Produced by:
KBOO
Program::
Air date:
Wed, 04/04/2012 - 12:00am
Analysis of the Mental Health Industry
Hosted by Lisa Loving
Is it possible that the drug-based psychiatric care industry has actually fueled an epidemic of mental illness?
Our guest is Dr. Harriet Cooke of the local group Rethinking Psychiatry, which puts on an annual symposium scrutinizing the mental health industry -- that event is coming up in May.
Meanwhile, their upcoming fundraiser is Tuesday, April 17, 4 - 6:00 PM at the First Unitarian Church Channing Room, 1011 SW 12th Avenue, Portland, with speaker Robert Whitaker, award winning author of "Anatomy of an Epidemic: Magic Bullets, Psychiatric Drugs, and the Astonishing Rise of Mental Illness in America."
Here's some links to more on Rethinking Psychiatry:
Videos, contact info, reports and articles right here.
Also mentioned during today's show were:
Multnomah County's Early Assessment and Support Alliance
The Whitebird Clinic in Eugene, OR.
- KBOO
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Comments
Great Show
Thank you for the great interview. Just one correction: Robert Whitaker is a fantastic writer who has done a world of good to bring light to some of the myths propogated by the pharmaceutical industry and the mental health system in the U.S. His training however is as a journalist, not as a scientist as stated in the interview. He served as the Director of medical writing at Harvard Medical School and as a journalist his 'beat' was medicine. He knows instinsically how to investigate all sides of the story and believe me, we need more intestigative journalists who know the difference between critical news coverage and the practice of cutting and pasting marketing information that is distributed by multi-billion dollar pharmaceutical corporations. Failure of the press has been a contributing factor to massive buy-in by the public that every mental, emotional, and spiritual challenge is a biologically/genetically based 'chemical imbalances' of the brain requiring lifelong use of potentially harmful psychiatric drugs. Robert Whitaker's courage in following the truth wherever it might lead, as given many of us the courage to speak out about the abuse and harm that our children have suffered within the psychiatric system and the hope that we can effectively organize for change. I've been involved in the anti-war and environmental movements, using direct action: boycotts, fasting, civil disobedience, etc. I never dreamt that I would find it necessary to engage in a movement to protect people from abusive psychiatric practices, promote choice and alternatives, and shed light on the corruption of an entire profession (psychiatry) Because of my loved one's experience in Oregon's psychiatric system, I came to understand that this is a crisis on a huge scale but many are afraid to come out of the closet and speak about their negative experiences. Our voices have been silenced for too long. Lives are at stake. The current crisis requires that we organize to put pressure on the AMA and the entire psychiatric profession to engage in an honest dialogue involving the role of psychiatric medication in mental wellness and healing and the range of non-invasive healing alternatives already in use throughout the world. Many so-called advocates for the mentally ill receive the majority of their funding from pharmaceutical companies. Follow the money! Beware, become informed, empowered, and most of all, speak out! Together we are strong!
Time Change for Events
<p>Rethinking Psychiatry has informed us that the afternoon event scheduled for 4-6 pm has been cancelled but the 7-9 p.m. talk by Mr Whitaker is still happening, that's at the same location, the First Unitarian Church, with a sliding scale donation but no one os turned away for lack of funds. Go!</p>