Psych Watch

Monday, June 12, 2006

SEXTRA CREDIT: Sex and the female teacher

Virtually any attractive female teacher who knows how to be seductive, could short-circuit almost any boy’s brain and get her way. Granted, this is not a violent act like forcible rape, but it is no less overpowering and should not be tolerated by society. So why are these female pedophiles not taken seriously by our criminal justice system?

All in commentary of a report in the World Net Daily which extensively lists out a large number of teachers, with their full names, who have taken up with one of their under age students

This story has been updated to prove the full names of the accused, along with links to the news items reporting the alledged crimes.

accused, charged, and/or arrested for having sex with 17 year-old students.

These Teachers had sexual relations with multiple students

These teachers or school employees who were charged with having sex with 14 year olds

Some of the perpetrators violated victims who were even younger. School psychologist, Diane DeMartini-Scully (45) was accused of having intercourse and oral sex several times with her 13 year old daughter’s boyfriend. Elementary school teacher, Kelly Lynn Dalecki (28) was charged with having sex with a 13 year old, and over 50 sexually explicit e-mails and pornographic pictures, sent from the teacher, were found on his computer. Middle school teacher, Melissa Michelle Deel (32) had oral sex with a 13 year old student and Pamela Turner (27) an elementary school teacher, was arrested for having sex with a 13 year old boy over a period of three months. Middle-school teacher, Sherry Brians (41) and Gym teacher, Lynn Saunders (38) were arrested for molesting 12 year olds. Carol Flannigan (50), a music teacher, was alleged to have slept with an 11 year old and Elementary school teacher, Georgianne Harrell, (24) was charged with performing oral sex on a 9 year old boy.

This summary is not exhaustive. Those who want to read about the rest can see the WorldNetDaily article.This summary is not exhaustive.

AMA Panel Says Physicians (including Psychiatrists) Cannot Ethically Participate in Prisoner Interrogations

As seen in this report on Medscape

Psychiatrists and other physicians should not help the military or police interrogate prisoners, according to a new report from the American Medical Association's Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs (CEJA).

Helping with interrogations, including the planning of the interrogation or monitoring the prisoner with the "intention of intervening in the process" are actions that are outside the bounds of ethical behavior, CEJA said here Sunday.

Dr. Priscilla Ray of Houston Texas, who serves as chair of CEJA said, "Physicians must neither conduct nor directly participate in an interrogation, because a role as physician-interrogator undermines the physician's role as a healer and thereby erodes trust in the individual physician interrogator and in the medical profession."

The CEJA report follows closely action taken last month by the American Psychiatric Association, which ruled that psychiatrists should not participate in interrogations. The new CEJA ruling came in a report, which can be adopted by the AMA House of Delegates or sent back to CEJA for fine-tuning. The AMA house, which begins voting on this and other actions today, cannot, however, amend the report.

In addition to ruling that participation in interrogations is unethical, the CEJA report warns physicians that if they "have reason to believe that interrogations are coercive, they must report their observations to appropriate authorities. If authorities are aware of coercive interrogations but have not intervened, physicians are ethically obligated to report the offenses to independent authorities that have the power to investigate or adjudicate such allegations."

CEJA said that physicians may ethically "perform physical and mental assessments of detainees to determine the need for and to provide medical care," but when they do so they must tell the prisoner that others will have access to that medical information.

CEJA also ruled that it is permissible to "participate in developing effective interrogation strategies for general training purposes," but physicians can't develop a specific strategy for use with a specific prisoner, Dr. Ray said.

The CEJA report comes in response to a request from Burlington, Vermont child psychiatrist Dr. David Fassler who last November asked the AMA for an ethical ruling on involvement of physicians in prisoner interrogations.

Dr. Fassler thanked CEJA for the report, which he called "thoughtful and responsive."

The report was also praised by a number of military physicians who are members of the AMA House. Speaking for that group, Air Force Surgeon General Dr. George P. Taylor Jr. said, "This report provides valuable ethical guidance which is consistent with our commitment as military physicians to the practice of ethical medicine and to the defense of our great nation."

But Physicians for Human Rights, led by Dr. Stephen Xenakis, a psychiatrist and retired brigadier general in the U.S. Army, said the report was too soft and used too much qualifying language. The result, he said, was an ambiguous statement. He warned that the military would find loopholes and use those loopholes to make a case for physician involvement in interrogations.

Gee, y'think?

Not that such qualms have stopped ever governments before

Sunday, June 11, 2006

Psychologist's trial to begin on Tuesday

As seen in the South Bend Tribune

Associates in Clinical Psychology was supposed to be a safe place, where troubled teens could receive treatment for mental illness.

But prosecutors allege that the group home was the scene of improper physical examinations performed on patients, by a man who was not licensed to perform them.

On Tuesday, a jury in Marshall Superior Court will begin hearing the case leveled against psychologist Marc A. Zackheim, who is facing one Class C felony count of practicing medicine without a license and three Class B misdemeanor counts of battery for a series of incidents that reportedly took place at the home in 2004.

According to court documents, Zackheim, who is now 55, was running the home at 317 W. Monroe St. when he allegedly conducted a series of physical examinations on teen boys who were patients at the home.

During those examinations, police said, Zackheim touched the boys' genitalia while claiming to be checking for medical conditions, such as bloating and hernias.

However, as a psychologist, Zackheim was not licensed to perform any physical exams, according to authorities. Police were reportedly alerted to the incidents after the Fulton County Division of Family and Children contacted police in July 2004 with concerns about the home.

Zackheim, who lives in Lake Bluffton, Ill., was arrested and charged in October 2004 in conjunction with the allegations. He has been free on bond since shortly after being charged.

He also agreed to an indefinite suspension of his license to practice psychology after he was charged, court documents show.

Jury selection for the trial will begin Tuesday at 9 a.m. at the Marshall County Courthouse.

Psychologist Pleads Guilty To Medicaid Fraud

As seen in this Maryland Attorney General press release

Maryland Attorney General J. Joseph Curran, Jr. announced today that Dr. Oparaugo Ihentuge Udebiuwa has pleaded guilty to defrauding the Medicaid program by billing Medicaid for services that were never provided. Udebiuwa, 46, of the 400 block of West Central Avenue in Davidsonville, Maryland is a psychiatrist who was enrolled in the Medicaid Program as a Medicaid Provider.

Udebiuwa’s practice was located on Park Heights Avenue in Baltimore City. He pleaded guilty to 5 counts of misdemeanor Medicaid Fraud for defrauding the Medicaid program of $32,000 during a one year period. Dr. Udebiuwa admitted to fraudulently billing Medicaid by billing for services that he did not provide, by billing Medicaid for longer visits than he had actually provided, by billing Medicaid for medication management when patients were not on medication, and by billing Medicaid for family therapy when he did not provide family therapy. Medicaid is a joint state and federal-funded program that provides health services to the indigent.

The case was referred to Attorney General Curran’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit from the Mental Hygiene Administration which administers mental health services for the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Misdemeanor Medicaid Fraud is punishable by up to three years in jail and a $50,000 fine.

Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Lynn K. Stewart set sentencing for August 8, 2006.

More details here regarding the original charges

Ex-Utah psychiatrist who had child porn found dead

As seen in this report as well as here and here

A former Utah psychiatrist who fled the United States after being convicted for possession of child pornography was found dead Saturday in his jail cell in the Dominican Republic. The FBI said Bruce Guernsey is believed to have committed suicide.

