Blogging UVA 5 East Psych. Unit So You Can’t Sleep and I Can (#1 of a Series)

So I found out that my long term Ph.D., Licensed, former adjunct professor at UVA retired, was in the room when Dr. Lady Martinez, an unlicensed psychiatric resident with no training in urology, came into my bedroom on UVA 5 East, contrary to what I was told at the informal human rights resolution meeting with Licensing present, and said she was going to do a second catheterization.  She ignored me when I said I had emptied my bladder so there was no reason for the traumatic procedure by an untrained resident (although all I said was I had gone to the bathroom).  My older licensed clinical psychologist, old enough to be Dr. Lady Martinez’s grandmother, told her she had been in the room and heard me go.  Dr. unlicensed, inexperienced and arrogant and lacking in humility and proper respect Martinez ignored her and would have catheterized me in front of my long term psychologist, compromising a fruitful therapeutic relationship and leaving me with nothing to survive UVA 5 East with if I had not asked that she wait until my psychologist left.  Dr. untrained, unhumble, inexperienced, young, first or second or third year resident did not meet the standard of care for a psychiatry resident and had no supervision from her attending, Dr. Bashir to teach her respect for her patients and her elders.  It is only luck that I have not lost the most important and life saving therapeutic relationship in my life due to Dr. Lady Martinez’s hubris and lack  of training and supervision.  I hope she sleeps as well as me for a very long time.  I still could end up on Flomax due to these rough catheterizations, my pleas for a referral to a urologist were ignored as were my pleas for a transfer to another team with more respect and less brutality.

A male patient admitted late in my stay played with himself in front of a young female patient.  Her report to the staff was ignored as was his attempt to find out who reported him.  I can only pray she wasn’t traumatized more.  I saw him play with himself myself but I’m older and less impressed or hurt by sociopathic men.  Staff failed in their primary responsibility, same as they did ten years ago when 3 patients were raped in that unit by a male staff after the first to report him was ignored.  The “progressive community’s” response and SAARA’s response? The progressives held a rally about the firing of felons with a token speaker from the VDVSA but SAARA refused to participate or even speak up until a letter months letter actually defending UVA from a former director.  Think things are better at SAARA today? Think again and read an earlier post.

The second TV room was turned into an office and 6 rooms were turned over to pay drug addicts and alcoholics to do research on addiction so 5 East is very small now and only has one TV in the dining room/day room.  There is no staff overview of what  is on it and one person is allowed to dominate the television all day long with violent m0vies triggering patients if he so chooses.  Complaints are unheard especially from women.

UVA is counting AC as “fresh air”.  No comment.  They have a cage to let people out into that they only sometimes use. It is a cage, go look at it.

UVA 5 East mixes men and women together in all common rooms with no staff supervision.  Women and men can be harassed and bothered by the opposite sex with no interference from staff. 

UVA takes away everything a person has with them and doesn’t tell people they can ask to look at some of their stuff, in fact they never told me my address book had been dropped off and took  my cell phone and left it on so the battery died.  If I hadn’t memorized some numbers I would have had no way to reach anyone on one of their two non private phones where everyone else including staff and patients can hear you speak and the noise is often overwhelming.  My human rights booklet was taken from  me and not returned. I have never heard of a psychiatric unit that just kidnapped all of patients’ belongings rather than sorting them and returning safe items. UVA 5 East is “special” in its complete disregard for the personal belongings and rights of its patients.

UVA 5 East has no one for patients to talk to when they are upset and no place for them to go away from other patients. Many if not most patients are in double rooms.  There are no comfort rooms, there are no times assigned for nurses or even trained psychiatric technicians, (UVA doesn’t hire licensed psychiatric technicians, only PCA’s, guess psychiatric technicians are too good for their patients), to talk to their patients or ask them if they want to talk. Staff stay behind a glass wall with no opening unless they are out ordering patients around.  Or unless they are the part time male occupational therapist or the few nurses who acted like they cared about doing a good job.

When food arrives late for meals there is no apology.  Late in my stay staff started taking all the favorite breakfast cereals for themselves.

