Murder by Psychiatry?

An article by Arianna Huffington, worth reading again

After Littleton: Antidepressants In The Bloodstream.
Filed May 6, 1999 by ARIANNA HUFFINGTON
(Los Angeles Times)

In the aftermath of the Littleton massacre, President Clinton has already proposed new laws to restrict the marketing of guns to children, and on Monday (May 10) he will host a conference to examine the entertainment industry's marketing of violence to children. But no one is planning a conference or introducing laws to deal with a third problem -- the marketing of mood-altering prescription drugs to children.

Despite disturbing evidence of drug-induced manic reactions, the number of antidepressant prescriptions for children continues to soar, reaching 1,664,000 in 1998. And buried in the Littleton coverage was the announcement this week that traces of Luvox, a sibling of Prozac, were found in Eric Harris' bloodstream. The presence of Luvox, the coroner said, ``does not change the cause and manner of death.'' Yes, but did it change the cause and manner of Eric's life?

Luvox was approved by the FDA in 1997 for the treatment of obsessive-compulsive dis- orders (OCD) in children, but not for the treatment of depression. Indeed, no antidepress -ant -- Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil or Luvox -- has been approved for pediatric use. Solvay, Luvox' manufacturer, declares it ``safe and effective.'' Yet the Physicians' Desk Reference reports that during controlled clinical trials manic reactions developed in 4 percent of children on Luvox. Another clinical trial found that Prozac caused mania in 6 percent of the children studied.

Mania is defined as ``a form of psychosis characterized by exalted feelings, delusions of grandeur ... and overproduction of ideas.'' There were plenty of delusional statements on Harris' Web site. ``My belief,'' he wrote, ``is that if I say something, it goes. I am the law. If you don't like it, you die.'' This should have troubled any doctor who was following Harris after he was put on Luvox. Or was Harris one of the tens of thousands of children cavalierly put on antidepressants without either a proper psychiatric evaluation or ongoing monitoring of side effects? The news that Harris had been on Luvox came on the heels of the revelation last summer that Kip Kinkel, the Oregon school shooter, had been on Prozac. These antidepressants clearly did not exorcise the teenagers' demons. The question we should be urgently asking is: did they embolden them?

At a congressional hearing on media violence this week, we were reminded that 95 percent of children are never involved in a violent crime. Most children whose parents own guns do not steal them; most children who watch ``Natural Born Killers'' do not go on shooting rampages; and most children on antidepressants do not kill their schoolmates. But while there is saturation coverage about the dangers of guns and media violence, there is no debate about the dangers of antidepressants on our most vulnerable children's growing brains.

Dr. Leon Eisenberg of the Harvard Medical School described the Prozac/Luvox family of antidepressants as ``potent medications that change nerve transmission.'' ``What happens,'' he asks, ``after two to three years of that?'' But even mildly skeptical voices from within the medical community are routinely ignored as if they were attacks on scientific progress itself.

We are in desperate need of more information -- not just more clinical studies but more data released to the public about the medical histories of children charged with acts of violence. For starters, in the same way that kids are examined for the presence of illegal drugs and alcohol in their bloodstream, they should be routinely examined for mood-altering legal drugs. ``I have testified as a medical expert,'' Dr. Peter Breggin, author of ``Talking Back to Prozac,'' told me, ``in three teenage cases of murder in which antidepressants were implicated in playing a role. In one case where a 16-year-old committed murder and tried to set off multiple bombs at the same time, the comparisons with Littleton are obvious and ominous.''

The response from drug manufacturers echoes that of gun manufacturers: ``Prozac and Luvox don't kill people, people kill people.'' And like gun manufacturers, drug manufacturers are facing growing legal challenges. Littleton was followed by other shootings and bomb threats that closed schools and evacuated students across the country. Were any of the adolescents involved on antidepressants, and was that information made available to the authorities? Did, for example, the probation officer who wrote a glowing report on Harris after his arrest for breaking into a van know if he had been diagnosed with OCD before he was put on Luvox? And wouldn't it have been useful for him then and for us now to know what he was obsessive and compulsive about?

