STOP The Therapeutic State

[Deborah]

Only Males Over 18 Will Be Exempt from Bushs' Mental Health Screening Initiative

Another clever BushCo business plan is afoot:

First: Invest in pharmaceutical companies
http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/sepp/20 ... _lilly.htm

Second: Prevent citizens from filing lawsuits against drug companies
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/25/polit ... 26e1b46c0d

Thrid: Require all citizens to be screened (and refered for services) for 'mental illness'

http://www.illinoisleader.com/opinion/o ... sp?c=17952

GUEST OPINION: Screening and drugging children will not prevent social ills
Monday, July 26, 2004
 - by Karen Effrem, M.D., Minnesota pediatrician

Illinois bureaucrats are pushing through a plan to screen the mental health of all children and all pregnant women in the state. A plan to obtain
discount psychotropic drugs is a part of the new program.
Only men over age 18 will be exempt.

OPINION -- Last week the state of Illinois launched a series of public meetings to implement the Children's Mental Health Act of 2003. This
legislation requires mental health screening for all children and pregnant women.

[It passed, btw. According to the Centers for Disease Control, the leading cause of death for
all pregnant women is homicide by their partners (not post-partum depression),  yet no one speaks of screening all expectant fathers for violent tendencies. In most cases, the man had no history of violence, but when his partner became pregnant he killed her. Battered women have often been diagnosed with mental illness when they sought help, while no one would diagnose the man with anything.]

On the surface, this sounds wonderful, especially when dealing with the difficult problems like post-partum and youth depression and suicide and
school shootings. However, several questions must be asked.
What are the rights of youth and their parents to refuse or opt out of this screening?
Will they face coercion and threats of removal from school or child abuse/neglect charges if they refuse?
How reliable are the screening instruments?
What if the diagnosis is wrong?
How will a child or adolescent remove a stigmatizing label from their records that could follow them the rest of their lives?
Will parents and pregnant women be honestly told about the potentially severe side effects of the medications used in treatment?

In the midst of this effort to do good, the following facts are being overlooked:

1) Screening does not prevent suicide - The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) issued its findings and recommendation against screening for suicide that corroborate those of the Canadian PSTF. "USPSTF found no evidence that screening for suicide risk reduces suicide
attempts or mortality. There is limited evidence on the accuracy of screening tools to identify suicide risk in the primary care setting,
including tools to identify those at high risk."
(See http://www.ahrp.org/infomail/04/05/21.html)

2) Mental health diagnoses are "subjective" and "social constructions" as admitted by the authors of the diagnostic manuals themselves.

3) Parents are already being coerced to put their children on psychiatric medications and some children are dying because of it. This law will only increase that problem.
Across the country, Patricia Weathers, the Carroll Family, the Johnston Family, and the Salazar Family were all charged or threatened with child abuse charges for refusing or taking their children off of psychiatric medications. Both Matthew Smith and Shaina Dunkle died of medication toxicity after their parents were coerced to place their children on drugs
by the schools.

4) Most psychiatric medications do not work in children - Medical textbooks, published and unpublished research, and government reports consistently state that the long term safety and effectiveness of antidepressants like Prozac and stimulants like Ritalin have yet to be proven.

5) The side effects of these medications in children are severe. They include suicide and violence from the new antidepressants; cardiac (heart) toxicity from the older antidepressants; growth suppression, psychosis, and violence from stimulants; and diabetes from the newer anti-psychotic medications.
Several school shooters, like Eric Harris, Kip Kinkel, and Jason Hoffman were on antidepressants or stimulants or both at the time of their crimes.
Parents need to say no to this intrusive and ineffective plan.
Implementation at least should be delayed until parents and pregnant women can refuse assessment and/or treatment without coercion. Sensitive data must be protected and informed consent about the lack of safety and effectiveness of psychiatric medication in children should be added.
(For detailed references, see http://www.edaction.org/2003/030827.htm)
_________
[Dr. Karen Effrem is a pediatrician and researcher. Dr. Effrem's medical degree is from Johns Hopkins University, her pediatric training from the University of Minnesota.
She researched children's health, political, and educational issues for nine years and authored research papers on these topics for the Center of the American Experiment and for the Minnesota Family Council. Dr. Effrem authored the Data Privacy chapter in "The Seamless Web," published by EdWatch in 1999.
Most recently, Dr. Effrem testified before Congressional education subcommittees on student data collection, testing, and the over-prescription of psychotropic drugs. She provided in-depth analysis for several major federal education bills. Dr. Effrem has been involved in the drafting of and testifying for legislation related to removing Minnesota from the Goals 2000
and School to Work system, for medical and academic data privacy, and against invasive early childhood legislation. She has spoken at numerous
state and national conferences.
Dr. Effrem and her husband, Paul, have three children and live in the Minneapolis metro area.]

