help will lead to escalating behaviour which can be violent or self destructive.

One agency that will not be very happy with state of affairs will be the RCMP. They are the ones who will have to cope with violent or suicidal people until appropriate help can be found. What do the RCMP do? Drive them to Nanaimo Regional General Hospital? Keep them in jail and let the courts sort it out?

VIHA's plan is that mental health and addictions community office in Port Alberni will handle psychiatric patients. The folks in that office must be just thrilled that their bosses in Victoria, who appear to have no insight into the needs of a person in mental distress, have delegated them as the ad hoc psych unit for the city.

The other plan is that a community response team will also intervene for people in need of psychiatric care. One problem though is that the team has not been established.

It's rather puzzling that VIHA appears to be able to put together this idea of a community response team, but can't seem to hire a psychiatrist.

Since its inception in 2002 VIHA has failed to serve any community on the Island adequately. Hospitals have become dirtier and less efficient, staff are overworked like never before, health facilities are increasingly crowded and this episode in Port Alberni is evidence of gross mismanagement.

The one place to start for a solution is for the VIHA board to censure Howard Waldner and his management team. And given that the board is ultimately liable, it seems they need to send a message that this state of affairs cannot go on.

List of Complaints Against Mental Health Practitioners and Counselors In Washington State

In April 2006 the Seattle Times ran a series under the title "License to Harm" exposing sexual abuse in the field of medicine in the the State of Washington. Using their online database of offenders, we were able to generate a list of those practitioners who are/were involved in the field of mental health in some capacity.

Out of 443 original complaints in the database, 159 were from the field of mental health. This is more than one third of all complaints, which is more than their fair share of the offenses.

These we detail below. We have preserved the individual links to the online database for each person in the list below. These are sorted by Specialty first, then by Name