Following the news about Harris being on Luvox, Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio), who sits on the Government Oversight Committee, sent a letter to the FDA calling for ``comprehensive clinical trials by the pharmaceutical companies'' to establish ``the behavioral effects of antidepressants on our youth.'' How much Luvox and Prozac have to be found in the bloodstreams of our child-killers before the FDA takes action -- and the rest of us take notice?

Police are Taking too long to Investigate Criminal Complaints Against Shrink

New Zealand police are taking too long to investigate criminal complaints against psychiatrist Selwyn Leeks, say supporters of patients behind the claims. The Weekend Herald revealed that the Government had paid a further $4.2 million in compensation to former psychiatric patients at Lake Alice Hospital, in addition to the $6.5 million paid to 95 others in 2001. More than 30 former Lake Alice patients are still waiting after two years for police to decide whether to prosecute former staff, including Dr Leeks.

Three years ago, the Government began compensating and apologising to numerous former patients of Lake Alice Hospital's child and adolescent unit who claimed they were tortured and sexually abused. The unit closed in 1978. The scale of their mistreatment at the hospital near Wanganui was unveiled in a report for the Government by retired High Court judge Sir Rodney Gallen.

The document revealed allegations of electric-shock therapy being used to punish children, youngsters being locked away with insane adult patients, sexual abuse and painful injections of paraldehyde, a sedative-hypnotic drug.

"I am satisfied that in the main the allegations which have been made are true and reveal an appalling situation," Sir Rodney wrote. More than 30 complaints have subsequently been sent to police by Christchurch lawyer Grant Cameron and the Citizens Commission on Human Rights.

Ex-psychiatry prof guilty in slaying

A former college psychiatry professor has been found guilty in the shooting death of the Portsmouth's development director.

John M. Adams, 60, of Barboursville, W.Va., was sentenced to serve at least 26 years in prison after being convicted Tuesday of murder with a firearm specification, aggravated burglary and kidnapping in the slaying of Bobby Burns on July 2, 2003. Adams' lawyer, Jim Banks of Columbus, said he plans to appeal.

During the trial, witnesses testified that Adams entered Burns' home and shot him as Burns' wife watched. Adams told police he had learned from a law firm that Burns and his wife, Michele Burns, had filed a malpractice complaint over his treatment of Michele. Adams was an associate professor of psychiatry at Marshall University in Huntington, W.Va. His contract with the university expired in June 2003, school officials have said.

Is the President On Psych drugs?

According to reports by Capitol Hill Blue, Bush is taking powerful drugs to control his depression, erratic behavior, and paranoia. White House physician Richard J. Tubb is giving Bush these drugs, which aides admit "can impair the President's mental faculties and decrease both his physical capabilities and his ability to respond to a crisis."

Uh-Oh. How scary is that? The repeated incidents of Bush falling off his couch and off his mountain bike attest to the powerful effects of these prescription drugs.

tip of the hat to Conspiracy Planet

Unhappy Workers Need Prozac - Bush Campaigner

As reported on MSNBC/Reuters, and seen on Belliciao in Europe

A campaign worker for President Bush said on Thursday American workers unhappy with low-quality jobs should find new ones -- or pop a Prozac to make themselves feel better. "Why don't they get new jobs if they're unhappy -- or go on Prozac?" said Susan Sheybani, an assistant to Bush campaign spokesman Terry Holt.

The comment was apparently directed to a colleague who was transferring a phone call from a reporter asking about job quality, and who overheard the remark. When told the Prozac comment had been overheard, Sheybani said: "Oh, I was just kidding."

While recent employment growth has buoyed Bush's economic record, Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry has argued the new jobs are not as good as those lost due to outsourcing in recent years. Nearly 1.1 million jobs have been lost since Bush took office in January 2001.

Thousands Sue Makers Of Paxil

As seen in this story (with video) by WXII

Paxil is supposed to help people deal with depression but one woman said her life turned into a living hell after taking Paxil. Pamela Wu of WXII 12 News' sister station in Sacramento, Calf. reports thousands are now taking the manufacturer to court. 4,000 plaintiffs have joined a class-action lawsuit against Glaxo Smity Kline, the maker of Paxil. They said they are hooked on the drug and unable to quit.

