Psychiatrist denies sexual allegations

An Ottawa psychiatrist has denied allegations of sexual impropriety. The disciplinary hearing for Dr. Gerald Smith has resumed Monday in Toronto after a nine-month recess.

Smith took the stand to deny he had ever engaged in sexual activity with any of the five women who have accused him. The women were Smith's patients between 1976 and 2002. The Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons has accused Smith of sexual abuse, sexual misconduct and professional incompetence.

The most over-diagnosed group of mental illnesses ever?

As reported by Anne McIlroy, who is The Globe and Mail's science reporter.

Dr. Mintzes worries that the aggressive ad campaigns may promote drug use among relatively healthy people, and may "medicalize" normal human conditions. She points to an ad that GlaxoSmithKline, the makers of Paxil, ran in the New York Times Magazine after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks: "Millions suffer from chronic anxiety. Millions could be helped by Paxil," it read.

"At what point," Dr. Mintzes asks, "does an understandable response to distressing life events become an indication for drug treatment -- and a market opportunity?"

She has taken the same Paxil site "self-test" for anxiety that I did, as well as other diagnostic tests on the Web. Her results? "I need medication. No matter what the problem is, I have it."

We agree that neither of us has an anxiety disorder, or any need to talk to our doctors about our "symptoms." I find this comforting.

could the test be biased? who would think?

Could the psychiatrist have been temporarily insane?

I came across this editorial on the psychiatrist in the Andrea Yates Case. He was found to have made up credentials, such as having been a consultant for the network TV show Law and Order.

I think I know why a grand jury declined Thursday to indict celebrity psychiatrist Dr. Park Dietz for his spectacularly false testimony in the Andrea Yates trial. [...]

I think grand jurors saw something else.

Dietz, after all, makes a great witness or he wouldn't be able to charge the $50,000 he received for this case. Listening to him, grand jurors couldn't believe he would simply lie to put down a hostile defense attorney.

But if he didn't lie, there's only one other explanation.

His mind played tricks on him. That's right. He was temporarily insane. He didn't know right from wrong. It could happen to anyone, even a good-hearted psychiatrist.

And there is some good in Dietz's heart. For example, he doesn't always find murderers to be sane. He does in the vast majority of cases, or he wouldn't make so much money from prosecutors. But I found several examples of him finding defendants to be insane, even in cases where he was hired by the prosecution. So I do believe he has a conscience, and I have an idea for how he can assuage it.

That $50,000 he was paid? That happens to be almost exactly what the Yates family, already strapped from funding her defense, had to pay to obtain a trial transcript so she could appeal. For Dietz to pay for that transcript would be an ideal atonement, especially since his misstatement will be a central point of appeal.

Court control over Maine Psychiatric Hospital

Maine Superior Court Chief Justice Nancy D. Mills, as part of a ruling that could lead to court control over the state mental health system, has decided to take immediate control over the state psychiatric hospital to force compliance with a 13-year-old consent decree. The so-called AMHI consent decree was signed by state officials in 1990 to settle a class-action lawsuit brought by patients at the hospital over deteriorating conditions at AMHI following the deaths of several patients. In May, Mills concluded after a seven-week trial that the state had failed to prove it had met the terms of a majority of the consent decree's requirements. In her order, Mills granted broad powers to the receiver who has yet to be appointed. Former Supreme Court Chief Justice Daniel Wathen, appointed to oversee the consent decree, issued a request this week for proposals from those who want to be considered for the receiver's post. The judge ordered him to nominate a candidate by Oct. 10. Meanwhile the labor unions involved are making positive, hopeful sounds in their press releases while waiting nervously to see what happens.

New Texas law stops educators from urging use of Ritalin

There are two new laws in Texas on interest to teachers this year. One law bans school employees from recommending a psychotropic, or mind-altering, drug or suggesting a diagnosis. A school medical official such as a nurse still can make a referral to a health care provider. The other law prevents parents from being reported to state officials as neglectful solely because they refuse to place a child on psychiatric drugs, or refuse psychiatric or psychological treatment or testing.