UVA 5 East psychiatrists teach dis-empowerment and non-citizenship and every anti-recovery principle out there. More on that in another post but suffice it to say I am still having problems believing I am a citizen after my stay there and in many ways I am not since I can’t even report a crime and get respect. 

Do not take anyone you love to UVA 5 East unless they will  not go anywhere else or the alternative is worse like possible rape or assault on the street or you can’t possibly drive them to another state.   They will not thank you later, they may thank you when you leave out of relief, but the rest of their lives will be scarred by their stay there and if you are the one who put them there, your relationship may never heal.  If you did not put them there but defend them, again you may ruin your relationship. 

More tomorrow night, I really hope psychiatric residents and attendings and NAMI members and board members and TAC folks past and present who have met me and members of the closed and secretive Commission on Mental Health Law Reform with its closed and secret committees are reading and enjoying these updates and sleep really well in their expensive hotel in Williamsburg………..

Here Are Some of My Flashbacks: For Doctors and Delegates and Professors to Dream About Like I Do

I just thought about the resident who not only pulled out my PIC line so hard it left a fistula that caused severe pain that was ignored by UVA dialysis for months years later because he didn’t want to be the doctor to a “mental case” who also told my mother I must be sneaking lithium on the side because of course everyone wants to throw up all day every day and be tied to a PIC line for hydration on their 40th birthday….. Same resident, taught by UVA medical faculty, theorized I had late developed bulimia despite 7+ weeks in the hospital and acute kidney failure I now know.  Or it was lithium toxicity, who knows, UVA doesn’t keep medical records very well.  And they certainly don’t dialysize wastes of space like me who have diagnoses no matter how sick we are….

I remember the attending who complained over my bedside about the cost of the Zofranthat was helping my intense nausea a little to the fellow. As if I wasn’t worth anything. Mysteriously my Zofran was stopped one night and I was wretchedly ill all night until another doctor intervened and gave me back the Zofran.

I remember the nurse who wouldn’t talk to me but would gossip about me to my room mate and other nurses and who contradicted the doctors and also told me I must want to vomit. 

I remember being treated like a piece of meat and dragged from one room to another to be catheterized (now that I have heard the real story from UVAnurses I remember it correctly) because my room bed wasn’t set up for such procedures and I know I ended up with symptoms from this rough treatment for a month.  I remember nobody comforting me or warning me it might hurt as is usual medical procedure but instead scaring me by saying my bladder was 80% full and could burst and it must have been the resident since UVAswears both nurses present say they didn’t say it but mysteriously no one can identify or will identify the resident present.  Her name was on the wall, not so hard to find..

I remember being told my kidneys would be fine or they didn’t know what would happen and not being referred to a nephrologist as I should have been.  I remember leaving UVA in early ‘97 thinking I was the lowest of the low having never been a medical patient before and being in so long treated as the lowest patient of the low, all due to prejudice.  The few polite doctors and nurses stand out they were so rare.

I remember being afraid of doctors for years after this, finally overcoming it and now regaining my fear after 2 unnecessary weeks in UVA 5 East for a steroid reaction an arrogant attending was determined to diagnose as bipolar disorder and even more determined to be absolutely adored and obeyed. 

Most of all I will never forget losing my half-sister because I was drugged up on drugs I should never have been on, withdrawing, forgetting, not myself and having her one visit spend with her refusing to even speak to me.  I will never forget the pain of that nor what UVA doctors did lying to my mother and terrifying her and lying to my brother and scaring him and sending false information about me to all of my doctors without my permission and the threat of being sent to Western if I let my lawyer ask for my medical records or if I exercised my legal right to do so.  Now that I have read them, I know why.  So tomorrow I am not waiting for the “internal and probably endless possible investigation” into falsifying medical records, I’m calling the Charlottesville Commonwealth’s Attorney Office and reporting a crime.  Because who knows how many others have had their records completely falsified to suit some psychiatrist’s power agenda or just need to lie and who knows what damage could be done to another fine UVA program if this complete fabrication got out in court or elsewhere and I care about that unlike UVA 5 East psychiatry. 

