The Patton Report

Report on conditions at a California mental hospital, presented to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2006

Excerpt from page 5 -
"Initial assessments at Patton are not individualized and fail to provide a basis for a diagnostic process that hassufficient reliability and validity. Moreover, initial assessments are routinely completed within 24 hours of admission to Patton, before the treating psychiatrist would be able toobtain input from other disciplines. The practice of finalizingassessments within 24 hours deprives the psychiatrist ofpotentially critical diagnostic information.
Annual update assessments are likewise inadequate. Many are based on outdated information and, therefore, do not provide anaccurate guide for the patient’s treatment. In fact, we found that Patton’s overall approach to ongoing psychiatric assessment reflects a lack of critical thinking and clinical inquiry. In many cases we reviewed, the psychiatrist failed to evaluate important developments in a patient’s condition that would suggest that the diagnosis assigned to the patient is not accurate. Without a proper understanding of a patient’s condition, Patton’s psychiatrists cannot make appropriate treatment decisions. Additionally, Patton fails to adequately assess the presence and impact of seizure disorders when formulating psychiatric diagnoses and assessments.
As a result of the deficiencies in psychiatric assessments and diagnoses at Patton, patients’ actual illnesses are not being properly treated and are permitted to progress. Additionally, patients are exposed to potentially toxic treatments for conditions from which they do not suffer, patients are not provided appropriate psychiatric rehabilitation, and patients’options for discharge are seriously limited."

Link

WHERE IS NAMI??

Celebrities involved in mental illness activism toe the meds line

Bringchange2mind, an American mental illness/anti stigma charity, appears to offer no real information about the causes of mental disorders. The group's celebrity figureheads are Glenn Close and Ron Howard.
From its site:

"LEARN THE FACTS

One of the best ways you can help someone with mental illness is by understanding what it is – and what it isn’t. After all, myths about mental illnesses contribute to stigma, which often prevents those who are living with it from seeking help.

The fact is, a mental illness is a disorder of the brain – your body’s most important organ – And 1 in 6 adults suffers from brain-related illness including depression, bipolar disorder, PTSD and schizophrenia.

Like most diseases of the body, it has many causes – from genetics to other biological, environmental and social/cultural factors. And just as with most diseases, mental illnesses are no one’s fault. The unusual behaviors associated with some illnesses are symptoms of the disease – not the cause.

But most importantly, mental illnesses are treatable through medication and psychosocial therapies – allowing those who suffer from them the opportunity to lead full and productive lives."

Mr. Howard's dishonesty about mental illness we have dealt with here. John Nash, the subject of Howard's film A BEAUTIFUL MIND, recovered from schizophrenia without drugs.

When Miss Close LEARNS THE FACTS - that medications can disable and kill and that many of the people she is trying to help may in fact have acquired Bipolar Disorder and other disabilities like Tardive Dyskinesia as a result of taking antidepressants or other psychoactive medications - she is sure to be furious.

Bringchange2mind links to pro-meds government and charity sites. It doesn't raise any questions about the real causes of mental disorders and how to do physical tests to screen for schizophrenia or other disorders, and does not oppose the promotion of psychotropic meds for young children.

We wish Bringchange2mind would promote healing that does no harm. For example, this link has a collection of articles on fish oil and mental health.

Finally, Bringchange2mind states that "1 in 6 adults suffers from brain-related illness including depression, bipolar disorder, PTSD and schizophrenia."

Where did this figure come from?

The UN's WHO puts the frequency of schizophrenia at about 1 in 100. And WHO studies have indicated that Third World country patients can recover better and faster from schizophrenia without treatment than with Western-style intervention.

Bringchange2mind seems to be a screen for promotion of the Pharma status quo.

UPDATE: The UK has a similar initiative,
Time To Change.

Psych meds or exercise will not cure thyroid conditions, a copper overload, a Niacin deficiency. Real change will come when people can get proper diagnoses and the treatments they need - and get well.

Follow the money...