The Texas Education Agency has included the two new laws, House Bill 320 and Senate Bill 1406, in a briefing book it distributes to school districts on education-related legislation. The laws underscore the limits on teachers and other school employees in medical recommendations, said TEA spokeswoman Debbie Graves Ratcliffe.

Babies: 100% suffer from depression

As seen here, with a tip pf the hat to Alex Chernavsky

Rockville, Mary. -- A study conducted by researchers at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) reports that an overwhelming majority of 100 percent of all newborn infants display symptoms normally associated with clinical adult depression and in fact suffer from a medical condition known as Infant Depressive Disorder (IDD).

"A baby suffering from Infant Depressive Disorder will exhibit many of the same warning signs as depressed adults: frequent bouts of crying, weight gain, disrupted sleep patterns and so on," said Dr. James Redab, who headed up NICHD's three-year study. "Parents, do not dismiss your infant's behavior and assume that the little one is just tired or fussing. The infant without question requires immediate medication, psychotherapy and quite possibly electroconvulsive therapy. Your baby needs to get well."

Between July of 2000 and July of 2003, NICHD researchers examined an internationally representative sample of 11,000 infants, reporting that in all 11,000 cases the newborn exhibited various physical signs of depression - from irritability to difficulty making decisions to abrupt mood swings.

"As a parent, once you know the signs of IDD and know what to look for, it'll become very obvious to you that your baby has depression," said Redab. "And although it's a huge blow to come to the realization that your child has this serious of a medical condition at such a young age, you'll be relieved to finally know why your baby has been crying nonstop and just laying around, practically lifeless, for weeks if not months."

Redab, himself a father of two, expressed concern about the frequency in which IDD appears in children under the age of one.

Yes this is a bit of satire, worthy of the Onion

British Government action against Efexor

The British Government has decided to stop doctors prescribing another anti-depressant to under-18s because of reports of dangerous side-effects. Britain's Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency said that venlafaxine - brand names Efexor and Efexor XL - was linked to an increased rate of hostility and ideas about suicide and self-harm. More common side-effects found among young people were abdominal pain, loss of appetite and weight loss.

Proper Nutrition may be better than Psych Drugs. (but less profitable)

Are Omega-3 oils an effective treatment for Clinical Depression and Bipolar Disorder? This doctor thinks so and the data seems to support his theory. Several studies are going at this time. So why isn't it used more widely in treatment for mood disorders? Do doctors see it as junk science? Or is there another reason?

Wih a tip of the hat to the folks at Metafilter for this tidbit

Are Antidepressants Addictive?

The pain and nausea some people feel when they stop taking certain antidepressants is spurring controversy over whether these drugs should carry explicit warning labels about withdrawal. According to this report in Psychology Today, such withdrawal has often been mistaken for depression relapse. Joseph Glenmullen, M.D., author of Prozac Backlash, sees a potential crisis should withdrawal become widely recognized. "Thousands and thousands of people have tried to go off SSRIs, and their doctors have mistaken it for a relapse [into depression]," says Glenmullen.

Rape Case Lecturer Jailed for Life on Rape conviction

A former university lecturer who raped one of his students three times and then raped again while out on bail has been jailed for life.

Dr Shaun Farrell, 39, a former psychology lecturer at Christ Church University College in Canterbury, England, subjected the former student to a horrific 24-hour ordeal after she ended their three-year relationship. Farrell raped his first victim, who is now aged 23, three times, and degraded and humiliated her during the course of the terrifying 24-hour ordeal at her home on November 11 last year.

Farrell, then raped a 19-year-old holidaymaker on the day he was due in court for the first set of rape charges.

California children's home group could lose it's license

California State officials this week verbally notified the Rubicon Children's Center that they would "seek revocation of their license.''

No single incident prompted state officials to seek to close Rubicon, which operates five homes in Fremont residential neighborhoods that serve up to 30 children. Rather, there were ``numerous concerns over an extended period of time.'' Some of those concerns include poorly trained staff members and the misreporting, or sometimes failure to report, runaway children, sexual misconduct between adolescents and thefts.

In an effort to avert an impending state order to close, the 30-year-old Fremont non-profit agency has laid off its executive director and 19 other employees and closed two of its five group homes.