License type	Name	State complaint
Applicant - Registered Counselor	CHARD, RALPH K.	Failure to disclose criminal conviction
Applicant - Registered Counselor	MERCER, MATTHEW G.	Application denied for prior criminal sex conviction in Montanna
Applicant - Registered Counselor	PLATT, VERNON W.	"After licensed, criminally convicted of 2nd degree rape of a child and 1st degree child molestation"
Applicant - Registered Counselor	REYES, GABINO M.	"Prior to license, criminally convicted of 1st degree rape of a child"
Chemical Dependency Professional	ABILD, GORDON W.	Sexual contact with a patient
Chemical Dependency Professional	BANKS, NATALIE B.	Sexual contact with a client
Chemical Dependency Professional	BROTHERTON, MICHAEL D.	Sexual contact with a client
Chemical Dependency Professional	DISMORE, ROBERT D.	Sexual contact with a client
Chemical Dependency Professional	GAMBER, JOHN B.	Sexual contact with a client
Chemical Dependency Professional	HARRIS, STEVEN C.	"After licensed, criminally convicted of 1st degree child molestation"
Chemical Dependency Professional	LAYCOCK, KIMBERLY M.	Sexual contact with a patient
Chemical Dependency Professional	LINS, LINDA C.	Sexual contact with a client
Chemical Dependency Professional	MCDONALD, THOMAS E.	Sexual misconduct
Chemical Dependency Professional	TRIPLETT, DOROTHY M.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Certified Marriage/Family Therapist	DONNEN, MICHAEL L.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Certified Mental Health	DEVINCENT, JACQUELYNE A.	Sexual contact with a patient
Counselor - Certified Mental Health	TURSKY, STUART P.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Certified Mental Health	WHITE, LAWRENCE N.	Sexual contact with a patient
Counselor - Certified Mental Health	WOLFE, CONSTANCE	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Licensed Marriage/Family Therapist	COWAN, A L.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Licensed Marriage/Family Therapist	SHELTON, DAVID L.	Sexual misconduct
Counselor - Licensed Mental Health	ADAMS, HOMER S.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Licensed Mental Health	ARAD, HEMDA	Sexual contact with a patient
Counselor - Licensed Mental Health	CARBARY, PRESTON L.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Licensed Mental Health	COLEMAN, PATRICK L.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Licensed Mental Health	DITTY, BYRON D.	Inappropriate physical contact with a patient
Counselor - Licensed Mental Health	NEELY, ROBERT M.	Sexual misconduct
Counselor - Licensed Mental Health	PEARSON, ROBERT P.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Licensed Mental Health	PRITCHETT, GREGORY E.	Transmitted child pornography to patient via computer
Counselor - Licensed Mental Health	REYNOLDS, MICHELLE D.	Sexual misconduct
Counselor - Licensed Mental Health	RUSCIGNO, VICKI L.	Sexual misconduct with client
Counselor - Registered	ALEXANDER, RONALD W.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	BARRETT, OWEN V.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	BATES, JAMES L.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	BAUER, COREY M.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	BAUER, GWENDOLYN S.	Sexual contact with a patient
Counselor - Registered	BECKSTROM, DIMITY P.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	BLANK, DENNIS C.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	BOUTON, DEAN O.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	BRADY, LARRY G.	Sexual contact with a patient
Counselor - Registered	BROWN, JOHN W.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	BROWN, LAURA L.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	BURFORD, JAMIE L.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	BURR, KENNETH A.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	CARLSEN, LISA J.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	CLARK, JOHN E.	Making sexual advances to a patient
Counselor - Registered	CLINE, RICHARD T..	Inappropriate physical contact with a patient
Counselor - Registered	COOK, JOHN R.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	COVELL, LARRY C.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	DANIEL, TIMOTHY D.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	DAVISON, GORDON A.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	DELAGASSE, RENE C.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	DESHAZO, RICKIE L.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	DOWNEY, CYNTHIA J.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	DUNAWAY, DAVID M.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	DURHAM, JAMES F.	"After licensed, criminally convicted of lewd conduct involving juveniles"
Counselor - Registered	DYER, THOMAS G.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	ERICKSON, BEAU	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	FERGUSON, DANIEL S.	Sexual misconduct
Counselor - Registered	FISHBACK, MICHAEL A.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	FOX, DANNY E.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	GARDNER, KATHY D.	Inappropriate physical contact with a patient
Counselor - Registered	GIESE, JENNIFER L.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	GOFF, JAMES H.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	GOODMAN, PETER J.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	GORDON, KATHY	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	GRANT, ANTHONY W.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	GRAVES, KEVIN R.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	HADDAD, EMILE F.	Inappropriate physical contact with a patient
Counselor - Registered	HAMILTON, CHARITY A.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	HARRAH, NATALIE A.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	HAWLEY, STEVEN J.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	HAYTE, PAUL A.	"After licensed, criminally convicted of sexual contact with a minor"
Counselor - Registered	HELLMANN, JAMES A.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	HOOKS, ANDREA L.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	IGEIN, GODWIN O.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	IRVING, WILLIAM S.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	JASSO, SERVANDO	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	JOEHNK, DANIEL W.	Sexual contact with a patient
Counselor - Registered	JONES, JUDITH E.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	KAVANAUGH, DONAL M.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	KELTY, JAMES G.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	KEOUGH, MICHAEL P.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	KESTER, CAROL A.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	KINSEY, OSCAR L.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	KLINK, WILLIAM R.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	KOCH, WILLIAM A.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	KORNELIS, CLARICE J.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	LEGGEE, RICHARD B.	Investigated for prior criminal conviction
Counselor - Registered	LOUDEN, JOHN R.	Sexual misconduct
Counselor - Registered	LUDLOW, KENNETH W.	Inappropriately touching juvenile
Counselor - Registered	MARVIN, TERRY A.	Inappropriate physical contact with a patient
Counselor - Registered	MASSEY, WILLIAM R.	Sexual contact with a patient
Counselor - Registered	MCBRIDE, GREGORY T.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	MEYER, EVELYN J.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	MILLER, ALLAN	Sexual misconduct
Counselor - Registered	MILLER, RICHARD A.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	NEFF, STEVEN G.	Sexual misconduct
Counselor - Registered	OLSON-HERNANDEZ, BECKY S.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	PARKS, FRED A.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	PARLOTZ, ROBERT D.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	PETERSON, STEVEN W.	Kissed underage girl and sent sexualized messages
Counselor - Registered	PICHETTE, WILLIAM J.	Failure to disclose criminal conviction
Counselor - Registered	PRICE, JOHN A.	Sexual misconduct
Counselor - Registered	RADECKI, JOHN C.	Sexual misconduct
Counselor - Registered	RAINERI, JOSEPH V.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	RICE, GREGORY R.	"After licensed, criminally convicted of possessing child pornography and sexual exploitation of a minor"
Counselor - Registered	RIDOUT, TRACY M.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	RITCHIE, PAUL C.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	RODRIGUEZ, DAVID A.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	ROSMARIN, EDWARD T.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	ROSS, DONALD R.	"Failure to disclose numerous criminal convictions, including 2nd degree rape."
Counselor - Registered	SALO, LINDA D.	Sexual misconduct
Counselor - Registered	SASET, MEHAN	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	SCROGGIE, DANIEL C.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	SHELTON, LARRY E.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	SITEK, JEFFREY J.	Sexual contact with client's mother
Counselor - Registered	SKEATES, TERENCE R.	Sexual abuse of a patient
Counselor - Registered	SMITH, DREW	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	SMITH, ISAAC	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	SMITH, TERRANCE L.	Sexual contact with a patient
Counselor - Registered	SORENSEN, RONDA M.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	SOSBEE, ROBERT E.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	SPEES, MARK A.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	SPENS, MICHAEL R.	Failure to disclose prior discipline for sexual misconduct of a client in Oregon
Counselor - Registered	STACY, SHEILA M.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	STEPP, MERVIN L.	"After licensed, criminally convicted of 1st degree child molestation"
Counselor - Registered	STRATTON, LAWRENCE G.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	STURZENEGGER, DALE E.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	TRAVER, RAYMOND R.	Sexual contact with a patient
Counselor - Registered	TRAYLOR, JOHN M.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	TUCKER, PAUL D.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	VANDERGRIFF, CHARLES M.	Inappropriate physical contact with client
Counselor - Registered	VANVOORST, PHILIP K.	Sexual misconduct
Counselor - Registered	WILES, DUANE B.	Failure to disclose previous criminal conviction for indecent liberties
Counselor - Registered	WOOD, JOSHUA G.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	YARBROUGH, RICHELLE L.	Sexual contact with a client
Counselor - Registered	ZAFERATOS, TAMARA S.	Sexual contact with a client
Hypnotherapist - Registered	ANDERSON, ROSS E.	Sexual contact with a client
Hypnotherapist - Registered	HUGHES, PHILLIP S.	Sexual contact with a client
Hypnotherapist - Registered	PATCHELL, TEGWITH E.	Failure to disclose criminal conviction
Hypnotherapist - Registered	PRINGER, BYRON C.	Sexual contact with a patient
Hypnotherapist - Registered	SPEED, LANCE E.	Sexual misconduct
Psychologist	ANDERSON, M. D..	Sexual contact with a patient
Psychologist	BROWN, NATHAN C.	Sexual contact with a patient
Psychologist	DESEVE, KENNETH L.	Sexual contact with a client
Psychologist	FORD, BRIAN L.	Sexual contact with a client
Psychologist	FRESE, GLEN A.	Sexualized treatment sessions
Psychologist	HOWLAND, CHRISTOPHER S.	Inappropriate physical contact with client
Psychologist	KUBACKI, STEVEN R.	Sexual contact with a client
Psychologist	LAZERE, RICHARD	Sexual contact with a client
Psychologist	LEKSA, BRUCE J.	Sexual contact with a patient
Psychologist	MAST, PHYLLIS B.	Sexual contact with a client
Psychologist	O'DONNELL, PATRICK G.	Sexual contact with a patient
Psychologist	PESKIND, ARTHUR W.	Sexual misconduct
Psychologist	SCOTT, MONTE L.	Sexual contact with a client
Psychologist	STALLONE, THOMAS M.	Sexual contact with a client
Social Worker - Licensed	CRANE, EDIE	Sexual contact with a client
Social worker - Licensed	VANDENBUSH, WILLIAM	Sexual contact with a client