Guernsey pleaded guilty in Utah to one court of possession of child pornography in March. The last time he was seen in the state was in April after he filed paperwork to surrender his license to practice psychiatry. After failing to check in under his court ordered supervised pretrial release, a new arrest warrant was issued.

Guernsey was found Friday at a hotel in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The Dominican Republican National Police are investigating Guernsey's death.

Saturday, June 10, 2006

The Texas Medical Board has taken disciplinary action against 32 licensed physicians

Since its last Board meeting in April, the Texas Medical Board has taken disciplinary action against 32 licensed physicians. Actions included 14 violations based on quality of care; three actions based on unprofessional conduct; two actions based on nontherapeutic prescribing; one action based on inappropriate conduct involving physician-patient relationships; three actions based on inadequate medical records; two actions based on impairment due to alcohol or drugs; two actions based on violations of probation or prior orders; one action based on other state board actions; one action based on a criminal conviction; one action based on a peer review action; and two minimal statutory violations. Administrative penalties totaling $76,000 were assessed. At its May 19 board meeting, the Texas Physician Assistant Board took disciplinary action against one physician assistant.

Of special interest are the following actions

QUALITY OF CARE VIOLATIONS:

Â· ARREDONDO, ADAM GALLARDO, M.D., WAXAHACHIE, TX, Lic. #K7648
On June 2, 2006, the Board and Dr. Arredondo entered into an Agreed Order publicly reprimanding Dr. Arredondo and placing him on probation for five years with the following requirements: monitoring of his practice by another physician; modification of his Drug Enforcement Administration Controlled Substances Registration Certificate and his Texas Department of Public Safety Controlled Substances Registration Certificate to eliminate his authority to prescribe Schedules II and III; completing 50 hours per year of continuing medical education in pain management; no supervising or teaching residents or supervising or delegating prescriptive authority to a physician assistant or advanced practice nurse; and assessing an administrative penalty of $20,000. The action was based on allegations that Dr. Arredondo failed to meet the standard of care in treating 10 patients for the following reasons: failure to review past records; inadequate assessments prior to starting opioid therapy; failure to perform behavior evaluation prior to starting therapy; failure to perform drug screens prior to starting therapy; failure to perform a trial of physical therapy and/or non-opioids; failure to document a treatment plan; inadequate monitoring of patient responses to therapy; prescribing excessive and nontherapeutic doses of schedule II drugs; inappropriate follow up; prescribing inappropriate dose escalation; lack of attention to red flags for abuse; and performing procedures that were not indicated.

INAPPROPRIATE CONDUCT INVOLVING PHYSICIAN-PATIENT RELATIONSHIP VIOLATIONS:

Â· HELLER, CARL STUART, M.D., KINGWOOD, TX, Lic. #F8154
On June 2, the Board and Dr. Heller entered into a 10-year Mediated Agreed Order publicly reprimanding Dr. Heller and requiring that he complete courses of at least 20 hours each in pain management and risk management and 10 hours in medical records; prohibiting him from engaging in the practice of pain management, requiring that he complete the â€œMaintaining Proper Boundariesâ€ course presented by the Center for Professional Health at the Vanderbilt Medical Center or a similar course approved by the executive director of the board; requiring that he maintain adequate medical records on all patient office visits; requiring that his practice be monitored by another physician for a period of five years; requiring that he take and pass the Medical Jurisprudence Examination; prohibiting him from prescribing to family members or other persons with whom he has a personal relationship outside the physician-patient relationship; and assessing an administrative penalty of $3,000. Additionally, Dr. Hellerâ€™s license may be immediately suspended if he fails to comply with the terms of the order. The action was based on allegations that Dr. Heller treated a young man, previously homeless, who came to live with him and for whom he became an informal guardian, for complaints including anxiety, depression and chronic pain due to an accident, but did not meet the standard of care in keeping medical records for this treatment. Additional allegations were that Dr. Heller prescribed medications to the young man, who drank alcohol, that were dangerous to use concurrently with alcohol, and wrote prescriptions for excessive amounts of habit-forming medications and was refilling them early, even though the young man was a known abuser of medications. Dr. Heller also prescribed Fentanyl for the young man for the treatment of pain following dental surgery. The young man was later found dead in Dr. Hellerâ€™s home from an overdose of Fentanyl. No criminal charges were filed.

Friday, June 09, 2006

Sex attack Psych doctor banned for another year

As reported in the Craven Herald & Pioneer in Great Britain.

A psychiatrist jailed for a sex attack on a teenager, in which he thrashed her with a metal coat hanger, will be banned from practising medicine for another year for public protection.

Dr Darren Scott Holdsworth was working as a senior house officer at Glasgow's Stobhill Hospital, in November 2001, when he was arrested and charged with rape, indecent assault and possession of drugs by Strathclyde Police.

Holdsworth, of Tudor Cottage, Low Utley, Keighley, pleaded guilty to indecent assault and possession of cannabis at Glasgow High Court, in October 2002. The rape charge was not proceeded with. Sacked from his job at the hospital, he was jailed for three years in November 2002, but the sentence was later reduced on appeal and he has now been freed.

An interim suspension order preventing him from practising was due to expire this month, prompting a dash to the High Court by doctors' regulatory body the General Medical Council (GMC).

Holdsworth had initially opposed a continued ban on him practising and was due to do battle against the GMC, at London's High Court, last Friday. But, at the outset of the hearing, Mr Justice Langstaff said the parties had agreed by consent that the ban would be extended for a year and that Dr Holdsworth would not have to pay court costs.

USA Medical Licensing Board Web Pages

Here is a collection of links to the various medical boards found in the various states of the USA. This information is useful if you need to file a complaint against your doctor, your physician or other medical practitioner, or your psychiatrist.

U.S. Psychology Licensing Boards by State

Here is a list of Psychology Licensing Boards in the USA, given Alphabetically by State,

Please note that while we think this information is correct, that names and Telephone numbers may have changed. This information may be useful if you want to file a complaint against your local psychologist.

Alabama Board of Examiners in Psychology
660 Adams Avenue, Suite 360
Montgomery, AL 36104
(334) 242-4127
Send Email
Alabama Board Main Page
Alabama Psychology Law
Alabama Psychology Rules/ Regulations
Alabama Application Materials

Alaska Board of Psychologist and Psychological Associate Examiners
333 Willoughby Avenue, 9th Floor, SOB
PO Box 110806
Juneau, AK 99811-0806
(907) 465-3811
Send Email
Alaska Board Main Page
Alaska Psychology Law Rules and Regulations (.pdf)
Alaska Application Materials for Psychological Associate (.pdf)
Alaska Application Materials for Psychologist (.pdf)

Arizona Board of Psychologist Examiners
1400 West Washington, Room 235
Phoenix, AZ 85007
(602) 542-8162
Send Email
Arizona Board Main Page
Arizona Psychology Law
Arizona Psychology Application Materials

Arkansas Board of Examiners in Psychology
101 East Capitol, Suite 415
Little Rock, AR 72201
(501) 682-6167
Send Email
Arkansas Board Main Page
Arkansas Psychology Law
Arkansas Psychology Rules/Regulations (.doc)
Arkansas Application Materials

California Board of Psychology
1422 Howe Avenue, Suite 22
Sacramento, CA 95825-3200
(916) 263-2699
Send E-mail
California Board Main Page
California Psychology Law and Rules/Regulations
California Application Materials