Police Lt. Chuck Uhler, the lead Rubicon investigator has seen police visits to Rubicon group homes nearly quadruple since 2000. In the past three years, the state has revoked 12 to 14 group-home licenses out of about 1,700 group homes statewide.

Strangely enough, Rubicon's clinical psychologist, Edward Buchanan, will serve as acting director. He is the person most likely to have been responsible for the rehabilition to the troubled kids in the first place.

Grief Counselors don't help people deal with grief

As ordinary citizens struggled to rebuild their lives after the collapse of the World Trade Center towers, well-meaning mental health professionals swarmed New York City to provide aid to the expected millions who would surely need support. These grief and crisis counselors delivered interventions that they believed would mitigate psychological distress and prevent the emergence of posttraumatic stress disorder.

The problem? It now seems that such techniques do not work. They don't work at all. And in fact, they may just make things worse, stirring up the intense emotions and shock of the traumatic event without providing any relief or release from the pain and suffering.

This according to this press release by the American Psychological Society

in part it says

While most people who participate in psychological debriefing say it was helpful, controlled studies showed little or no effect on the onset of PTSD. "These reports that the method is helpful may reflect little more than polite expressions of gratitude for attention received," the authors wrote. "Most studies show that individuals who receive debriefing fare no better than those who do not receive debriefing."

Simply put, the psych do not know how to provide even the most basic relief for the impact of a tragic event.

Colorado decides to stop holding people in Psych Wards without a documented medical necessity

Children and elderly patients without clear psychiatric needs will be nudged out of the state's two mental hospitals after 45 days, saving Colorado more than $2 million a year, under a new state plan.

For those patients who remain past the 45 days without a documented "medical necessity," counties will be asked to pick up their tab, said Nancy McCallin, the governor's chief economist. "To keep the kids there without a medical necessity is inappropriate," McCallin told the six lawmakers on the Joint Budget Committee on Wednesday.

A representative for Colorado's counties said she was stunned by the announcement.

this seems to be good news, all around. However, the decision remains controversial because the hospitals have become occasional holding zones for people who have no place else to go. And there is something about that idea of holding people without a documented medical necessity that sends shivers down my spine.

Psychiatrist fired following patient death

In England, the psychiatric doctor at the center of criticism following the death of a Whitehaven family man has since been sacked from his job at the West Cumberland Hospital. Dr Peter Fisher was suspended after having been employed as a locum at West Cumberland Hospital from August until October 2002. Peter Weighman died in the West Cumberland Hospital's Yewdale Ward 12 months ago after taking an overdose of tablets with the intention of taking his own life.

Both the Mental Health Trust and the North Cumbria Acute NHS Trust carried out an internal inquiry into all the circumstances surrounding Peter Weighman's death. Relevant parts of it were read to the inquest.

In relation to Dr Fisher, one of the inquiry conclusions was: There were unreasonable omissions on the part of both the on-call staff grade psychiatrist (and nursing staff) to respond appropriately to the patient's needs� One of the general findings was that certain aspects of Mr Weighman's medical care fell below acceptable levels and that a decision to care for him in the psychiatry ward rather than a medical ward was clinically flawed.

How Drug companies push pills to doctors

Interesting story on how a salesperson fdor a small drug comapnay has problems promoting her drugs, because she doesn''t have enough free stuff and gifts to hand out to doctors.

''It is hard to know where to draw the ethical line,'' she said. ''I think it is considered ethical for me to buy a doctor lunch, well then what about buying the physician's whole staff lunch? That may get up around $100 or so, and that is the same price as the TV and VCR that the physician has asked me to buy him for his waiting room.''

and of course, doctors take advantage

Psychiatric Ward to shut down

Inova Health System plans to shutter its 19-bed psychiatric ward at Alexandria Hospital [Alexandria, Virginia] in January. Inova officials said yesterday that the decision to close was prompted by low patient numbers at the Alexandria site and a dwindling pool of full-time specialists. Starting next year, Alexandria psychiatric patients will be diverted to other area hospitals such as Inova Fairfax, which has beds for 34 people, and Inova Mount Vernon, which can accommodate 23.