[cherish wisdom]

This is outrageous!  Many who have been through what most of us have experienced have seen the dark side of the psych industry.  Psychology is a very subjective field.  Medicine is more objective. It is difficult to determine if a person has mental illness.  Truth be told - everyone probably has some form of mental illness. I'm sure that some psychiatrist somewhere could cook up a diagnosis or two. Unlike true illnesses a person can FAKE mental illness.  One can not FAKE heart disease - an angiogram can be used to make that diagnosis.  
Surely there are true mental illnesses. But many children, in particular, are misdiagnosed.  I had a friend once show me an entire drawer of medication that had been prescribed for her 10 year old son over the course of four years. He at first was diagnosed with ADD at age 6; Then ADDHD with an oppositional disorder; audio processing disorder; depression; bi-polar disease; the list continued to grow and the medication continued to change.  Of course all of this re-wired his brain.  He's now a drug addict - speed is his drug of choice.  One need not wonder why........

When we are pleading with foreign governments to stop the flow of cocaine, it is the height of hypocrisy for the US to export tobacco.  Years from now, our nation will look back on this application of free trade policy and find it scandalous.

1989 testimony before the US Trade Representative,September 1989
--Surgeon General, Everett Koop

[Deborah]

A good article on the Mental Health Screening Initiative
http://edaction.org/2004/071404.htm

1) Mental health will be used as the enforcement mechanism of the Federal Curriculum - As academic performance becomes tied to the attitudes, values, and beliefs of the Federal Curriculum, instead of to knowledge, and as mental health screening and treatment, including medications, are based on behaviors and academic performance, it will not be very long before children are screened and treated with powerful mind altering chemicals for attitudes, values and beliefs that do not coincide with the beliefs required by the federal government.

The SAT is being changed to include essay questions about the student?s personal beliefs and worldview that will be part of the individual?s permanent record. (See http://www.edwatch.org/updates/011404.htm.) How long will it be before this test is used not only to screen college and job applicants based on political considerations, but as a mental health screen as was done with the 2000 Minnesota Basic Skills Writing Test?

School officials in Ithaca, N.Y., are requiring that first- and second-graders be graded on their tolerance, reports the Cornell Review. The kids will get grades based on how well they ?respect others of varying cultures, genders, experiences, and abilities.? The grade will appear on report cards under the heading ?Lifelong Learning Skills.?  It appears well before social studies, science, reading, or writing.?  (Fox News 1/7/02)

What can you do?

1) Oppose any federal, state, or local plans for universal mental health screening. ? This would include contacting the White House (202-456-1111), the House (Rep. Hastert at 202-225-2976) and the Senate (Senator Frist at 202-224-3344) leadership, your own Members of Congress, the House Education and Workforce Committee Chairman John Boehner at 202-225-6205, and Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee Chairman Judd Gregg at 202-224-3324.  Alert your state legislators and oppose school board initiatives to add psychiatric personnel and screening programs.

2) Support the Child Medication Act currently stalled in the Senate by Senator Edward Kennedy  - This legislation prohibits schools from coercing parents to place their children on psychiatric medications like Ritalin that are on the controlled substances list, but despite their problems described above, not the antidepressants like Prozac that are not on that list. It passed the House last year 425-1. Senator Kennedy, with large support from pharmaceutical companies, has not let this very modest proposal even receive a hearing, saying that it needs more study. (http://www.boston.com/news/nation/artic ... drug_bill/) Senator Kennedy (202-224-4543) as well as Senator Gregg (202-224-3324) the Committee chairman, and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (202-224-3344) need to hear from the public.