Colorado Board of Psychologist Examiners
1560 Broadway, Suite 880
Denver, CO 80202
(303) 894-7770
Send E-mail
Colorado Board Main Page
Colorado Psychology Law
Colorado Psychology Rules/Regulations
Colorado Application Materials

Connecticut Board of Examiners of Psychologists
Department of Public Health
P.O. Box 340308
410 Capitol Avenue, MS# 12APP
Hartford, CT 06134
(860) 509-8376
Send E-mail
Connecticut Board Main Page
Connecticut Psychology Law (.pdf)
Connecticut Application Materials (.pdf)

Delaware Board of Examiners of Psychologists
861 Silver Lake Blvd.
Cannon Building, Suite 203
Dover, DE 19904
(302) 744-4534
Send E-mail
Delaware Board Main Page
Delaware Psychology Law
Delaware Psychology Rules/Regulations
Delaware Application Materials

District of Columbia Board of Psychology
D.C. Department of Health
Health Professional Licensing Administration
717 14th Street, NW, Room 600
Washington, DC 20005
(202) 724-4900
Send E-mail
District of Columbia Home Page
District of Columbia Application Materials

Florida Board of Psychology
4050 Bald Cypress Way, Bin #C05
Tallahassee, FL 32399-3255
(850) 245-4373
Send E-mail
Florida Board Main Page
Florida Psychology Continuing Education Requirements
Florida Psychology Application Materials
Florida Psychology Law and Rules

Georgia State Board of Examiners of Psychologists
237 Coliseum Drive
Macon, GA 31217-3858
(478) 207-1670
Send E-mail
Georgia Board Main Page
Georgia Application Materials
Georgia Psychology Law
Georgia Psychology Rules/Regulations (.pdf)

Hawaii Board of Psychology
Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs
P.O. Box 3469
Honolulu, HI 96801
(808) 586-2693
Send E-mail
Hawaii Board Home Page
Hawaii Psychology Application Materials
Hawaii Psychology Law/Regulations

Idaho Board of Psychologist Examiners
Bureau of Occupational Licenses
1109 Main Street, Suite 220
Boise, ID 83702
(208) 334-3233
Send E-mail
Idaho Board Main Page
Idaho Psychology Law
Idaho Psychology Rules/Regulations (.pdf)
Idaho Psychology Application Materials

Illinois Clinical Psychologists Licensing Disciplinary Committee
Department of Professional Regulation
320 West Washington Street, 3rd Floor
Springfield, IL 62786
(217) 782-8556
Illinois Board Main Page
Illinois Psychology Law
Illinois Psychology Rules/Regulations
Illinois Psychology Application Materials

Indiana State Psychology Board
402 W. Washington Street, Room W066
Indianapolis, IN 46204
(317) 234-2057
Send E-mail
Indiana Board Main Page
Indiana Psychology Law/ Rules
Indiana Psychology Continuing Education Requirements
Indiana Psychology Application Materials (.pdf)

Iowa Board of Psychology Examiners
Department of Public Health
321 East 12th Street, Lucas State Office Bldg. - 5th Floor
Des Moines, IA 50319-0075
(515) 281-4401
Send E-mail
Iowa Board Main Page
Iowa Psychology Law and Rules
Iowa Psychology Licensure Information
Iowa Psychology Continuing Education Requirements

Kansas Behavioral Sciences Regulatory Board
712 S. Kansas Avenue
Topeka, KS 66603-3817
(785) 296-3240
Send E-mail
Kansas Board Main Page
Kansas Psychology Law/Rules
Kansas Psychology Application Materials

Kentucky Board of Examiners of Psychology
P.O. Box 1360
Frankfort, KY 40602-0456
(502) 564-3296, ext. 225
Send E-mail
Kentucky Board Main Page
Kentucky Psychology Law/Rules
Kentucky Psychology Application Materials

Louisiana State Board of Examiners of Psychologists
8280 YMCA Plaza Drive, Building 8-B
Baton Rouge, LA 70810
(225) 763-3935
Send E-mail
Louisiana Board Main Page
Louisiana Psychology Law
Louisiana Psychology Rules/Regulations
Louisiana Psychology Application Materials

Maine Board of Examiners of Psychologists
35 State House Station
Augusta, ME 04333-0035
(207) 624-8600
Send E-mail
Maine Board Main Page
Maine Psychology Application Materials (.pdf)
Maine Psychology Law
Maine Psychology Rules/Regulations

Maryland Board of Examiners of Psychologists
4201 Patterson Avenue
Baltimore, MD 21215-2299
(410) 764-4787
Send E-mail
Maryland Board Main Page
Maryland Psychology Law/Rules
Maryland Psychology Application Materials

Massachusetts Board of Registration of Psychologists
Division of Registration
239 Causeway Street
Boston, MA 02114
(617) 727-0592
Send E-mail
Massachusetts Board Main Page
Massachusetts Psychology Law/Rules
Massachusetts Psychology Application Materials
Massachusetts Psychology Continuing Education Requirements

Michigan Board of Psychology
PO Box 30617
Lansing, MI 48909
(517) 335-0918
Send E-mail
Michigan Board Main Page
Michigan Psychology Law
Michigan Psychology Application Materials (.pdf)

Minnesota Board of Psychology
2829 University Avenue SE, Suite 320
St. Paul, MN 55414-3237
(612) 617-2230
Send E-mail
Minnesota Board Main Page
Minnesota Psychology Law/Rules
Minnesota Psychology Application Materials
Minnesota Psychology Continuing Education Requirements

Mississippi State Board of Psychology
Box 13769
Jackson, MS 39236
(888) 693-1416
Send E-mail
Mississippi Board Main Page
Mississippi Psychology Law
Mississippi Psychology Rules/Regulations
Mississippi Psychology Application Materials
Mississippi Psychology Continuing Education Requirements

Missouri State Committee of Psychologists
3605 Missouri Blvd.
P.O. Box 1335
Jefferson City, MO 65102
(573) 751-0099
Send E-mail
Missouri Board Main Page
Missouri Psychology Law/Rules
Missouri Psychology Application Materials

Montana Board of Psychologists
301 South Park Avenue, 4th Floor
Helena, MT 59620-0513
(406) 841-2394
Send E-mail
Montana Board Main Page
Montana Psychology Law
Montana Psychology Rules/Regulations
Montana Psychology Application Materials

Nebraska Board of Examiners of Psychologists
301 Centennial Mall South
P.O. Box 94986
Lincoln, NE 68509-4986
(402) 471-2117
Send E-mail
Nebraska Board Main Page
Nebraska Psychology Law/Rules
Nebraska Psychology Application Materials
Nebraska Continuing Education Requirements

State of Nevada Board of Psychological Examiners
P.O. Box 2286
Reno, NV 89505-2286
(775) 688-1268
Send E-mail
Nevada Board Main Page
Nevada Psychology Law
Nevada Psychology Rules/Regulations
Nevada Psychology Application Materials

New Hampshire Board of Mental Health Practice
49 Donovan Street
Concord, NH 03301
(603) 271-6762
New Hampshire Board Main Page
New Hampshire Psychology Law
New Hampshire Psychology Rules/Regulations

New Jersey State Board of Psychological Examiners
P.O. Box 45017
Newark, NJ 07101
(973) 504-6470
Send E-mail
New Jersey Board Main Page
New Jersey Psychology Law/Rules (.pdf)
New Jersey Psychology Application Materials (.pdf)