Many Popular Drugs Linked to Suicide

From News Inferno.com

Suicide is common in the US, representing the fourth leading cause of death for those aged 18 to 65 and the third leading cause for those aged 15 to 24. Add to those figures the complexity of medications. In recent years, disturbing reports have suggested that side effects of some popular drugs - such as Chantix, Accutane, Singular and Paxil - include suicidal thoughts and behavior.

Reports have been filed with drug makers and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on at least six drugs or drug classes that may be linked to suicide or suicidal thoughts. Recently, the FDA released notices about several such medications including Singlulair; Epilepsy drugs including carbamazepine, gabapentin, felbamate, lamotrigine, levetiracetam, oxcarbazepine, pregabalin, and valproate; and the smoking-cessation drug Chantix. Reports have been filed on SSRI antidepressants including Paxil and Prozac, the influenza drug Tamiflu, and the acne medicine Accutane. “The brain is a complex organ, and most of the drugs are complex as well,’’ says Dr. Thomas Laughren, head of the division of psychiatric products at the FDA. “It’s not unreasonable to think that a drug that gets into the brain may have effects other than you hope they would.’’

Kelly Posner, principal investigator at the Center for Suicide Risk Assessment at Columbia University in New York, is working with the FDA to determine suicide risks and at-risk categories; Posner’s quantitative tools and questionnaires are being applied to drugs on the market and in testing. “We know that whether or not these drugs actually cause suicidal thought or action is a question we have to answer, but up until now, none of the clinical trials for the drugs were set up to address the question,’’ says Posner.

There are theories, says Jason Noel, director of clinical pharmacy services at Rosewood Center in Owings Mills, Maryland. Asthma medication Singulair has a similar chemical pathway to steroids, which can affect behavior and mood and an asthma diagnosis can trigger suicide or depression because it adversely affects daily living. Fatigue is a symptom of depression, the initial benefit of antidepressants is increased energy, and improving depression can take weeks; therefore, some may use extra energy to act on suicidal thoughts. Suicidal thoughts in patients taking epilepsy drugs have been reported in patients on such medications for epilepsy, depression, or other psychiatric conditions; however, not generally in those on the drugs for migraines. Chantix blocks pleasure pathways that make nicotine so satisfying, which suppresses other pleasure and happiness, leading to depression. But, stopping smoking can be a risk factor for depression and smoking is a risk factor for suicide.

Finding links has risks. When the FDA discovered an increase in suicidal thinking in children and young adults taking antidepressants, warnings were added to Paxil and Prozac labeling. “Use of antidepressants went down and the suicide rate went up,’’ says Dr. Paula Clayton, medical director of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention in New York.

Meanwhile, Congressman Bart Stupak (Democrat-Michigan) reported his teenage son B.J. killed himself in 1999 after several months on Accutane and said in 1998, the FDA publicly noted reports of depression, psychosis, and suicidal thoughts and actions with Accutane; in 1999 when B.J. was prescribed Accutane, their doctor did not inform them of the risk and the prescription’s patient information did not include it.

Ex-patient sues psychiatrist over sex abuse

From a report in the Calgary Herald

A city psychiatrist barred from practising medicine is facing a lawsuit from a former patient accusing him of "professional negligence and sexual abuse."

On Monday, the Alberta College of Physicians and Surgeons announced it had revoked Jeremy Roberts' licence to practise. A hearing found he'd had an inappropriate relationship with a patient that included sexual activity. The woman was not identified.

The patient's $250,000 lawsuit was launched independently from the college's investigation into Roberts' conduct.

The statement of claim says the woman went to see Roberts for treatment of anxiety, marital stress and postpartum depression.