Oh, and thanks for the fear of sleeping in my own bed and the need to sleep on my couch with a light on.  PTSD from UVA, the gift that keeps on giving and giving.  A special thanks to my delegate who knew that lowering the standard for commitment was not necessary and pushed it anyway for political reasons.  This is the woman who sat in your office and told you what the commitment rate was and you said it was like hitting a flea with a hammer.  Well I’m one of the fleas who got hit, living in your district, afraid to sleep in my own bed. Thank you Delegate David Toscano, former friend to people with disabilities. You might think about starting an investigation or study into the number of folks involuntarily hospitalized unnecessarily under the laws you passed and the rates of PTSD, unemployment, eviction, divorce, family alienation, even suicide since the rate goes up on release. Don’t worry about me, I’m too busy taking my transplant drugs on time, something 5 East couldn’t manage and too busy fighting back for all the other folks affected to give up, much to some’s chagrin..

Stop the Shame, Stop the Blame, Stop the Threats and Use of Force and Then You Can Talk About “Recovery”

I am exceedingly tired of hearing about recovery by mental health administrators and public providers and even some with lived experience.  It has 1) become another way to make people with emotional issues feel inadequate if they don’t meet societal norms that most without emotional issues don’t meet these days (most American households are single adults, the ranks of the unemployed and underemployed are high, those who don’t comply with health recommendations are legion etc.)  and 2) is not possible in an atmosphere of continued shaming and blaming and high expressed emotion with low willingness to listen by mental health providers, especially in psychiatric units and hospitals and in an atmosphere of coercion with the ultimate threat of violence in a take down and restraint and isolation still available in every psychiatric hospital except perhaps those for the rich and even there those who can not fit in risk transfer to the coercive regular psychiatric hospital.  There can be no recovery in an atmosphere of coercion, blaming and shaming.  Mental health providers, especially psychiatrists, have to stop having it both ways by both insisting people with emotional differences have a real illness and emphasizing to the public and to their patients that they are bad and not good enough for society and need to be fixed to have a reasonable life.   Medical doctors of people with life threatening diseases whose patients may well die on them often do not imply nor tell their patients that they are to blame for their illness and need to take responsibility in order to fit into society.  They offer their advice and voluntary treatment and the best and even the mediocre try to provide hope and encouragement and support for the hard work of medical treatment.  Medical doctors and nurses warn their patients when a procedure will hurt.  Mental health workers and psychiatrists pretend that huting and humiliating their patients by taking them down leaving bruises, injecting them, tying them up and isolating them and mocking them is good treatment and never tell their patients it will hurt them and leave scars that will give them shame and nightmares and fear and low self esteem for the rest of their lives. 

Let us stop pretending we are ready to talk about recovery in a system that still uses power as its main “treatment” modality.  It is not possible, it is harmful and it has already stolen too many lives and souls.  I am taking my soul back but I have lost too many years of my life to the scars of psychiatric mistreatment, not just my kidneys, that is almost the least of it, but the self-blame and the fear and the shame have made me afraid of interaction with others, made me feel less than, enabled a bully in my circle to bully me for 26 years until this weekend when she continued to bully but I broke the cycle by standing up to her, perpetuated my problems and now, after years away from psychiatric power misuse and coercion changed my life yet again, made me question my life, made me fragmented for a time, made me unable to do what I used to be able to do effortlessly.  I will survive and thrive this time because I faced down every implanted fear and shame and lie this time, but how many years were lost, how much potential and how many will not survive and will and are having their lives wasted by the abuse of power and shaming and blaming?  It is time to stop, way past time.  If psychiatry and public mental health systems will not control their own acting out it is time for society to act and take away their power over the lives of others once and for all until they can prove they have anything to offer that is more  helpful than harmful.