"The drug company has a duty to warn the medical community. Clearly, they have failed that duty. Not only does the drug, in fact, cause dependence and withdrawal symptoms, which they're now reluctantly having to admit. The drug companies have known about that for years. Instead of informing the medical profession, they hid those risks," said Karen Barth Menzies, Attorney for Patients

Meanwhile the drug maker continues to protest it's innocence.

Psych on the run for Fraud, practicing without a license.

Earlier this month I received the following letter

Could you let me know the status of this "psychologist"? She treated my husband, myself, husband's ex-wife, their daughter and their son. Dr. Rita Lynne represented herself as a "clinical psychologist" and testified in court as an expert witness for the ex-wife. She testified that she gave the ex-wife a psychological test and evaluation which significantly affected the outcome of the divorce proceedings.

We paid this woman to help our family assuming that she was a psychologist who was licensed in the state of California. I called the medical board and they said she's being investigated and we should file a complaint. We have transcripts of her court testimony where she tells the judge that she's a psychologist. Any info is greatly appreciated.

SGS

Well we just spotted this news item from the Tri Valley Herald

As also seen in this story in the Alameda Times Star Online:

A Pleasanton woman who posed as a psychologist and served as board chairwoman of ValleyCare Health System could face criminal charges -- possibly as early as next week -- according to the Alameda County district attorney's office. Rita Lynne was a prominent Bay Area psychologist and active in community groups until last July, when the husband of one of her patients looked into her record and learned she was not licensed to practice psychology or marriage counseling in the state.

The California Board of Psychology concluded several weeks ago in its investigation that Lynne did not have the credentials to practice psychology, according to Deputy District Attorney Marty Brown. Lynne had previously said that she received a master's degree and doctorate in psychology at the University of Colo rado at Boulder.

"The matter has been handed over to us and I should be reviewing the files in the next few days," Brown said.

He added that Lynne could face charges, possibly as early as next week, but did yet have the details.

Practicing psychology without a license is a misdemeanor, but Lynne could also be charged with fraud. In addition, she could possibly face perjury charges, Brown said. Former patients have said she gave expert court testimony in their divorce proceedings. Lynne served on ValleyCare's board of directors for six years and was chairwoman for one year. ValleyCare physicians referred patients to her private psychology practice in Pleasanton. She also ran a support group for ValleyCare patients undergoing drastic weight-loss surgery.

The discovery last summer that Lynne was not licensed to practice in the state and that she was under investigation for falsifying her credentials shocked Pleasanton community leaders, her patients and hospital officials.

Lynne's whereabouts are unknown. She abruptly left ValleyCare's board and resigned from the Pleasanton Economic Vitality Committee last July and shut down her private practice.

Brown said his office would attempt to locate Lynne and, if unsuccessful, he could issue a warrant for her arrest. Officials for ValleyCare, which has services in Pleasanton, Livermore and Tracy, have not heard from Lynne since she left last July, a spokeswoman said.

Lynne turned up on a Web search Thursday as the instructor for an online class called "After the marriage ends," run through San Diego-based Education to Go, which provides online classes to hundreds of colleges and universities nationwide.

A photo and accompanying biography on the course description Web page describes Lynne as a Ph.D. who has been "teaching healthy lifestyle management for more than 25 years" and has "developed over 20 masters degree courses and other programs for colleges and other professional institutions."

The course description mentions her book Financial Freedom for Women, which continues to sell on Amazon.com. The book jacket touts a doctorate credential. A spokeswoman for Connecticut-based Thomson Learning, which recently acquired Education to Go, said four students were enrolled in Lynne's current online class and the class has been halted.

Suicidal behaviour is more likely in the first month after starting antidepressants

As reported in the British Medical Journal, suicidal behaviour is more likely in the first month after starting antidepressants, especially during the first nine days.

The researchers—Dr Hershel Jick and colleagues with the Boston Collaborative Drug Surveillance Program, Boston University, Massachusetts—compared the risk of non-fatal suicidal behaviour in patients in the United Kingdom who began treatment with one of three antidepressants (the SSRIs fluoxetine and paroxetine and the tricyclic amitriptyline) with the risk in patients who started taking the older tricyclic dosulepin (formerly known as dothiepin).