New Mexico Board of Psychologist Examiners
P.O. Box 25101
Santa Fe, NM 87504
(505) 476-4607
Send E-mail
New Mexico Board Main Page
New Mexico Psychology Law/Rules
New Mexico Psychology Application Materials
New Mexico Psychology RxP Information

New York State Board for Psychology
NYS Education Dept.
89 Washington Avenue
2nd Floor
Albany, NY 12234
(518) 474-3817 ext. 150
Send E-mail
New York Board Main Page
New York Psychology Law
New York Psychology Rules/Regulations
New York Psychology Licensure Requirements
New York Psychology Application Materials

North Carolina Psychology Board
895 State Farm Rd., Suite 101
Boone, NC 28607
(828) 262-2258
Send E-mail
North Carolina Board Main Page
North Carolina Psychology Law (.pdf)
North Carolina Psychology Rules/Regulations
North Carolina Psychology Continuing Education Requirements

North Dakota State Board of Psychologists Examiners
P.O. Box 7458
Bismarck, ND 58507-7458
(701) 250-8691
Send E-mail
North Dakota Board Main Page

Ohio State Board of Psychology
77 S. High Street - Suite 1830.
Columbus, OH 43215-6108
(614)466-8808
Send E-mail
Ohio Board Main Page
Ohio Psychology Law/Regulations
Ohio Psychology Application Materials
Ohio Psychology Continuing Education Requirements (.pdf)

Oklahoma State Board of Examiners of Psychologists
201 NE 38th Terrace, Suite 3
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
(405) 524-9094
Send Email
Oklahoma Board Main Page
Oklahoma Psychology Laws/Rules

Oregon State Board of Psychologist Examiners
3218 Pringle Rd. SE, Ste. 130
Salem, OR 97302-6309
(503) 378-4154
Send E-mail
Oregon Board Main Page
Oregon Psychology Law/Regulations
Oregon Psychology Application Materials

Pennsylvania State Board of Psychology
P.O. Box 2649
Harrisburg, PA 17105-2649
(717) 783-7155
Send E-mail
Pennsylvania Board Main Page
Pennsylvania Psychology Regulations
Pennsylvania Psychology Application Materials
Pennsylvania Psychology Continuing Education Requirements (.pdf)

Puerto Rico Board of Psychologist Examiners
P. O. Box 10200
Santurce, PR 00908-0200
phone: 787-725-5141
fax: 787-725-7903
Send E-mail
Send E-mail

Rhode Island Board of Psychology
3 Capitol Hill - Room 104
Providence, RI 02908-5097
(401) 222-2827
Send E-mail
Rhode Island Board Main Page
Rhode Island Psychology Law/Regulations (.pdf)
Rhode Island Psychology Application Materials

South Carolina Board of Examiners in Psychology
P.O. Box 11329
Columbia, SC 29211-1329
(803) 896-4664
Send E-mail
South Carolina Board Main Page
South Carolina Psychology Law/Regulations
South Carolina Psychology Application Materials

South Dakota Board of Examiners of Psychologists
135 East Illinois, Suite 214
Spearfish, SD 57783
(605) 642-1600
Send E-mail
South Dakota Board Main Page
South Dakota Psychology Law
South Dakota Psychology Application Materials

Tennessee Board of Examiners in Psychology
425 5th Avenue North
Cordell Hull Building, 1st Floor
Nashville, TN 32747-1010
(615) 532-5127
Tennessee Board Main Page
Tennessee Psychology Law
Tennessee Psychology Rules/Regulations
Tennessee Psychology Application Materials
Tennessee Psychology Continuing Education Requirements

Texas State Board of Examiners of Psychologists
333 Guadalupe, Suite 2-450
Austin, TX 78701
(512) 305-7700
Texas Board Main Page
Texas Psychology Law/Rules
Texas Psychology Application Materials

Utah Psychologist Licensing Board
Division of Occupational Professional Licensing
160 E. 300 S, Box 146741
Salt Lake City, UT 84114-6741
(801) 530-6621
Send E-mail
Utah Board Main Page
Utah Psychology Law/Regulations
Utah Psychology Application Materials

Vermont Board of Psychological Examiners
Office of Professional Regulation
26 Terrace Street, Drawer 09
Montpelier, VT 05609-1106
(802) 828-2373
Send E-mail
Vermont Board Main Page
Vermont Psychology Law
Vermont Psychology Telepractice Guidelines

U.S. Virgin Islands Board of Psychology Examiners
Lydia Scott, Executive Secretary to Medical Boards
Office of the Commissioner
Roy L. Schneider Hospital
St. Thomas, VI 00801
(340) 776-8311 ext. 5078

Virginia Board of Psychology
6603 West Broad Street, 5th Floor
Richmond, VA 23230-1717
(804) 662-9913
Send E-mail
Virginia Board Main Page
Virginia Psychology Law/Rules
Virginia Psychology Application Materials

Washington State Examining Board of Psychology
Department of Health
P.O. Box 47869
Olympia, WA 98504-7869
(360) 236-4910
Send E-mail
Washington Board Main Page
Washington Psychology Law/Rules
Washington Psychology Continuing Education Requirements
Washington Psychology Application Materials

West Virginia Board of Examiners of Psychologists
P.O. Box 3955
Charleston, WV 25339-3955
(304) 558-0604
Send E-mail
West Virginia Board Main Page
West Virginia Psychology Continuing Education Requirements
West Virginia Psychology Application Materials

Wisconsin Psychology Examining Board
Department of Regulation Licensing
Bureau of Health Service Professions
P.O. Box 8935
Madison, WI 53708-8935
(608) 266-2112
Send E-mail
Wisconsin Board Main Page
Wisconsin Psychology Law
Wisconsin Psychology Rules/Regulations

Wyoming State Board of Psychology
2020 Carey Avenue, Suite 201
Cheyenne, WY 82002
(307) 777-6529
Send E-mail
Wyoming Board Main Page
Wyoming Psychology Law/Rules
Wyoming Psychology Application Materials

Mind Control Experiments on Children

Sometimes is stumbling around the web you come across the most interesting and alarming stuff. As seen in this report by Jon Rappoport posted on HaMmOuR Blog

Jon Rappoport as a reputation as an investigative reporter, who has gotten more into the fringe areas. However, these items are well documented, and shed some light into a different and bizarre universe of government experimentation during the cold war. The question is now whether these kind of practices are starting back up once again, giving the political climate.

The CIA mind-control apparatus has been well known since 1975, when 10 large boxes of documents were released pursuant to Freedom of Information Act requests.

Several good books were then written on the subject of the CIA program known as MK-ULTRA. Officially spanning ten years from 1952-62, MK-ULTRA involved the use of LSD on unwitting military and civilian subjects in the United States.

But there was a lot more.

None of this prepared people for the explosive testimony made on March 15, 1995, in Washington, D.C., before the President’s Committee on Radiation, however. In unpublicized sessions, New Orleans therapist Valerie Wolf introduced two of her patients who had uncovered memories of being part of extensive CIA brainwashing programs as young children (in one case, starting at age seven). Their brainwashing included torture, rape, electroshock, powerful drugs, hypnosis and death threats. According to their testimony, the CIA then induced amnesia to prevent their recalling these terrifying sessions.

Both Wolf and her patients stated that they recovered the memories of this CIA program without regression or hypnosis techniques. In other words, these patients spontaneously discovered this information about themselves and their pasts.

Although the committee was mainly concerned with radiation, they permitted Valerie and her patients to testify because, astonishingly, several doctors who had administered the mind-control experiments had also been identified by other Americans secretly exposed to radiation. Apparently there was a crossover.