The woman had two young children and was still married when she first visited Roberts in January 2003.

Ten months later, the woman alleges in the statement of claim, she and Roberts had sex in his office. They married in July 2005.

It was only when the woman was hospitalized for harming herself, the statement of claim says, that she revealed the secret relationship.

The woman makes allegations of negligence, breach of fiduciary duty and breach of contract against Roberts.

None of the accusations have been proven in court.

The woman accuses Roberts of getting involved in an intimate relationship when he should have known she "was inherently incapable of properly consenting to the sexual involvement."

The woman is claiming a series of injuries, including intense shame and guilt and an eating disorder.

In a statement of defence, Roberts denies he was the cause of his wife's troubles.

In late summer of 2003, the woman disclosed she had feelings for him and alleges he told her the same, according to the statement of claim.

But in the statement of defence, Roberts says he encouraged the patient to stay with her husband.

It also says the psychiatrist was "lonely, isolated, vulnerable and depressed following the breakup of his first marriage in 2001."

Roberts says he no longer considered her a patient in late 2003.

The statement of defence does not address when the two started their sexual relationship.

The statement of defence denies the woman came to any harm -- and says if she did, it was due to her pre-existing condition, and not because of Roberts.

"Dr. Roberts' treatment of the plaintiff was timely, skillful, competent, careful and appropriate," the statement of defence says.

"Dr. Roberts accurately diagnosed the plaintiff's conditions and provided a timely and appropriate treatment plan for them."

The woman, according to her claim for damages, said she had to keep the relationship secret. That meant she could not seek other treatment, the claim says.

Roberts became erratic during their marriage, says the claim, which accuses him of abusing the stimulant Dexidrine.

The woman began suffering "suicidal ideations," and cut herself. She was hospitalized for two months in November 2005.

"Despite the terror, shame and guilt she experienced, and the belief that she may drive (Roberts) to commit suicide, she disclosed her relationship with (Roberts) and sought medical help," the claim says.

The statement of defence, however, says it was Roberts who disclosed the relationship.

Although his licence has been revoked in Alberta, Roberts is still licensed to work in Ontario.

On Monday, a spokeswoman with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario said it will look at the facts of the case before determining if any action will be taken in its jurisdiction.

But one group wants disciplinary actions to be more swiftly adopted by other colleges.

The president of the Newfoundland and Labrador Provincial Advisory Council on the Status of Women said she doesn't believe medical bodies are doing enough to protect patient safety.

"It's our recommendation that there be mechanisms within each of the jurisdictions which would enable them to accept this kind of disciplinary action on the face of it without having to launch their own investigation," Leslie MacLeod said.

In November 2005, Newfoundland psychiatrist James Hanley was suspended in that province pending an investigation into allegations he'd had sex with a patient.

But despite that suspension, Hanley worked for 15 months in New Brunswick.

A spokeswoman with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta said every professional body in North America is notified of any disciplinary action against any physician.

Kelly Eby said the Alberta College has the power to suspend a physician who holds a licence in this province but is facing disciplinary action in another jurisdiction.

Anti-psychotic drug use soars in USA children, and in UK children, too

Report seen on Yahoo! News, from the AP

American children take anti-psychotic medicines at about six times the rate of children in the United Kingdom, according to a comparison based on a new U.K. study.

Does it mean U.S. kids are being over-treated? Or that U.K. children are being under-treated?

Experts say that's almost beside the point, because use is rising on both sides of the Atlantic. And with scant long-term safety data, it's likely the drugs are being over-prescribed for both U.S. and U.K. children, research suggests.

Among the most commonly used drugs were those to treat autism and hyperactivity.

In the U.K. study, anti-psychotics were prescribed for 595 children at a rate of less than four per 10,000 children in 1992. By 2005, 2,917 children were prescribed the drugs at a rate of seven per 10,000 — a near-doubling, said lead author Fariz Rani, a researcher at the University of London's pharmacy school.

The study is being released Monday in the May edition of the journal Pediatrics.

By contrast, an earlier U.S. study found that nearly 45 American children out of 10,000 used the drugs in 2001 versus more than 23 per 10,000 in 1996.

There are big differences that could help explain the vastly higher U.S. rate.

A recent report in The Lancet suggested that the U.K.'s universal health care system limits prescribing practices there. The report also said direct-to-consumer ads are more common in the United States. These ads raise consumer awareness and demand for medication.

While drug company ties with doctors are common in both the U.S. and U.K., Vanderbilt University researcher Wayne Ray said U.K. physicians generally are more conservative about prescribing psychiatric drugs. Ray co-authored the U.S. study, published in 2004.

The new U.K. study, involving 1992-2005 health records of more than 16,000 children, is the first large examination of these drugs in U.K. children. It found the increase was mostly in medicines that haven't been officially approved for kids. They were most commonly prescribed for behavior and conduct disorders, which include attention deficit disorder.

Side effects including weight gain, nervous-system problems and heart trouble have been reported in children using these drugs and there's little long-term evidence about whether they're safe for them, the study authors said.

"This highlights the need for long-term safety investigations and ongoing clinical monitoring," they said, "particularly if the prescribing rate of these medicines continues to rise."

One of the most commonly used anti-psychotics in the U.K. study was Risperdal, a schizophrenia drug that is sometimes used to treat irritability and aggression in autism. Its side effects include drowsiness and weight gain.