Cases taking a single antidepressant were taken from the base population of 159,810 users of at least one of the four antidepressants who had been prescribed the drug within 90 days of the date of suicidal behaviour or ideation [i.e., thoughts]. Controls, also taken from the base population, were matched for taking the same antidepressant within 90 days before the case showed suicidal behaviour, age, and sex, but the controls had shown no suicidal behaviour.

In an editorial in the same journal (pp 379-81), Simon Wessely of the Institute of Psychiatry, London, wrote, "The results confirm that antidepressant prescription is indeed associated with suicidal behaviour, and strongly so."

Psych sells fake insanity certificates for easy divorce

As reported on the New Kelera news for India

A doctor at the Agra mental asylum, absconding after a sting operation showed him selling fake certificates declaring women insane so their husbands can get easy divorces, surrendered before a court Friday. S.K. Gupta has been evading arrest since the exposé July 1. Using spy cameras, Tehelka.com filmed him selling fake certificates for Rs.10,000 each.

"Gupta was accused of issuing fake certificates declaring women insane to enable their husbands get a divorce for a certain amount of money," said an official here. He admitted the physician had been eluding arrest for several weeks. Gupta surrendered before an Agra court, alleging he had been framed by rival doctors.

Unprofessional Conduct Charges against Ohio Psychologists

As reported in The Plain Dealer

A Solon psychologist has been accused of multiple counts of unprofessional conduct for falsely certifying that one of his patients, a habitual drunken driver, completed a substance-abuse program. The charges, filed Friday by the State Board of Psychology, accuse psychologist James E. Kaplar of submitting a document to the Parma office of the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles last August that wrongly claimed his patient, Noelle C. Malott, had completed outpatient and after-care programs at Glenbeigh Hospital in 2001.

Malott, 36, who lives in Solon, pleaded guilty in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court in May to a felony charge of tampering with records after being accused of forging the signature of a Glenbeigh administrator on another BMV form.

She was placed on probation for two years, ordered to perform 100 hours of community service and to submit to regular drug testing.

Court records show that Malott previously was allowed to enroll in drug treatment in lieu of conviction after being charged with possession of drugs in 2000.

BMV records show that she was dubbed a "habitual alcoholic" in 2002 and that she has numerous convictions for driving while intoxicated, speeding or driving without a license.

Malott's phone has been disconnected and she could not be reached for comment. Kaplar, 61, did not return a phone call.

The 11 charges filed against Kaplar also accuse him of failing to respond to requests for information from the board and of improperly supervising psychologists at Parker Hendry & Associates in Westlake and Cornerstone Pregnancy Services in Elyria.

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In a separate case, Beachwood psychologist Warren Grossman surrendered his license to the board, ending an investigation of allegations that he kissed, groped and solicited a female patient for sex during therapy sessions in 2000 and 2001.

In a letter to the board, Grossman, 63, said he was giving up his license because he wanted to devote himself exclusively to lecturing and writing. He could not be reached for comment.

Grossman directs the Institute of Light in Beachwood. He also is the author of "To Be Healed by the Earth," a book in which he says he healed himself from a near-death experience after contracting a parasite in Brazil by going outside, lying on the ground and drawing on nature's energy.

Court psychologist quits after accusations of faking killer's IQ test results.

The chief psychologist who advises Cook County judges in mental competency matters has resigned amid allegations that he changed answers on a convicted murderer's IQ test and then lied about it in court last spring. Timothy C. Cummings of Cook County's Forensic Clinical Services submitted a letter of resignation earlier this month to his boss, Dr. Mathew Markos, a county official said.

Bruce Wisniewski, human resources administrator for the Circuit Court of Cook County reported that the letter did not say why Cummings was resigning, and neither Cummings nor his attorney returned calls Monday seeking comment. At the time of his resignation, Cummings had been placed on temporary unpaid suspension, Wisniewski said. The county was investigating allegations that Cummings changed answers on convicted killer Randall Jarrett's IQ test.

The issue came to light during a March 23 court hearing to determine if Jarrett had a high enough IQ to be eligible for the death penalty. Jarrett and his uncle robbed, beat and killed 50-year-old Herman Bailey on the North Side in 1997. Cummings gave Jarrett a comprehensive IQ test last year. The results showed he was "dull-average," but not mentally retarded.