Prominent names surfaced in the March 15 testimony: Richard Helms, former head of the CIA, Dr. Sidney Gottlieb, who ran MK-ULTRA and Dr. John Gittinger, Gottlieb’s protege. These men and others were directly accused of participating in grisly mind-control efforts on children.

Predictably, this testimony received no media attention.

I now have it all, including many pages submitted to the committee that will likely never be released as part of their final report. Only a small percentage of the pages were read aloud at the hearing. Included are corroborating statements from other therapists around the country and several of their patients. I have now released all of this testimony as a book, U.S. Government Mind-Control Experiments On Children.

When the sickening shock starts to wear off, deeply disturbing questions flood one’s mind: just what was this CIA program? How extensive was it? What was its purpose?

From what I have been able to discover so far, many American children, as well as children from Mexico and South America, were used over a period of about 40 years, starting around 1948. In fact, the program may still be going on. Doctors and agents who administered it wanted to obtain control over the minds of these children, ostensibly to create superagents who wouldn’t remember even what missions they carried out, because of hypnotically induced amnesia (which could be removed by their controllers and reinstalled at will).1

Children were trained as sex agents, for example, with the job of blackmailing prominent Americans - primarily politicians, businessmen and educators. A great deal of filming was done for this purpose. Eventually, people from the inner core of the CIA program filmed each other, and some of the centres where children were used as sex agents got out of control and turned into CIA-operated sex rings.

Some children were considered expendable and simply murdered.

One person who states that he was in this program as a child said, off the record:

“They tried out their brainwashing techniques on the kids from Mexico and South America. They were considered expendable. But on another echelon of the program, they went after the best and the brightest American kids. Making perfect agents to combat the Soviets wasn’t, I don’t think, their ultimate objective. I can’t remember what that was.”

At this point, I made a suggestion:

“Well, if they were choosing the best and brightest, maybe they figured these kids would one day rise to important positions in the society, and they wanted to gain long-term control over them, so they would be under their thumb, so they could tap them at will - a way of controlling the future society.”

“Maybe,” he said. “The Nazis gained control over the intelligentsia in Germany. That was a very key step in their dominance. That was the first thing they did”.

“This smells very much like a Nazi program in the U.S.,” I said. “I don’t mean all the controllers were German, but the style of it, the insanity.”

He said, “They brought over a lot of Nazi doctors after the war and not just to build rockets - for a lot of projects.”

Other people who said that they had been used as children in the program remember that doctors with German accents were definitely present at the sessions. One therapist, who shared this information informally with colleagues around the country, states that, so far, the oldest person she has heard of who was in the program is now 52; the youngest is now nine.

If this wasn't from government testimony from the height of the CIA scandals of earlier years, it would be quite unbeleivable.

Thursday, June 08, 2006

As told in their own words, Shrinks don't have a clue about ADHD

Here is a video where a collection of shrinks discuss the problems with trying to diagnose ADHD. It's about ten minutes long. Commentary by Doctor Frank Baugman. Note how they keep trying to dance around the issue, but how they themselves say that there are no objective tests.

Here is a highlight movie, under 2 minutes long, which is worthy in it's own right (note: wmv format)

More on 'Road Rage Disease'

More on Intermittenet Explosive Disorder, aka Road Rage Disease. as seen here

Road rage isn't an official disease, it's a state of mind
June 8, 2006 By Eric Peters, a columnist for The Army Times, The Navy Times and AOL.online

Road rage" is now an official disease — Intermittent Explosive Disorder, the shrinks call it.

According to a study funded by the National Institutes of Mental Health, something on the order of 16 million Americans suffer from IED. Inadequate production of the brain chemical serotonin leaves victims unable to regulate their moods properly — and thus, their behavior on the nation's crowded highways.

But is IED really a malady? Or just the natural expression of a heavily overtaxed fight-or-flight mechanism that has been intrinsic to human nature since time immemorial?

In other words, is it reasonable to be stressed out and angry as a consequence of having to sit and stew in endless traffic? Is this the proper and normal state of affairs?

Or is it a sign of health that more and more of us chafe at being caught like lab rats in a continent-size Skinner Box — and display our natural frustrations by leaning on our horns, stomping on the gas and doing whatever's in our power to flee?

Think on it for a moment: Modern humans are essentially the same as our ancestors of 100,000 years ago, while widespread and inescapable gridlock is a phenomenon of the last 50 years.

We were not bred for this sort of abuse. We have not had time to evolve new mechanisms — such as an internal morphine release gland, let's say — to cope with an environment our hunter-gatherer systems are completely ill-equipped to deal with.

The chaos, the unremitting noise, the slow boil of constant pressure with no escape valve and the flood of stress hormones that rush into our bloodstream are natural responses a relentless stream of stressful situations.

We respond very much in the way you'd expect a cornered animal to respond. We get angry. Some of us boil over. Our vision narrows to the singular focus of getting through — and getting away.

Forms of civility become a hobble; like passengers on a doomed ocean liner, the situation too often devolves to every man for himself. Sink or swim — even if you have to push someone else under to remain afloat yourself.

It's ugly and unpleasant — but it's the reality. Being quiet and polite is not only increasingly difficult, it's apt to leave one holding the short end of the stick — constantly abused by more aggressive motorists with a passion for self-preservation.

That's not a disease. It's an entirely predictable reaction to an unnatural situation.

Sitting in traffic for a couple of hours every day is madness. Willfully subjecting millions of people to this on a daily basis and not expecting negative consequences is like smokers failing to make the connection between pack-a-day habits and emphysema.

We don't need a pill. We need to recognize a dangerous and unhealthy situation for what it is — and take steps to ameliorate it. That would include encouraging people to live closer to where they work and governments and businesses to expand telecommuting opportunities instead of herding workers into some distant suburbs through shortsighted land policies.

Failing that, subscribe to satellite radio, gets some books on tape — whatever it takes to get your mind and your glands off the galling prospect of another daily grind. Your blood pressure will thank you. And you might just avoid a fender-bender, a fist-fight — or worse.

American motorists don't need a pill or therapy on a psychiatrist's couch. If the federal experts really want to curb road rage they should put policies in place that address the underlying causes rather than label the victims sufferers so-called "Intermittent Explosive Disorder."

Disease-ifying the frustrations of drivers idling their lives away on clogged commuter roads will do nothing to solve the real problems.

Tuesday, June 06, 2006

Would You Give Your Child Cocaine?

As seen in this OpEd opinion piece, another voice to the chorus of protest:

While unfunded individuals and grass-roots groups are screaming at the top of their lungs about psychiatrists drugging our children based on made-up diseases, drug companies run hourly television ads to spread the false message of chemical imbalances. That no blood is ever drawn to prove this imbalance and that no normal child has Ritalin or Prozac coursing through their veins hasn't stopped this catch-phrase from becoming our version of the flat-earth concept widely accepted 400 years ago.

While teachers and psychiatrists are paired up to push drugs to "help" schoolchildren study, we also have TeenScreen partnering with psychiatrists coming in on the child suicide angle. Behind both groups are money-hungry billion dollar drug companies. It doesn't matter that TeenScreen identifies eighty-four non-suicidal teens for evaluation for every sixteen it correctly identifies (that's just more money for the psychiatric profession when they prescribe the drugs).