3) Check to see if your state has a provision in state special education law that prohibits a school district from overriding parental refusal to submit their child to a special education or mental health evaluation.  If yes, alert other parents, and if not, work for one. ? For more detailed information on how this was achieved in Minnesota and how it may be done in your state, please contact our office.

And a link to the most relevant part of school screening:

http://www.mentalhealthcommission.gov/r ... ort-05.htm



[ This Message was edited by: Deborah on 2004-08-02 15:28 ]

[Deborah]

http://www.illinoisleader.com/opinion/o ... sp?c=17982

More Leader readers write in on mental health screening initiative
Tuesday, July 27, 2004
 
OPINION -- The revelation of a mental health screening plan for all children in Illinois through age 18 and all pregnant women continues to spark an unprecedented number of letters to IllinoisLeader.com.

As a sampling of the outrage Leader readers are expressing, eight letters have been selected from those pouring in. More will be featured in the upcoming days.

Similar mandate issued in Nazi Germany
Could someone help me understand something about this mandate? How is this different from the one issued circa 1939-1940 in Germany? I'm sure people remember this mandate; the one where individuals and families of Jewish descent were compelled to wear a yellow Star of David. My understanding of the US Constitution, places the Illinois mandate at odds with the Bill of Rights -- the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. I would appreciate any insight others may have regarding my concern.
Tracie Kaip
Dallas, TX


********

Would compulsory ethics screening pass by the Assembly?
The fact that the Illinois General Assembly and Senate passed a compulsory mental health screening program for children and pregnant women is appalling.
The fact that it passed in the House with only five dissenting votes, and unanimously in the Senate is frightening. I wonder how the elected officials would feel about passing a law for compulsory ethics screening for political candidates.
Eileen Batson
Los Angeles, CA


********

Mandate aimed at women and children is no accident
Abraham Lincoln would be appalled. The nation he united is under the severe threat of annihilation by a bio-terrorist predator so pervasive that our very future is at risk.
The Psychiatric/Pharmaceutical cartel has brainwashed the Illinois Legislature into funding their fraudulent practice of labeling children and adults with manufactured mental illnesses and then using mind damaging drugs to drive them crazy.
That this destructive action is aimed at children and pregnant woman is no accident. Once a child is labeled and drugged, that child becomes chemically dependent for life. Making woman of child bearing age take these damaging drugs will make her next child chemically dependant before the child is even born!
This is insane! The truly mentally ill are the profit motivated leaders of this destructive psychiatric/pharmaceutical cartel. Anyone who would destroy minds for profit is insane.
Note that these psychiatric criminals are not in Biafra, Uganda, or Somalia working to help people whose lives are really depressed. They are in Illinois and other wealthy areas for one reason only - that is the market where the money is located.
You are in a position to help stop this insanity by supporting any investigation by the Citizens Commission on Human Rights. Please do so and help ensure we have a future in Illinois and the rest of the U.S.
Larry Byrnes
Pinellas County Florida


********

Aussie sees America becoming Stepford- like
I'm an Australian who read your recent article about mental health assessments on the Internet; that is really scary. How do you Americans feel about this?
I've visited the States twice in the last 12 months, after having been absent for nearly 20 years. The reduction in rights (compared to 20 years ago) of privacy, mental health, parent's rights, etc., is alarming. You guys need to do something to rectify this. Maybe you don't notice it, because it has appeared to happen gradually, but I can tell you that when I visited recently I noticed it! There is a Stepford flavour to it all.
Catriona Ross
Melbourne, Victoria
Australia


********

Commission is a front for Scientologists
In your article a few days ago about "compulsory" mental health screening, you cite the Citizens Commission on Human Rights. Many of your readers may not be aware that this group is a front for Scientology, a mind-control cult based in Los Angeles, California and Clearwater, Florida. They oppose everything in any way related to psychology, psychiatry, or drugs used for mental health, often exaggerating or misrepresenting statistics or the wording of legislation.
They're also a very dangerous bunch, which prevents me from giving you my name and city. A couple of my relatives were involved with them and managed to escape.
Name and town withheld