Thioridazine, sometimes used to treat hyperactivity in attention deficit disorder, was frequently used early on. Its use decreased after 2000 when a U.K. safety committee warned of heart-related side effects, the authors said.

Reasons for the increases are uncertain but may be similar to those in the United States, such as an increase in autism cases and drug industry influence.

In both countries, the issue isn't simply how many children are getting these drugs, said Dr. David Fassler, a University of Vermont psychiatry professor. "The more important question is whether or not the right kids are getting the most appropriate and effective treatment possible," he said. Fassler wasn't involved in the study.

Dr. William Cooper, a Vanderbilt pediatrician, said the study shows the drugs are being used "without full understanding about the risks."

"I find it really interesting that we're now seeing increases in other countries besides the U.S., which suggests that the magnitude of this issue is global," said Cooper, also an author of the 2004 U.S. study.

Meanness and Psychiatry

We came across this tidbit discussing the personality of psychiatrists in the WSJ Health Blog

Psychiatrists, well, they can be a little weird, as one of the shrinks on the lively blog Shrink Rap acknowledges in an intriguing post headlined “My Therapist is a Creep.” [...]

But there are some therapists whose strange qualities go beyond the pale. Dinah tells the story of a shrink she knows, whom she calls “Cruella” to protect the professionally odd. Cruella is smart and a competent prescriber of meds. But Dinah would never refer a patient to her.

How come? “Because she’s weird and not nice,” Dinah writes. She’s “weirder than any TV shrink I’ve seen, prone to outbursts, and doesn’t relate well to people.” Therapy with Cruella, Dinah learned through a friend, was “just as I’d imagined; she was weird, kind of nasty, and just the thought of talking to her about my deepest darkest or looking to her for comfort made me …well… shiver.”

The soft 'sciences' of psychiatry and psychology have a well earned reputation for being odd ducks. And it is a good thing that somebody is recognizing that there might be a problem here. Might

Yet here we have someone who probably went into the field in an attempt to fix the very problems they are attempting to fix in others. Someone who is probably, without too much effort, demonstratively harmful to others.

I am saddened that the field is unable to police themselves in matters of type. But I am no longer shocked.

Here we have a field whose primarily claim for existence is to help people, and they cannot face those who harm in their own midst beyond the comment of "they are an odd duck" and a sometimes repressed shudder.

Physicians, heal yourselves.

The great depression swindle - British tests for depression worse that useless

As seen in the Daily Mail

The test GPs use to diagnose depression is worse than useless, according to new research. Under the latest government guidelines, doctors are paid extra to ask patients two simple questions. Your answers are supposed to show if you are depressed or not.

But, a study has found that 62 per cent of patients diagnosed as depressed weren't in fact depressed at all.

As a result, doctors and psychiatrists could be seriously over-estimating the number of people who are depressed - and prescribing drugs to thousands who are healthy, says the study's author, Dr Alex Mitchell, a consultant psychiatrist at Leicester General Hospital.

Under current guidelines, with mild to moderate depression are meant to be offered talking therapies - psychological treatments which help people change their attitudes or behaviour patterns.

Research by the mental health charity SANE has found that only [...] two per cent of patients were having cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and more than 80per cent of patients were being treated with medication.

Anti-depressants come with a range of side-effects. About 25 per cent of patients have problems when they try to stop taking them and studies have found they can cause a rise in suicidal thoughts and actions. Patients also report a loss of libido.

Two recent studies have linked the drugs with a drop in bone density leading to osteoporosis and a dramatic fall in the number of sperm a man can produce.

Given all this, you would expect those two questions, approved by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) in 2004, to be exacting.

In fact they are absurdly simplistic and, worryingly, if you answer yes to both you could be put on Prozac.

The two questions are:

• During the past month have you been bothered by feeling down, depressed or hopeless?
• During the past month have you been bothered by having little interest or pleasure in doing things?

The GPs' two-question test isn't the only one the experts have got badly wrong. Dr Mitchell's other shocking discovery is that the latest guidelines to detect post-natal depression (PND) are even more inaccurate, but in the opposite direction.

A new three-question test fails to spot an astonishing 80 per cent of the women who actually are depressed.

"It uses the same two questions as for regular depression and then adds a third: "Do you want help?" This reduces the accuracy of the test to just 17 per cent," explains Dr Mitchell.

NICE is now in discussion with Dr Mitchell about the PND test.

According to the doctors' newspaper Pulse, many GPs are dropping the depression test because they don't believe it is good for patient care, even though they will lose income as a result. It's mainly aimed at high risk patients, such as those with heart disease or diabetes.

Many GPs say they don't have the time for longer, more accurate testing - the reason for introducing the shorter test in the first place.

The useless tests also threaten to make a nonsense of a new government initiative to make CBT available to many online.

Last year, a group of charities, including the Mental Health Foundation and Mind, called for a "large sustained cash injection to improve psychological treatments'.

They said CBT was as effective as drugs and that more than half of GPs believed it was the best option.

The internet scheme, unveiled by Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt last month, has been designed to meet criticism that, even though CBT is recognised as the best treatment for depression, waiting times can be more than a year because the health service needs 10,000 more therapists.

If you rate as depressed on the flawed test, you get eight onehour interactive computer sessions on a program called Beating The Blues with homework projects and GP progress reports - much cheaper than training 10,000 therapists.