For today however, let's not even argue against this fabricated disease (Attention Deficit Disorder) or this sensationalistic worry about suicide (children are six times more likely to die in automobile accidents), but instead let's take a stroll through the KNOWN side-effects of one drug which psychiatrists happily prescribe to millions.

The list of undesired effect of Ritalin are both impressive and scary.

Antipsychotic Drug Prescriptions for Kids Soaring

As seen on EurekAlert, on Healthday, the New York Times, and elsewhere

The use of antipsychotic drugs prescribed for children has soared six-fold since the early 1990s, a new report finds.

The surge appears to be largely due to doctors who prescribe the drugs to treat mental illnesses -- including behavior disorders and mood disorders -- that don't have a psychotic component. In many cases, the U.S. government frowns on such "off-label" treatment, but it is legal.

The report findings are a cause for concern, because it's not clear how the drugs work in children, said study lead author Dr. Mark Olfson, professor of clinical psychiatry at Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons.

EurekAlert has mostly the hard numbers:

A steadily increasing number of patients younger than age 20 received prescriptions for antipsychotic medications between 1993 and
2002, according to a report published in the June issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

The number of outpatient health care visits during which patients between the ages of 0 and 20 years received antipsychotic medications increased six-fold between 1993 and 2002, from a yearly average of 201,000 between 1993 and 1995 to 1,224,000 in 2002. For every 100,000 individuals younger than age 21 in the United States, 274.7 such office visits took place each year from 1993 to 1995, compared with 1,341 each year from 2000 to 2002. Overall, 9.2 percent of mental health visits and 18.3 percent of visits to psychiatrists included antipsychotic treatment. Diagnoses among the patients receiving these medications included disruptive behavior disorder (37.8 percent), mood disorders (31.8 percent), pervasive developmental disorders or mental retardation (17.3 percent) and psychotic disorders (14.2 percent). Male and white youth were most likely to receive such treatments.

Of course, the psychs say this is a good thing:

"In recent years, second-generation antipsychotic medications have become common in the office-based mental health treatment of young people," they conclude. "These medications are used to treat children and adolescents with different mental disorders. Results of clinical trials provide a limited base of support for the short-term safety and efficacy of some second-generation antipsychotic medications for psychosis and disruptive behavior disorders. In light of the widespread and growing use of these medications, there is a pressing need to increase and extend the experimental evaluation of these medications in children and adolescents."

The typical news response seems to rather clueless. Nearly one in five psychiatric visits for young people included a prescription for antipsychotics.

Uppity Cleveland woman carted to psych hospital by police and ordered to a psych unit by judge for slamming Bush

As Reported by Mother Jones

Reported in local news here

For as long as we have had some kind of mental health system, women who "behave incorrectly" have been ordered to undergo its treatments. At one time or another, feminists, suffragists, menopausal women, and women who question authority in any way have been sent to institutions so that they could recieve "help."

The latest woman to get such help is Carol Fisher of Cleveland. Fisher is on the staff of Revolution Books, and on January 28, while she was putting Bush Step Down posters on telephone polls in Cleveland Heights, she was ordered by a police officer to take them down or face a fine. When she complied, she was asked for her ID, which she did not have on her. He then grabbed her by the arm, pushed her against a store window, and knocked her face down onto the sidewalk. He was joined by another officer, and they both pressed their feet against her back until she could not breathe. Her chin was pressed down into the concrete; Fisher has osteoradionecrosis in her jaw from radiation treatments for cancer.

Fisher was handcuffed and shackled. During this time, Fisher yelled out to everyone who passed what the posters were about. One of the police officers then told her, Fisher says, to "Shut up or I will kill you! I am sick of this anti-Bush shit! You are definitely going to the psyche ward."

She was then threatened some more and taken away in an EMS truck. At the hospital, Fisher was asked to undress in front of the police officers, which she refused to do. The officers refused to leave, so a nurse attempted to shield her while she undressed. Fisher says she was then cuffed to the bed, given an IV of some sort, and made to wait hours for a psychiatrist to interview her. By this time, members of her World Can't Wait group were in the emergency room having a confrontation with the police, who refused to let them see Fisher. Someone called the news media, who never made an appearance.

Fisher was eventually released and sent home. On May 2, she went to court and was found guilty of two counts of felonious assault of two police officers. The prosecution's "witnesses" had not seen the alleged assault; rather, they claimed that Fisher lacked respect for authority. It took a jury more than eight hours to find her guilty. According to a letter to the editor of The Free Press, the prosecution misquoted Fisher's testimony and gave the jury incorrect information about the city's arrestable offenses. When asked to clarify the law, the judge refused.

As part of the pre-sentencing procedure, the judge, Timothy McGinty, had Fisher undergo a state psychological exam. He had already surmised publicly that Fisher must be mentally unstable to resist arrest. McGinty then declared her "delusional," and on May 9, ordered her to be incarcerated in a psychiatric unit of the Cuyahoga County Jail in downtown Cleveland, where she now sits and waits; she could face a
three-year prison sentence. According to Mark Crispin Miller, who has spoken with Fisher by telephone, Fisher has also been placed on suicide watch, has had her eyeglasses taken from her, and--if she refuses to take the psych exam -- she will be sent to North Coast Mental Institute for a 20-day evaluation.

Update: Fisher has been sentenced to 60 days in prison, and wore an Anti-Bush T-shirt to the hearing, which she refused to change.

Intermittent Explosive Disorder

Please note, this sounds almost exactly like an Improvised Explosive Device, and must not be confused with it.

Sounds like some shrink decided to be just a little too clever in their naming thier latest fake disease.

Yes if you are good and fed up with with the junk and garbage you see around you, and you can't keep it held inside, you now have a new mental disorder.

Pitiful....

Someone has to be playing a joke.

Monday, June 05, 2006

Two-thirds foster care children in Mass on psych drugs

An older news story that slipped between the cracks here

As seen in this Report

Original Boston Globe News Item here

The Boston Globe reports that 2/3 of children in state care in Massachusetts are being "treated" for mental illness with psychotropic drugs. Marie Parente, a legislator, and parents call for disclosure of "how many children in state care are being given psychotropic drugs, and for government agencies to take a critical look at the procedures for allowing these medicines to be prescribed." Parente suggested that "the state may be motivated to label children as mentally ill because of the reimbursement checks they receive from the federal government, which compensates Massachusetts for half of all Medicaid expenditures.

What are the odds that anything at all has been done about this?

Sunday, June 04, 2006

On The Validity of Brain Scans as Proofs of Psychiatric Theories

As seen here

Dr. Grace Jackson, a psychiatrist and an expert on brain imaging, refutes the validity of the attempts by various psychiatrists to defend the "science" of their diagnoses by using comparative brain scans. Her article, which, I've linked below my own write-up, along with her references, is technical enough to leave many readers in the dark, so I've tried to put her main points into simple, non-technical language first, then link the article for those who want all the technical details. This way the data may be more usefully forwarded to others. Dr. Jackson doesn't go into the most basic lies in psychiatry's science, but since many may be impressed when a psychiatrist on TV holds up brain scans, it's useful to know a bit about the science and NON-science behind these scans.

Reference:

A Curious Consensus: "Brain Scans Prove Disease"?
By Grace E. Jackson, MD

http://psychrights.org/Articles/GEJacksonMDBrainScanCuriousConsensus.pdf

Right click here to download a copy of the article as PDF file.

Trial set for social worker

As reported Indiana's Chronicle Tribune

A former social worker accused of having an inappropriate relationship with a minor has been scheduled for a bench trial in front of a special judge next month.