Thank You UVA 5 East for Fabricating My Medical Record

Gee, does anyone who knows me think I have a New York City accent, because UVA’s psychiatric record writes that I am from New York and was hospitalized there.  Interesting since I have not visited NYC in 25 years and NEVER lived there.  Also very interesting is that they found it “significant” that I had recently dropped off on my mental health advocacy after being President of the Governor’s Commission on Mental Health.  Well A. There is no such Commission in Virginia, B. I would sure like to have been President of such a Commission if it existed but that was never going to happen in the real world I live in as opposed to UVA psychiatry and C) in what way have I dropped off my mental health advocacy? I am still past-President of the Virginia Mental Health Planning Council and although the powers that be helped by someone I thought was my friend have kept me off every committee of importance other than that since then and even revamped the Supreme Court Commission’s website in such a way that the Commitment Taskforce on which I served and spent much hard work and its non-consensus report is almost impossible to find, I am still here, still advocating, still making noise about human rights and still afflicting the comfortable and comforting the afflicted.  And I still have advocate friends in high places who let me know what is going on and strive to get me included despite the dangers of doing so since I am persona non grata to many people who are not used to any kind of disagreement or criticism from “the likes of me”, a person with lived experience, with years of work experience in the MH system and with a degree, intelligence and a computer to write on……….

There are worse fabrications on my medical record, all from psychiatry and none from nephrology but those must wait for another day when they have been confronted as they involve other people and could terribly hurt a program that helps so many in our region if ever found by a federal agency.  But apparently being right and bullying patients is more important to Dr. B. than the very lives of children and adults in our area.  Not being Dr. B., I won’t endanger their lives because I have something she appears not to have, a conscience and a caring heart and a sense of obligation and gratitude to those who actually save lives instead of destroying them in the name of medicine.  Can we go back to calling hospital psychiatrists alienists now? Pretty please?  The rest of medicine would thank us I am sure.

How Many Dogs and Cats Die or Suffer Each Year Because Virginia’s TDO Screening Does Not Ask About Pets in the Home?

When people are involuntarily detained in an ER in Virginia an unlicensed Community Services Board employee comes in and goes through a screening form which besides not asking about domestic violence, leading to a preventable murder trial in Fairfax in the last few years, also does not ask about pets in the home.  Picture a pet owner strapped to a gurney with a non-licensed clinician going through an inadequate form, trying to answer questions usually after being shot up with Haldol and barely able to speak and ask yourself if the question if not asked, how many barely conscious adults will remember to tell this person with the power of freedom or hell over them that they have a dog or cat at home that needs feeding and walking and tending?  Not too many is my guess.  Do hospitals ask about pets in the home? No, they do not.  So unless the person being locked up against their will for being different or annoying or unable to care for themselves supposedly or suicidal sometimes has friends or family who still act like they care and who have keys to their homes and will take on the care of a dog or a cat, a dog or cat or more than one dog or cat may starve to death or suffer with no water or end up dead for the person locked up “for their own good” to find on their return from the hell that are all our psychiatric hospitals in this great state.  Good job Virginia!

The “Abuse Excuse”, Not What You Think It Is

I’m sure you have heard the term the “abuse excuse” used to say that people who commit crimes or even people who don’t fit in are using the “abuse excuse” if they mention a history of trauma.  Well my observations in this town and others is that the REAL “abuse excuse” is the excuse for abusive behavior towards people labelled with psychiatric problems used by not just professionals but many family members as well.  I heard a young man blame himself for his mother shaking the car and putting him out on the side of the road because, get this, he kept talking when she asked him to stop.  This was her excuse for her abusive behavior towards her adult and conveniently psychiatrically labelled adult son.  He blames himself and does not even see this as abuse.  Do you think he is getting any help obtaining insight into the ways his mother continues to damage him emotionally into adulthood at Region Ten? Think again.  There is no family therapy available at Region Ten.  There is virtually no therapy available at Region Ten.  There are drugs and a clubhouse to perform simple tasks for free and for some services in the home and “case management” to refer to services that are increasingly not available but no chance to process what happened to someone that put them into the position of identified patient in their family.  Why? I could say I blame the patriarchy and I do.  Psychiatry has been misogynistic since its founding and men are hurt by this too because a man who breaks under abuse is still seen as feminine in our town and our culture and thus is a victim of misogyny just as much as a woman.  And because there has NEVER been a woman Commissioner of Mental Health etc. in Virginia, remarkable even for a Southern state and because there has NEVER been a woman director of Region Ten, remarkable even for Virginia.  But that is only one layer, the utter dominance of men in the administrative positions of power at the state and local level in mental health.  Not to mention the completely white board of Region Ten and the completely white top administrative structure of our Department of Mental Health soon to change its name to something more descriptive of what it’s about, the Department of “Behavioral Health” since emotions have no place in our system of care for those who ask for or are forced into our mental health system in Virginia in the main.  Some areas still have therapy available, some may even have family therapy, but neither are “evidence based practices” and neither are reimbursed at a rate to pay their way nor encouraged by the state. 