The aim, said Ms Hewitt, was to allow patients to access the right sort of therapy "instead of just being prescribed medication".

One doctor who has been using the system in Swindon, Wiltshire, for three years was enthusiastic.

Dr Peter Crouch said: "It has significantly helped patients cope with anxiety, insomnia and stress." But, of course, how useful it is depends on how accurately people are diagnosed.

Indeed, what is the point of rolling out a programme that will be offered to hundreds who don't need it - or if it isn't provided to those who do? Soon many will be spending hours at their keyboard doing CBT exercises for no reason.

The 'good' news is that computers and the internet are likely to be much more widely used to spot who needs help - and at least these seem more accurate than the two-question test.

A recent report by researchers in Taiwan reported that an online questionnaire filled in by more than 500 people identified 38 per cent as depressed and 46 per cent as not. When they were tested by a psychiatrist, 75 per cent of the diagnoses were correct.

Soon patients may be asked to fill in longer questionnaires of this sort, while they are in the waiting room.

And if it is done on a computer the doctor could then have the results during the session. For the moment, what can you do to increase your chances of getting the right sort of help?

Dr Mitchell's research into how GPs diagnose depression also provides some useful tips. "Doctors tend to be influenced by how patients describe their problems," he says.

"If you talk about physical symptoms - how tired you are, how you can't sleep - your doctor will usually suspect a physical cause even though those are also signs of depression.

"Be clear about your main symptom. So if feeling down or low is what's really making your life miserable, talk about that."

How can you avoid being labelled as depressed when you aren't? Do what may seem like common sense and explain your problems.

What the test ignores is that sometimes people have a very good reason to feel low: you've been sacked, for example.

A recent U.S. study has found that as many as a quarter of people currently labelled as depressed are reacting perfectly normally to stressful events.

It suggested that even psychiatrists regularly miss the broad picture. Once you've ticked enough boxes for symptoms, you get diagnosed as depressed even though you may just be sad.

So if you aren't asked the obvious question about what is going on in your life, make sure you volunteer it.

Irish Psychiatrist leading campaign against use of 'archaic' electro-shock therapy in hospitals

And now for a small bit of sanity from Ireland. As seen in the Irish Independent.

According to a leading doctor, thousands of Irish psychiatric patients experiencing psychological distress have had electric shocks of up to 400 volts administered to their brains, frequently against their will.

This controversial treatment, known as electro-convulsive therapy (ECT), works by artificially inducing epileptic fits.

Those who endorse it believe that the seizure triggers a surge of "well-being" which soothes the symptoms of the psychological distress being targeted, such as depression, schizophrenia, mania, obsessive convulsive disorders and anorexia.

The last recorded figures reveal that, in 2003, 1,483 people here were treated with ECT, 859 of whom were in the south of Ireland and 624 in the north.

Dr Michael Corry, consultant psychiatrist at the Institute of Psychosocial Medicine, contends that the state of confusion, sometimes tinged with a mild euphoria, that is regularly encountered in the aftermath of some types of head injuries, temporarily obscures the patient's original symptoms, which is then erroneously classified by psychiatrists as an "improvement".

"The fact that these results wear off is underlined by the reality that some patients have literally had hundreds of shocks. Why is this terrible and devastating human rights abuse allowed to go on?" he asks.

Dr Corry is leading the Irish campaign to abolish ECT. "It's irrational, archaic and barbaric it has no place in the 21st century" he says.

"It is universally agreed that the occurrence of seizures in a patient is always harmful to their brain. Within neurology as a speciality, every effort is made to prevent seizures but, incredibly, psychiatry stands out as the only branch of medicine that specialises in deliberately causing seizures."

ANALYSIS LIVING, PAGE 13

He first witnessed ECT being administered during his psychiatric training at St Brendan's Psychiatric Hospital in the Seventies, where the shock of what he saw caused him to faint.

"I couldn't work out how this could possibly be done to human beings," he says. "I saw it as abuse from very beginning, because it was being given to people on the premise that they had a disease of the mind. When I realised that people were basically being given it to control behaviour, it was just like the end of the world to me."

He refused to fulfill the compulsory ECT component of his course and ended up transferring to Guy's Hospital in London to complete his studies. After he qualified as a GP, and prior to embarking on his psychiatry studies, he achieved higher qualifications in obstetrics and paediatrics.

His long-held belief is that mental distress is a valid human experience that doesn't emanate from a malfunctioning, diseased brain.

He believes that abolishing ECT would allow a psychosocial, humanistic understanding of mental distress to emerge, paving the way for prevention and healing, and facilitating a person-centred approach, through counselling, cognitive therapy, and other techniques that are based on individual hearts and souls.

"Mental distress results from the problems of living," he says. "Using ECT is the equivalent of sending the TV or computer for repair if the programmes are not to one's liking."

Many studies have demonstrated that memory loss is the first obvious result of electric shock treatment, plunging the patient into a state of confusion, fear and vulnerability. Other areas of intellectual functioning are also compromised, as is the ability to experience the full range of feelings, creating a state of emotional numbness.

"To isolate a depressed, suffering human being from their thoughts, behaviours, and the workings of their world is a tragedy beyond words, as it reduces them, and the rest of us, to a chemical soup encapsulated in skin.