Elizabeth Marshall, who is charged with misdemeanor counts of invasion of privacy and contributing to the delinquency of a minor, will appear before Delaware Circuit Court 5 Judge Wayne Lennington in Grant Circuit Court at 1:30 p.m. June 23.

Local judges were forced to rescue in the case because of Elizabeth Marshall's family connections to the Grant County justice system - her husband, Jack, is a probation officer, and her father, Wayne Ellis, is the coordinator of the county's home detention program. Prosecutor James Luttrull Jr. also left the case, and Howard County Prosecutor Ronal Byal has assumed the prosecutorial duties.

Marshall 36, was pulled over July 24 by a Grant County sheriff's deputy and found to have a 16-year-old boy in her car in violation of a no-contact order, court records said.

Marshall had been a social worker at George Junior Republic, Gas City, but was not employed there at the time of the arrest.

Marshall's clinical social work license was revoked April 24 by the Indiana Social Worker, Marriage and Family Therapist Counselor Board.

She remains free on $4,000 bond.

Family Therapist charged in Sexual Assault

As reported on CBS 5 in San Francisco

Palo Alto police arrested local family and marriage therapist Samuel J. Silva-Roland Tuesday on suspicion he sexually battered one of his female patients in April.

According to the Palo Alto Police Department, Silva-Roland, 47, is charged with one count of sexual battery stemming from the alleged incident, which reportedly took place in late April during a counseling session at his 935 Middlefield Road office.

Silva-Roland is a state licensed marriage and family therapist who specializes in working with adoptive families, couples and cross-cultural couples, the department reported. In addition to working in Palo Alto, Silva-Roland also advertises offices in San Francisco and Burlingame.

Silva-Roland is expected to appear in Santa Clara County Superior Court on July 18.

Anyone with further information about this alleged assault or any others is asked to contact Palo Alto police Detective Zach Perron at (650) 329-2307.

Anti-depressant use in adolescents increases suicidal thoughts

As seen in this report on Science Daily, and as commented on here

The use of anti-depressants in adolescents has kicked up a psychotropic dust-storm of controversy.

In what many consider a vindication of their minority viewpoint, a team from the Stanford University School of Medicine in California has dug up evidence of potential misuse of the medicines in young patients in the years preceding the 2004 federal warning of a doubled risk -- from 2 percent to 4 percent -- of suicidal thinking and behaviors in some medicated adolescents.

Surprised at how little data existed about depression treatments in this age group, the Stanford sleuths began their own investigation.

The probe uncovered a troubling trend of physicians taking liberties with their own clinical guidelines, often bypassing psychotherapy as a component of first-line treatment. Instead, the study shows, in the years 1995 to 2002 they increasingly relied solely on the drugs that were supposed to support, not supplant, counseling.

The Stanford team, led by Dr. Randall Stafford, also found although federal regulators have deemed only one anti-depressant, Prozac, to be sufficiently studied for safety and effectiveness in minors to warrant their seal of approval for such use, doctors were prescribing a variety of other, unsanctioned mood-altering medications.

It should be pointed out some 30 percent to 40 percent of children fail to fully respond to Prozac, so other options may be needed.

Also, the "off-label" doling out of drugs is routine in the underage population so, in that respect at least, anti-depressants are not that different from many other medicines prescribed to minors without benefit of federal authorization.

However, the guidelines of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry call for trying talk treatments first in depressed children and, in the most severe cases, combining pharmaceuticals with psychotherapy. Part of the reason for this recommendation is to increase the odds the physician will monitor the medicines' effects and ensure patients' compliance.

But what the Stanford team found was that while office visits by depressed teens more than doubled over the seven years studied -- soaring from 1.4 million in 1995 to 3.2 million in 2002 -- the use of psychotherapy in that period sank from 83 percent of the visits to 68 percent. At the same time, reliance on drugs increased from 47 percent to 52 percent of the cases.

That may not seem like such a big change -- until you consider the dramatic increases in the diagnosis of depression in children and realize the actual number of youngsters on anti-depressants more than doubled during the period studied, the scientists said.

Saturday, June 03, 2006

Antipsychotic Drugs Linked to Pituitary Tumors

More on the recent report.

This time, it isn't just Risperidone, although it was the worst offender by far.

Numbers of Reported "Adverse Events"

Antipsychotic Drug	Pituitary_Tumor	Hyperprolactinemia	Galactorrhea	Amenorrhea	Gynecomastia
Risperidone	54	702	530	445	118
Olanzapine	11	37	17	21	23
Haloperidol	9	32	49	24	28
Ziprasidone	6	12	13	2	4
Clozapine	4	15	16	17	7
Quetiapine	1	13	12	3	5
Aripiprazole	0	5	5	2	4
Total^*	77	796	630	503	186

*The total is not the sum of the column because a singlereport may mention more than one event or more than one antipsychoticdrug.

An Interview with Dr. Jullian Whitaker

Pam Killeen Interviews Dr. Julian Whitaker About His Public Support For Tom Cruise Who Spoke Out Against Psychiatric Diagnoses and Psychotropic Medications

While we do not get into religious discussions, this article has much interesting information regarding psychiatry, and the problems created by its practice.

Pharmaceutical companies have gone into high gear in the last few years with their propaganda campaign to promote and sell psychotropic drugs. Masses of the population are now being screened for mental disorders, many against their wishes. If people do not wake up to this insane agenda, billions of people face the risk of being diagnosed with a disorder and prescribed toxic psychotropic drugs. The sad truth is the field of Psychiatry is no longer based on science or truth. It’s been turned into a drug pushing business and it’s an area where pharmaceutical companies are concentrating their efforts because they believe it has the potential to bring them their greatest financial rewards. The problem is psychotropic medications are far more dangerous and damaging to the body on a long term basis than virtually any medication you can put in your body.

The acid test for schizophrenia

A review of the autobiography of Dr Abram Hoffer, Psychiatrist

Research by Dr. Abram Hoffer discovered that Schizoprenia was curable 75% of the time simply by using Vitamin B3 (also known as Niacin). For some reason he met vigorous opposition from the psychiatric establishment, who prefered their own more expensive medications, and other forms of treatment, all of which were far less successful than this simple low cost treatment.

From 1952-60, Hoffer (as chairman), Osmond and four other members of the Committee on Schizophrenic Research (at the University of Saskatchewan) proceeded to perform the world's first double-blind studies in psychiatry -- six in all -- showing that B3, given orally, could "cure" 75 per cent of acute schizophrenics within two years.

The B3 research involved many beneficial offshoots, Hoffer says: epileptics' EEGs returning to normal, alcoholics, including Alcoholics Anonymous founder Bill W., no longer craving drink.

The story of how Hoffer's Saskatchewan research team found a treatment for acute schizophrenia, and the establishment's virulent opposition, which continues to this day, can be found in the 88-year-old's memoir, Adventures in Psychiatry.

Unfotunately, he also researched the similarity of the effects of LSD to schizophrenia, and was raked over the coals, in no small part due to the escapades of Timothy Leary.

Friday, June 02, 2006

Malpractice & Licensing Pitfalls for Therapists: A Defense Attorney's List

Abstract: A question asked of those of us who defend psychotherapists in civil suits and before licensing boards is what are the most common areas where therapists leave themselves vulnerable to attack. The purpose of this article is to identify some of the more common pitfalls that psychotherapists may encounter in hope that they can be avoided in the future.