Our mental health system in this country began to maintain the social order by locking up women and men who couldn’t or wouldn’t fit in, were poor, were “bad” wives, were going through menopause, were unable to get over a romantic loss in the proper amount of time, were a financial burden on their families or communities and back in the beginning the heads of the state institutions were called keepers not doctors nor directors and the caretakers were called “alienists” not M.D.’s and certainly not psychiatrists because psychiatry had not been invented yet. 

How much have things changed since then? Well common mythology is that things have improved oh so much since the bad old days.  I’m here to say that’s not true, things just look different than they used to and the worst oppressions have gone underground where most can’t see them.  No longer can the public go gawk at people in state hospitals but then again, neither can the public see what actually goes on in state hospitals and the people who get out aren’t listened to and only talk amongst themselves.  We have a psychiatric unit at UVA and at Martha Jefferson run by UVA.  We have an ECT machine at Martha Jefferson, the only one in miles around, people come from West Virginia to be “treated” with it.  How many readers from the Charlottesville area even knew that? How many know that involuntary ECT is still legal in Virginia? How many knew that more commonly an “authorized representative” chosen by an institution head or doctor is allowed to “volunteer” an unwilling patient for ECT with no hearing and no oversight by anyone?

How many know that drugs are coerced on many, many people in our community in their own homes as a condition of having housing or services or sometimes even staying out of jail? How many knew that commitment hearings in this region are a joke with a 99.5 per cent commitment rate?  How many knew that 2 doctors with no training in competency examinations can simply declare any psychiatric patient incapacitated and appoint a family member to make all decisions for them or if they think that won’t work simply get a “Judicial Authorization of Treatment” without any history of non-compliance with treatment nor proof of its need at all?  With this they can force a person to take any and all drugs against their will with the threat of restraints and a needle to back them up.  And if those threats don’t work there is always the threat of sending someone from UVA to Western State for up to 6 months. 

How many knew that all possessions are routinely taken from patients admitted to UVA 5 East including human rights booklets with a phone number to call if ones rights are violated.  Booklets being so dangerous of course.  That cell phones are taken and left on for the battery to die and patients not allowed to make a phone call to a friend or lawyer before they lose all their contact numbers?  How many knew there is no right to a phone call for someone detained under a temporary detention order? How many knew that someone with connections will get out if they have memorized the right phone numbers and someone without or who hasn’t memorized their numbers will not? 

Back to the “Abuse Excuse”. People who are labelled mentally ill have one of the highest rates of child and adult abuse and trauma experiences in the population.  Is this even a question on the routine screening for detention? No it is not.  Are there services for trauma survivors that they want? No, not at Region Ten which hands out booklets and uses CBT otherwise known as clean up your behavior and don’t think about your past among the abused who have experienced it. 

I have met too, too many abuse survivors in our community looking for or supposedly receiving services from Region Ten and UVA. What I see is re-enactment of their abuse and denial of their real experiences and covering up of their feelings and possible insight and recovery with heavy duty and medically and brain shrinking drugs that make money for big pharma.  What I see is a lack of basic respect for people who have survived trauma with a Region Ten website that still says “Our Consumers” and “For Our Staff” and doesn’t even get how disrespectful and accurate as to their attitude this is.  What I see is an Albemarle County Board of Supervisors who listens to the director of Region Ten who doesn’t want any out and outspoken people with lived experience on his board, a director who is patronizing and rude to outspoken people with lived experience.  What I see is co-optation of anyone who shows signs of becoming a leader who isn’t too stubborn to be bought or praised into toeing the Region Ten line.

What I see makes me very sad and angry for my people and not hopeful about the future.