In this soup, there is no place for uniqueness, imagination, will, acceptance, compassion, love, peace, creativity, personal freedom and the unfathomable depths of the human spirit."

Aside from the mental damage ECT causes, brain autopsies on patients have revealed physical damage. Some elderly people have died from strokes and pneumonia in the days and weeks following a course of ECT treatment, as they are known to do after any major trauma.

"Given these effects, it would be inconceivable that anyone in their right mind would sanction such a procedure for administration to a developing foetus as it floats in fluid suspended within the uterus, with the goal of improving its 'well-being'," says Dr Corry. "You'd have to ask whether the adult brain is any less fragile? It is self-evident that ECT is unsustainable, because if it were seeking a licence today, it would be rejected on safety grounds."

"ECT is a holocaust of the brain, and a brutal final solution which must be stopped," he says. "The time to abolish electric shock treatment is now."

If you would like to share your experiences of ECT as part of a research study, please contact the Institute of Psychosocial Medicine in Dun Laoghaire (01) 2800084 or email ipmed@eircom.net. You can also visit a website, wellbeingfoundation.com, which is dedicated to the abolition of ECT

As one clever person noted:A *psychiatrist* asks "Why is this terrible and devastating human rights abuse allowed to go on?"!!!

Of interest: "I am also against the forced use of ECT on any human being." Which forced psychiatric procedures (treatments?) are you not against?

Psychiatrist faces complaints from patients, former business partner. Ethics rulings months away

From the Topeka Capital Journal

The state Board of Healing Arts ended a closed-door session Saturday by delaying action for six months on the latest round of ethics complaints against a Johnson County psychiatrist.

Douglas Geenens, trained at the Menninger Clinic in Topeka, opened the hearing by declaring he would withdraw a request that the board terminate a 2004 disciplinary agreement resulting from a finding that he crossed professional boundaries by having a sexual relationship with a one-time patient.

Geenens said he would voluntarily remain under medical observation of another doctor.

"I felt it was reasonable to continue with my psychoanalytically based supervision," he said.

The board met with Geenens in executive session before ordering a formal hearing on a series of pending allegations against him. A former business partner and at least two former patients submitted recent complaints.

Responsibility for the upcoming review would fall to a judge at the state Office of Administrative Hearings, which would be expected to issue a decision by September. If that occurred, the board would place Geenens on its October agenda.

"This would give the board the opportunity to know all the relevant facts," said Mark Stafford, the board's general counsel.

Geenens was among four Kansas-licensed doctors profiled in a series in The Topeka Capital-Journal in March. Each had sparked regulatory challenges for the Board of Healing Arts, which regulates more than 20,000 health professionals in Kansas.

The board has been widely criticized for its slow reaction to allegations of professional misconduct.

In early April, the Kansas House and Senate unanimously approved resolutions calling on the 15-member board to institute personnel changes and other reforms to restore public confidence in the agency. The board's top administrators — Larry Buening, executive director, and Stafford — resigned. Stafford departs June 1 and Buening on July 1.

Debbie Holscher, a Johnson County resident and former patient of Geenens, said she filed a formal complaint last week against the psychiatrist. She said one element of her grievance focused on Geenens' instruction — not heeded — to obtain a divorce and move to the Plaza area of Kansas City, Mo., so that Geenens and Holscher could regularly have breakfast together.

"I think it's very unprofessional," said Holscher, who attended Saturday's board meeting in Topeka. "I think he should lose his license."

Holscher stopped attending counseling sessions with Geenens four years ago, but her complaint mirrors the content of complaints filed by other people who were clients of Geenens.

Andrew Jacobs filed a complaint with the Board of Healing Arts after Geenens began an intimate relationship with Jacobs' wife in 2003. During counseling, Jacobs said, Geenens urged Jacobs' wife to get a divorce. Geenens is now married to the woman.

In the consent order signed by Geenens in 2004, the psychiatrist accepted a one-week suspension of his state license and agreed to supervision of his practice for two years. He was publicly censured and required to attend a course on "maintaining proper boundaries" with patients.

Geenens had requested Saturday's hearing with the board to vacate that consent order.

"We received a letter from Dr. Geenens who asked to withdraw his request," said Betty McBride, the board's president.

Geenens holds a full license to practice medicine in Kansas. In September, he closed his clinical office in Johnson County. Geenens agreed in October to "retire" his medical license in Missouri while regulators in that state looked into allegations of his out-of-bounds associations with women.

He continues to see patients privately and remains on the payroll at Pfizer, the world's largest research-based biomedical and pharmaceutical company.

"We can confirm that Dr. Geenens is an employee of Pfizer," said Chris Loder, a company spokesman in New York City. "However, as a matter of company policy, we do not comment on personnel matters."

NIU Shooting Sharpens Debate Over Effects of Antidepressants

From the LA Times via the Lakeland Ledger

A young man reportedly taking the antidepressant Prozac has a history of significant psychiatric troubles, including self-cutting, obsessive thoughts and anxiety. But among the 27-year-old's current teachers and acquaintances, he has a reputation as a caring, dependable friend and a highly motivated student.

Surely, say mental health professionals, this recovery was brought about by Prozac.

The same young man, saying the drug makes him feel "like a zombie," abruptly discontinues his antidepressant and begins to behave erratically. Three weeks later, he steps from behind a curtain in a classroom at Northern Illinois University, his alma mater and begins shooting, killing five students and himself.