Once the unit is moved from Alexandria, the freed-up beds may be used for cancer patients, Inova said. "We have a strong demand on the medical-surgical side."

This may reflect nationwide trends. Other recents stories linked here seem to reflect this. Declining number of patients, along with shrinking numbers of psychiatrists. The ones left behind are starting to get nervous.

Buddhism may be better than Prozac

Noted molecular biologist Eric Lander, a leader of the Human Genome Project, recently made an interesting comment at a conference of renowned scientists and Buddhist scholars at the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) this weekend.

"It is certainly not inconceivable that 20 years from now, the US surgeon general might recommend 60 minutes of mental exercise five times a week"

In other words, meditation. As seen in this report on the event. such a prediction from a man of Lander's stature at a venue like MIT is an indication of mainstream science's growing fascination with Buddhism, and especially with the preliminary but extraordinary results of state-of-the-art research into the Olympian mental athleticism of trained Buddhist monks.

In the age of Prozac, the possible applications could leave mood-altering pills on the shelf.

However, some scientists had concerns over the time needed to train such skills. Others argued for the usefulness of negative emotions.

Which, in my mind argues for them learning the lesson of meditation, if nothing else. Many more details at the report.

False testimony by Psychiatrist in Andrea Yates case.

As reported on ABC News

Before Andrea Yates was convicted of drowning her children, a high-profile psychiatrist told jurors he had been a consultant on an episode of Law & Order that was similar to the Yates case and had aired prior to the real-life crime. It turns out — no such episode ever aired.

A grand jury is investigating Dr. Park Dietz's testimony in the prosecution of Yates, who was convicted last year of capital murder in the drowning deaths of her five children in a Houston suburb. Dietz told jurors during Yates' trial that an episode of Law & Order focused on a mother who drowned her children and was acquitted with an insanity defense, had aired weeks before Yates killed her five children in the same manner.

Prosecutor Joe Owmby referenced the show in his closing arguments before Yates was convicted of capital murder on March 12, 2002.

[...]

The defense did not find out until two days after the guilty verdict that no such episode existed, or had aired. Dietz, whose final bill was close to $50,000 in the Yates case, informed the Harris County District Attorney's Office that he had been mistaken about the Law & Order episode, and did not think it played a role in the drowning of the Yates children. In response, defense attorneys and prosecutors wrote a statement about the error that was read to jurors before they decided on Yates' punishment.

The possible legal consequences of this psych screwup are not clear.

Women Seeks Class action suit against Psych for Sex abuse

A Tasmania (Australia) woman wants to establish a class action lawsuit against a former Hobart psychiatrist who has been "struck off" [lost his license to practice] for having sex with a patient. Lawrence John McCafferty, 55, has been barred from practising as a psychiatrist in Tasmania and Britain after fathering a child with a woman he was treating for anxiety. A second woman also told a tribunal that McCafferty had made sexual advances on her at his consulting rooms in Hampden Rd at Battery Point. Now a third woman has come forward to allege that McCafferty raped her in his consulting rooms in 1992.

McCafferty has since moved from Hobart to England, and last year, the British General Medical Council decided to investigate his conduct in Tasmania. In July, he was struck off the roll in Britain, with a second woman coming forward to complain that McCafferty had made a sexual advance on her.

Psych Professor chases Bigfoot with a gun

An interesting detail in the story seen here:

David Walsh, a longtime psychology professor at the University of Southern California, reported seeing a Bigfoot in 2002 while hunting wild pigs in the state. Too surprised in the twilight to react as the creature disappeared into the woods that day, Walsh knows what he'll do next time. "I have a rifle in my gun case specifically bought for that purpose," the professor said. [...]

Bigfoot enthusiasts, meanwhile, are still smarting from Ray Wallace's death in 2002, when his family revealed that the famous footprints "discovered" 40 miles north of Willow Creek were a hoax, made with feet carved out of wood. But believers say the hoax doesn't affect the numerous other sightings, credible footprints and other evidence. Still, skeptics wonder why no one has found anything that can be tested for DNA.

Great. not only does he believe in mythical creatures, but his first impulse is to murder one if he spots one again.