As seen here, and first seen here

Typical areas of concern include

Excessive or Inappropriate Self Disclosure
(I.E. - Sharing personal information WITH the patient)
Business Relationships with Patients
Using Techniques Without Proper Training
Using Incorrect Diagnosis Deliberately
Avoiding the Medical Model
The True Love Exception for Sexual Relationships
Inadequate Notes
Failure to Obtain an Adequate History
Uncritically Accepting What a Patient Says
Use of Inappropriate Syndrome Testimony
Out of the Office Contact
Failure to Obtain Peer Consultation

All of this seems to be in the realm of lack of business and professional ethics. It boggles the mind that professionals in this field could be so clueless.

Thursday, June 01, 2006

Risperidone may cause Pituitary Tumors

As seen in this report, a recent study finds that the antipsychotic drug Risperidone may cause benign pituitary tumors. The findings can be a major blow as Risperidone is used extensively in the treatment of schizophrenia.

The study was conducted by researchers from the Duke University Medical Center in collaboration with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). They scrutinized the FDA database for reports of 40 million combinations of drugs and side effects submitted by doctors and patients. The researchers found that of the seven antipsychotic medications, risperidone (trade name Risperdal) was linked to 70 per cent of pituitary tumours. The study was carried out by Duke’s psychiatrist Dr P Murali Doraiswamy, MD, FDA's Ana Szarfman, MD and their colleagues. The findings were published in the June 2 issue of Pharmacotherapy.

It's another case of those pesky side effects coming home to roost ....

Former Psychology Professor and Wife Accused of Being Cuban Spies

Former Florida International University psychology professor Carlos Alvarez and his wife Elsa Alvarez, also a former university employee, are accused of being unregistered agents.

Specifically, they are accused of being Cuban Spies

The detention of accused Cuban agent Elsa Alvarez was discussed in federal court Wednesday, about five months after she was jailed for allegedly sending information to the Cuban government.

Alvarez, a counselor at Florida International University, and her husband, FIU psychology Professor Carlos Alvarez, were arrested in January. The couple is accused of being unregistered agents for Cuba.

Jane Moscowitz, a lawyer for Elsa Alvarez, said that a federal judge would decide in the next couple of weeks if Alvarez will be released on bond.

Moscowitz said that the court gave a strong indication that it was leaning toward granting Alvarez a bond, subject to certain conditions as she awaits trial.

The court did not indicate the amount of the bond, Moscowitz said.

We’re in the dark ages of Psychiatric Medicine

As interesting post, worth reading.

Of course, my own take is that they are not doing real science in the first place, so this is what you get. (See Richard Feyman's famous essay on Cargo Cult Science).

Even so, here are some tidbits:

In one of my previous posts, I responded to a comment where I say that 100 years from now, we'll look back on these times as the dark ages of psychiatric medicine. When I said this once to a psychiatrist, she was just astounded that I could think such a thing. Her view is that we've learned so much about the science of the brain. And we're running real science in the labs to test these drugs for effectiveness. There's a lot we don't know, but dark ages?

Let me explain what I mean by that.

If you've looked into depression and the science behind anti-depressants, you'll find they talk about three major neurotransmitters in the brain that are chiefly responsible for your mood, and therefore depression. These are serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine.

Now, the going theory is that people suffer from clinical depression because of a deficiency of one or more of these three chemicals. The question is, which one? Because the drugs don't work on all three (or if they do, as in Effexor's case, they don't do so in an easily predictable way).

The thing is, the only way to get any idea as to which one is the right one, is to start throwing these drugs at you and seeing what sticks. They haven't invented the machine yet where they just hook up a bunch of probes to your skull and it spits out "BEEP BOOP SEROTONIN SENSITIVE BEEP ALSO PATIENT WASTES TOO MUCH TIME LOOKING AT PORN ON THE INTERNET BOOP." Unfortunately for now, we're stuck with the "throw and see what sticks" method. Science is fun! [...]

The problem is, of course, it's not that simple. A doctor can never say with anything like reasonable certainty which precise neurotransmitter is the one causing you to lay in bed all day in a fetal position. All they have so far is this (rather flimsy) evidence based on watching what happens when they put a couple of different weird chemicals in you.

Not to mention, none of this (flimsy) evidence gives the doctor any sort of clue as to why the Wellbutrin is giving you chronic, daily migraines that can only be kept at bay with constant and dangerously high doses of Immitrex.

The dirty little secret is that even with SSRIs (which, remember, are purported to selectively target serotonin) these drugs have far-reaching implications on your brain chemistry beyond the neurotransmitters listed here. And it is these implications that are impossible to measure, or even understand what it is we should be trying to measure.

Keep in mind that, just because we can't measure these changes to the brain chemistry, it doesn't then follow that the effects of these changes will be minimal. They can have major implications to your mood and to your body. Welcome to the happy world of side-effects!

That's why when you take a drug for ADHD which is supposed to selectively target norepinephrine (Straterra), and then a month later, you have a prostate the size of a croquet ball; the doctor just shrugs his shoulders and says, "yeah, isn't that a weird side-effect? No idea what that's all about."

This is what I mean when I say we're in the dark ages of psychiatric medication. We just don't know diddly squat yet about our own heads--and if we don't know how the brain works, then we can't really know how these drugs work either. [...]

He does hold out some some hope for the boys, and he seems quite smart. But he might not have fully digested all of the data we have collected here.

Bad diagnosis led to navy officer's dismissal

As reported here and also here

The [Australian] Navy sought a psychiatric assessment for Lieutenant-Commander Robyn Fahy from a doctor previously fined for "gross carelessness", it was revealed to a Senate committee yesterday.

Commander Fahy, who is seeking compensation for alleged abuse in the navy, was dismissed on the basis of an assessment by Dr Zdenek Srna, who was fined $10,000 by the West Australian Medical Board for carelessness in assessing a patient in 1998.

Dr Srna incorrectly diagnosed Commander Fahy, the first female graduate of the Australian Defence Force Academy, as suffering bipolar disorder in 2000, an assessment dismissed by other doctors. Navy chief Vice-Admiral Russ Shalders said he was not aware of Dr Srna's history when questioned by Labor's defence personnel spokesman, Mark Bishop.

"Dr Srna was a practising, qualified, certified psychiatrist at the time," he told the Senate Estimates Committee.

The head of Defence Legal, Mark Cunliffe, said his department had not made the navy doctor, who went before the WA Medical Board after referring Commander Fahy to Dr Srna, pay any part of $444,000 in his legal costs that Defence covered.

The WA board recommended Dr Douglas McKenzie take on 75 per cent of the costs after finding him guilty of 22 counts of misbehaviour in his handling of Commander Fahy, whom he described as "manipulative" and having a "personality disorder" in a letter to Dr Srna.

Defence head Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston admitted it had taken too long to settle Commander Fahy's complaint, first raised officially in 2001. It has since been dismissed at the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission and is the subject of a federal police investigation.

The case has moved to mediation before a retired Federal Court judge. "It's quite astounding that these allegations haven't been investigated and put to rest one way or the other," Senator Bishop said outside the committee.

Incompetence at more than one level, no?

Monday, June 12, 2006

Sunday, June 11, 2006

Saturday, June 10, 2006

Friday, June 09, 2006

Thursday, June 08, 2006

Tuesday, June 06, 2006

Monday, June 05, 2006

Sunday, June 04, 2006

Saturday, June 03, 2006

Friday, June 02, 2006

Thursday, June 01, 2006

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