During the March hearing, defense attorneys questioned the results after Cummings read a test answer that was more complete than what their copies of Jarrett's test showed. Defense attorneys then said they found another discrepancy in a test answer.

Cummings attributed the differences to a photocopying error. But defense attorneys claimed Cummings had changed Jarrett's responses to make him seem more intelligent -- and was now trying to deny it. Cummings denied in court that he did anything inappropriate, and in April he told the Sun-Times he would consult with an attorney and look for "some possible redress." Wisniewski said Cummings' resignation essentially has put an end to the county's investigation.

Suspension upheld for child psychiatrist

The Texas State Board of Medical Examiners temporarily suspended the license of an Arlington child psychiatrist Tuesday after reaffirming a decision made in May that allowing him to continue practicing medicine would pose a public threat.

Donald Hughes, 53, is accused of sexual misconduct with adolescent patients. He was arrested in April on two charges of indecency with a child after two adolescent patients accused him of sexual misconduct. He was released on bail the same day he was arrested.

<>In May, he was arrested on a charge of indecency/ fondling after a third child came forward. He surrendered at Tarrant County Jail and was released on bail. Hughes is contesting his suspension. His attorney, Robert Gammage, declined to comment.

In the next step of the process, a formal complaint will be filed at the State Office of Administrative Hearings, said Jill Wiggins, a spokeswoman for the Texas State Board of Medical Examiners. The date for that hearing has not been set.

Schools Shouldn't Play Doctor

As Reported by the Cato Institute:

The Department of Health and Human Services will announce this fall a plan to improve access to mental health services. The initiative follows the release last year of a report commissioned by President George W. Bush recommending that "schools should . . . play a larger role in mental health care for children," screening public schoolchildren for mental illness (with parental consent) and providing counseling and referral services. The HHS should reject these recommendations. Until parents can choose their children's schools, expanding public schools' role in treating mental illness could be harmful to both students and parents.

At first glance, public schools seem like a great place to address childhood mental illness. The 2003 report notes that "more than 52 million students . . . [pass] through the Nation's schools on any given weekday," and early diagnosis improves the odds that medical treatments will succeed.

But consider Daniel Taylor. Like more than one million American children, Daniel was prescribed methylphenidate (a.k.a. Ritalin) to control his attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Ritalin is at the center of an emotional debate. Though apparently a safe and effective treatment, many believe the drug has become a convenient means of quieting unruly children. Even with a correct diagnosis, some experts worry that doctors, parents, and teachers have become too quick to medicate.

Thus, when Chad Taylor noticed that his son was losing sleep and his appetite--two of Ritalin's known side effects--he took Daniel off the drug. When Daniel's school found out, it reported the Taylors to child welfare authorities.

Soon the New Mexico Department of Children, Youth and Families dispatched a detective and social worker to visit the Taylors. Chad Taylor told a reporter: "The detective told me if I did not medicate my son, I would be arrested for child abuse and neglect." Though the police dispute that charge, they did claim, as an "ABC News" story put it, "parents could be charged in situations like his."

Much more on this at the original article

Harry Potter author JK Rowling shames Czech Republic into Giving Up Psychiatric Caged Beds.

The Czech Republic has said it will remove caged beds from psychiatric facilities, following a letter from Harry Potter author JK Rowling. Caged beds with metal bars, used to restrain patients in psychiatric facilities, have long been condemned by human rights groups, the EU and the UN.

The Czech health ministry said it would immediately remove the beds from hospital wards across the country. JK Rowling's letter had contributed to changing their policy, it said. JK Rowling wrote a letter calling for an end to the practice to Czech President Vaclav Klaus and outgoing Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla. In the Czech Republic, children as well as adults are restrained in caged beds. Some Czech psychiatrists say they are needed to protect and restrain patients.

Loren Mosher, Psychiatrist and Human Rights Activist, Has Died

As reported on InfoShop

But He's Still Fighting His Profession. As Loren Died, His Newest Book Goes to Press

Statement by David Oaks, Director, MindFreedom

Loren Mosher was like a Schindler of psychiatry, as in the film "Schindler's List."