Just as surely, say critics of antidepressants' widespread use, this unraveling was brought about by Prozac.

Steven Kazmierczak's bolt-from-the-blue shooting rampage Feb. 14 reignited a long-running debate over the benefits and risks of antidepressants - taking them and discontinuing them.

"It's sad to watch this," says Ann Blake Tracy, executive director of the International Coalition for Drug Awareness and co-founder of a Web site, SSRIstories.com, that catalogs violent crimes like Kazmierczak's and links them to psychiatric drug use. "You find suicide, murder, rape, arson" - all caused by drugs such as Prozac, she says. "How did they convince us that this is therapeutic?"

Most in the psychiatric profession would counter that antidepressants overwhelmingly save lives, and salvage those hobbled by sadness and anxiety. They doubt that coming off these drugs - especially Prozac, which Kazmierczak was reported to have taken - led the Illinois man to kill.

[...]

Twenty years after Prozac appeared on the U.S. landscape, roughly 10 percent of American women and 4 percent of American men take an antidepressant regularly. The selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs, and their close cousins have revolutionized attitudes toward mental illness and its medication. But they remain a lightning rod for controversy.

The role that antidepressants played in Kazmierczak's violent end probably will never be clear. Did Prozac, which Kazmierczak's girlfriend, Jessica Baty, said he had recently discontinued, help keep the 27-year-old's mental illness in check and, when halted, allow it to roar back? Or did it distort his personality, contort his thoughts and, when abandoned, cause a chemical storm in Kazmierczak's brain that spawned a fury of aggression?

The weight of clinical observations and psychiatric research favors the view that antidepressants helped Kazmierczak until the time he abandoned them. But skeptics charge that antidepressants may have caused or contributed to Kazmierczak's spasm of violence. And mental health experts acknowledge they cannot rule out that possibility.

What happens when the Doctors are Crazy

A review of a BBC Documentary raising two points, the exploitation of the film makers, and the apparent incompetence of a shrink in the the British mental health system.

So, how do we all feel, knowing that somewhere in Britain is a junior doctor who has lied both about the extent of her mental illness (she hears a voice that tells her to kill herself and other people) and her refusal to take prescribed medication in order that she might keep her job at an NHS hospital? Not great, in my case.

I reserve my fury, however, not for this vulnerable young woman, but for the man who encouraged her to tell such lies - the clinical psychologist Rufus May - and for the film-maker Leo Regan, who not only brought such activities to our attention in his documentary The Doctor Who Hears Voices (21 April, 10pm), but who seemingly had no compunction about his failure to inform the relevant authorities of what was going on. I would be interested to know what the Bradford District Care Trust, May's part-time employer, makes of this project. As for Channel 4's decision to screen it, complicity in this kind of stuff is extremely serious. The channel says it is in the public interest to expose the lengths to which people will go to disguise their illness, but the time for "debate" when it comes to mental health issues ends when human lives start to be at risk - as the last Tory government found out to its cost when it introduced its "care in the community" policy.

Rufus May is a psychologist who believes, though he was diagnosed with it himself at 18, that there is no such thing as schizophrenia. He thinks that psychotic experiences are "meaningful", that people can "learn" from manic behaviour, and that the drugs used to treat severe mental illnesses simply "shut patients up". In this film, we saw him treating, in his own time, a junior doctor called Ruth. May was going to help her "recover" without the aid of drugs and thereby survive the panel that would decide if she was fit to work. His view of this panel was that she would have to lie about the voice in her head; he did not think it affected her ability to be a doctor, and believed that if she admitted to it, she would lose her job.

His approach to her care was alarming. When her delusions grew more serious - she believed that the fish in the old people's home where she worked part-time were controlling the residents' heartbeats - he took it as a sign of progress. When the voice in her head grew louder, he simply talked to it using a "radical dialogue technique" to discover its identity, as though it were a real person.

The increasingly distressed Ruth (played by an actress to protect her identity, though other footage was real and her lines came from real transcripts) briefly went missing. Did he think she'd killed herself? Oddly, May was suddenly lost for words. He didn't want to "incriminate" himself, he said. I felt like punching him, and wondered how Leo Regan, sitting there beside him, managed to desist from doing just that.

Ah, yes. Leo Regan. We never saw him, but we heard him. His voice-over made you think that he was treating the whole thing as a huge lark. When May was evasive, which was often, he would say things like "Rufus was pissed off with me" or "I knew he was bullshitting me". He did not push May to justify his regime, nor did he ask him if his work had its roots in any kind of scientific research, preferring simply to titter at his somewhat antic behaviour.

But most appalling of all was the moment when he went to see Trevor Turner, a consultant psychiatrist who disagrees with May's techniques, to talk about Ruth's case. He duly told Turner her symptoms - though he did not explain, at least not on camera, that she was a real person - and asked what he would do with such a patient. Turner said she should be detained under the Mental Health Act for her own and the public's safety. And what did Regan do? Nothing. Meanwhile, May went on "talking" to Ruth's voice. That Ruth is still - or so I read - successfully working as a doctor does not make any of the above behaviour acceptable. May and Regan were lucky, that's all. This time, the experiment didn't blow up in their faces.

The Doctor Who Hears Voices Channel 4