********

Job security for the psychiatrists
I am strongly opposed to mandatory mental health screening for children and pregnant women. This is insanity! We are approaching a Third Reich system.
Correct the educational system and these trumped up "mental ills" will go away. This is another invention of the psychiatrists in the education system to insure their jobs.
Please continue the freedom this country was founded upon by allowing citizens to choose for themselves.
Fran Turner
Godfrey


********

Psychiatry and their fictitious "math disorder" syndrome
Do we really want to drug all our potential future leaders? Do we really need more psychiatric fraud inflicted on the citizens of this country? I don't think so.
Psychiatry harms more people - men, women, children, and the elderly -- than any other medical practice. Psychiatry commits more financial fraud and has been investigated by the FBI. Psychiatric hospitals have an unrivaled history of patient abuse and neglect. Remember, psychiatry was started as a way to make soldiers more controllable in battle; it was never intended to help people. Psychiatrists have given us a legacy of electroshock, lobotomies, and mind-altering drugs as a panacea to the many fictitious syndromes they vote into existence, i.e., math disorder.
We must not allow free access to our children on the pretense of help. Take away their funding and demand to know what real results psychiatry achieves. The only things you will find are pain, suffering, and violence caused by the drugs they want more Americans -- especially children, to use. It is time to protect our families.
Neal D. Oxman
Columbus, Ohio


********

Columbine shooter was diagnosed and drugged
As a grandparent I am outraged that the government has the right to screen children for mental illnesses. Who is to determine whether a child is depressed? What are the long term consequences of labeling these kids and drugging their developing brains? What subjective testing will be done? What if the child has a bad day and is feeling sad because something happened to make him/her feel unhappy? Will the child be diagnosed or misdiagnosed as a result?
If parents have no rights regarding the raising of their children, and the government determines who needs treatment and who doesn't, we are indeed living a police state.
Haven't we all felt a little depressed from time to time? What would have happened to us if we as children would have been given psychiatric diagnoses? In light of the question of suicide for kids put on psychotropics, this law is even more catastrophic.
State Rep. Patti Bellock states that the Columbine shooting occurred because kids are depressed and suffer from low self esteem. Maybe she doesn't know that one of the shooters was in fact diagnosed and treated with psychotropics!
Shame on those of you who made this a law. Your children and grandchildren may be the ones to suffer.
Yvonne Kravitz
Port Jefferson, NY

[Anonymous]

Hooray for Yvonne Kravitz
Port Jefferson, NY

 :nworthy:

[Anonymous]

I don't care about Scientology's beliefs.  The fact they alone among so-called religions who sold out to toxic psychiatry as they originally did to the Roman Empire and other evil empires in power (see Seth Farber's UNHOLY MADNESS) have fought evil, toxic psychiatry's current nazi abuses shows they have some ethics unlike other hypocrites pretending to be Christian while scapegoating those falsely accused of "mental illness" while abused by those in power, mainly women and children!!  Congratulations for exposing this incredible evil though I doubt it will do any good because psychiatry has completed its totalitarian BIG BROTHER control of the USA and world as predicted in Orwell's 1984 with some swine more equal than others as in his ANIMAL FARM!!

[Anonymous]

Anyone whoz not yet read Animal Farm and 1984 ought to do so.
Everyone likes to refer to 1984 but I think in many ways Animal Farm is more pertnint.

[Anonymous]

On 2004-08-13 19:45:00, Anonymous wrote:

"I don't care about Scientology's beliefs.  The fact they alone among so-called religions who sold out to toxic psychiatry as they originally did to the Roman Empire and other evil empires in power (see Seth Farber's UNHOLY MADNESS) have fought evil, toxic psychiatry's current nazi abuses shows they have some ethics unlike other hypocrites pretending to be Christian while scapegoating those falsely accused of "mental illness" while abused by those in power, mainly women and children!!  Congratulations for exposing this incredible evil though I doubt it will do any good because psychiatry has completed its totalitarian BIG BROTHER control of the USA and world as predicted in Orwell's 1984 with some swine more equal than others as in his ANIMAL FARM!!"

And this guy is the poster child for why psychiatry is bad and nobody needs mental health care??

Can you say "rambling"?  I knew you could.