One of our Schindlers has died. Loren Mosher was a psychiatrist who fought his own profession's oppression, who was a tremendous ally to survivors of psychiatric human rights violations. He died this weekend in Berlin after struggling with a liver disease. This is just a brief note to let people who care about human rights in the mental health system know about this loss of a real hero. If you did not know about Loren's contribution to this area, I've put just a little bit at the bottom of this that I encourage you to read, such as his famous letter of resignation from the American Psychiatric Association.

I'm lucky that Loren was also a personal friend of mine, and on the board of MindFreedom. He did so many things to support me, our group, so many groups, and our entire social change movement. Loren was also superb at encouraging other mental health professionals to have the simple courage and decency to speak out, such as in his work with the International Center for the Study of Psychiatry and Psychology. He knew how to enjoy life, too. Loren knew how to overthrow psychiatric oppression and have a nice day, such as in his world travels.Loren would be delighted to know that even death is not stopping him from challenging his psychiatric profession!

Loren has worked for many years on a book he co-authored entitled "Soteria: Through Madness to Deliverance." Final details for the book's publishing were being prepared at about the time Loren died. A colleague of Loren told me today the book will be out by September, and perhaps even by the time a memorial is planned for Loren in August. Soteria tells the story of his successful fight to create a commonsense alternative that worked, an alternative to the mental health system that did not use the bizarre bullying and poisoning with massive amounts of drugs that has captured the current mental health system.

Soteria was just a house, with regular people (not mental health professionals) trained to take care of people not by pouring toxic concoctions of psychiatric drugs down these clients throats... not by pushing these clients around... but instead by building relationships. Soteria clients did better, of course, than those who were pushed through the strangling ringer of the current mental health system. But that data threatened the mental health system, and the profession has done much to try to suppress the "evidenced based" humane, empowering model that Soteria championed.

How many people's lives and minds were saved because Loren helped them escape psychiatry's systemic abuse, both in Soteria and in many other ways, internationally? Well, Loren is still winning. He is winning out with his new book. And he's winning out with the thousands of psychiatric survivors and allies his life has touched, who will carry on his struggle, with, hopefully, the same good humor, intelligence, and persistence that I always saw in Loren.

Psychiatric survivor Peter Lehmann announced the news that Loren had died in the Anthroposophic Clinic Havelhoehe in Berlin, Germany during his last ditch effort to fight his liver disease. Loren lived in San Diego, California, USA. There will be more to say about Loren's legacy for the movement to change psychiatry. I will personally speak about him this Bastille Day, July 14, which for 24 years has been a day of protest of human rights abuse in the mental health system (see http://www.MindFreedom.org).

Also, I am sure many of us will join me in remembering Loren at ICSPP's conference http://wwww.icspp.org and at Alternatives 2004. Poignantly, we psychiatric survivors were planning an award for Loren at ICSPP; thankfully, he knew about our often-too-slow but loving efforts to appreciate him. Below you'll find some biographical information, articles, and a blurb I submitted about Loren's latest book. Thank you Loren Mosher, for fighting the good fight with such style, cunning, wit and care. We mourn you, we remember you, and we will redouble our efforts to stop the violations you hated, and promote the humane alternatives you dearly loved. May Loren's life encourage many more Schindlers in the psychiatric profession to have the wisdom and bravery and love and decency to speak out about the nightmarishly horrible abuse that is inherent in the psychiatric system, to confront it, to even laugh in its face, and to build loving alternatives to it.

bio: http://www.moshersoteria.com/bio.htm

Loren's work: http://www.moshersoteria.com/

Info about Soteria: http://www.moshersoteria.com/soteri.htm

Psychology Today article: http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1175/is_5_32/ai_55625499

Letter of resignation from American Psychiatric Association: http://adhd-report.com/biopsychiatry/bio_12.html

NJ Pays Psychiatric Patients In Strip-Search Settlement

More than two dozen psychiatric patients in New Jersey who were strip-searched will receive five-thousand dollars each. The state agreed to pay the money to settle a federal lawsuit filed on behalf of 26 patients at the Hagedorn Gero-Psychiatric Center in Glen Gardner. Under the settlement, the state also agreed to new procedures on searching patients. The new rules say patients can be searched for their own safety or the safety of others. Searches can't be used as punishment. The patients were strip-searched in 1999 after a staff member thought she smelled smoke. The searches continued for two to three weeks.

Psych Hospital Closing

The psychiatric hospital at Hastings Regional Center already has dropped below a minimum population threshold to allow its closure, Nebraska state officials told a new oversight commission Friday. Some commission members would like to see the Hastings hospital close by Oct. 1, the Health and Human Services' scenario for freeing up the maximum amount of state funding for more community-based services. Gov. Mike Johanns has said that would be his preference. A mental health reform law passed by the Legislature earlier this year authorized the closure of hospital services at the Hastings Regional Center and the Norfolk Regional Center to free up money for more community-based mental health services, such as group homes and day treatment centers.

Psych Fantasized About Killing Off Patients

As reported in the New York Daily News

A Long Island shrink caught on tape plotting to kill six people was only fantasizing about going on a bloody murder spree, prosecutors said ... Richard Karpf, 52, pleaded guilty to weapons possession but was let off the hook on charges that he planned to murder a patient with whom he had an affair and five other people.

The Great Neck psychiatrist, who spent three months behind bars last year, likely will not serve more time in jail, Nassau Judge Donald Belfi indicated. The plea was a quiet ending to what had been an explosive case.

In February 2003, investigators said they taped Karpf describing plans to shoot his victims in the head and heart, chop them up and dump them in the ocean. Karpf even researched Long Island's most shark-infested waters, Nassau Assistant District Attorney Robert Biancavilla said at the time.

But yesterday Biancavilla downplayed the murder plot, saying it turned out to be more fantasy than reality. "He never named people he wanted to kill," the prosecutor said. "Both psychiatrists for the people and the defense determined that Mr. Karpf has severe psychological issues."

In addition to surrendering his medical license, Karpf pleaded guilty to criminal possession of a weapon - the .22-caliber handgun he purchased from an undercover cop posing as a crook.

He also faces an $8 million malpractice lawsuit from the woman he allegedly marked for death after she threatened to have his medical license revoked when breaking off their affair. Karpf and his defense lawyer Stephen Scaring declined to comment.

Delusional Psychiatrist Kept a Hit List

A delusional former psychiatrist Jean Eric Gassy kept a hit list of those he blamed for his professional and financial ruin, the Adelaide Supreme Court has heard. A jury yesterday heard Jean Eric Gassy believed mental health director Dr. Margaret Tobin started a conspiracy to have him thrown out of the psychiatric ranks – and even made an aborted attempt on her life just five months before she was fatally shot. Gassy, 48, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Dr Tobin on October 14, 2002, inside the Citi Centre building on Hindmarsh Square.

Peter Brebner, QC, prosecuting, said Gassy and Dr Tobin had worked together at Sydney's St George Hospital in the early 1990s. When Dr Tobin questioned his competence to work as a psychiatrist, Gassy came to believe she was conspiring with "her contacts" to have him deregistered.

Psychiatrist Faces More Sexual Abuse Charges

A London, Ontario psychiatrist has already disciplined three times for unprofessional conduct with female patients. Dr. Stanley Dobrowolski nows faces charges he stepped over the line with three more patients. He had appeared before the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario three other times over complaints from female students at Western. The numerous charges are listed at the link

Update, as seen in the Toronto Star

When a female patient of psychiatrist Stanley Dobrowolski raised fears during treatment that her boyfriend might cheat on her, the doctor's advice left her shocked. "The doctor said that all men cheat," the woman testified yesterday in a disciplinary hearing held by the Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons into sexually related misconduct charges against Dobrowolski.

"I was stunned, I guess. It wasn't the reaction that I thought I'd hear," she said.

The former patient says that during eight appointments with Dobrowolski in the late 1990s and 2001, the psychiatrist gave her unusual advice, conducted physical examinations and commented about her weight. The woman is one of three female complainants who lodged complaints against Dobrowolski after seeking treatment from him between 1989 and 2001. None of the woman can be named due to a publication ban.

These are the latest in a string of misconduct charges against Dobrowolski for sexual improprieties involving nine complainants which have triggered three previous disciplinary hearings and findings of guilt.