Thank You to 2 Catholic Hospitals for Telling Me Being a Lesbian Was Mental Illness

Misercordia, I don’t remember the psychiatrist’s name, but he was so confident that I was delusional that I was a lesbian.  Sacred Heart Hospital, who violated my rights in so many ways and wanted me to quit graduate school to go on welfare and live in a group home with no sex, I remember your telling me so many times that my lesbian therapist had corrupted and misled me and that you refused to let her visit me.  You kept me so many days longer than others until I gave in and said I wasn’t a lesbian, I was crazy.  Just like 5 East tried to convert me to bipolarism instead of the reality of a common steroid reaction  to for 6 + months, 2 Catholic hospitals tried to convert me to the idea that lesbianism was a delusion and a mental illness.  The only difference is neither of the Catholic hospitals threatened to send me to a state hospital even though that was so much more common all those years ago and 5 East decided I belonged in Western the first day I got there.  For my hereticism I guess.  If psychiatry isn’t a religion, a false one, than I guess it is more like the Spanish Inquisition, but not the funny kind.  Thanks for all you have done to mess up my life with your false prophecy and arrogance and moralism in the guise of medicine and most of all, your bigotry.  Your welcome is that I am still here and I am free to be whoever I want to be and you can not force toxic drugs on me and you can not hinder my free speech outside your snake pits.  Nor can you threaten me with physical assault without being arrested.  So sad.  For you.

Thank You UVA 5 East for the Bruises that Lasted 25 Days, I Finally Went Swimming Today

How could I forget to mention the bright red bruises on both arms that I left UVA5 East with on May 30th? I noticed they were fading to yellow this week and by today they were completely gone, so let’s round it off at 25 days of being marked and reminded of psychiatric assault and being re-traumatized every day even after I left your snake pit.  Huh, you have video cameras in the halls but don’t as is standard practice elsewhere for 20 plus years take a record of marks on your patients as they arrive and leave?  Wonder why.  Well no I don’t wonder why, you have your reasons I’m sure.  Assault is assault is assault.  Oh and how could I forget to mention that the 600+ dollars would have been much more money if I had not requested a change from the dis solvable, newest and most expensive version of Zyprexa that money conscious  UVA  prescribed to me in the hospital while changing my beta blocker to one I wasn’t supposed to have to save money.  Huh, what’s up with that? How much money was my decent insurance charged for an unnecessarily expensive drug proven to “work” no better than generic drugs in many independent studies? Guess that lack of submission of information on drug company ties I blogged on some time ago might mean something after all? Or is it all a big coincidence that the most expensive drug was prescribed to someone with insurance that would pay for any drug inpatient and not to someone whose insurance would not? 

And thanks for suggesting that the nurse who disliked me the most and tried to limit my water supply once which is dangerous to my kidney be one of the people for our informal meeting next week.  Too bad I remembered who she was–see previous nursie post.  Do you really think there is anything any nurse can say that will intimidate or embarrass me? I was given toxic drugs, drugs that made me crazy at dangerous doses, I was not taken off the drug that clearly caused my problem in the first place and now you think I feel responsible for anything I did or didn’t do while I was in your snake pit? That would be a big no or put it this way–I feel as responsible for my behavior as a woman who was given a mickey or GBH by a date.  That of course is a crime in our state, unfortunately what you did to me is still legal for now and unfortunately the chief perpetrator is conveniently out of the country and the hospital’s lawyer, usually so resourceful, just can’t seem to figure out who the 3rd member of the team was, a fellow who will be out of UVA before our meeting.  How convenient this sudden lack of research skills in a long experienced general counsel.  How stupid do you think I am? Keep thinking that way,  I like it, it helps me every time you over estimate yourselves and underestimate me, so keep it up and make me happy.  Except for the bruises and the renewed phobias and the lost time and the money I can’t afford and the worry to my friends, except for all that you arrogant poor excuses for professionals.

Thank You for Setting Me Back at Least 6 Months in my Recovery 5 East at UVA

Thank you for listening to my mother who was diagnosed bipolar when I was a teenager and never accepted the diagnosis and most likely has PTSD also and is now losing her short term memory as if she were anyone you should listen to about her daughter.  Thank you for calling someone in my family who didn’t even know my diagnosis had changed because we only started talking again recently after I got out of your charming facility with its crazy-making ways. 

Thank you for listening to everyone but me and your preconceived, one size fits all notions, not science nor medicine nor even art about what  my diagnosis must be even as I got worse and worse under your so called care.

Thank you for pretending or actually not knowing what dissociation and sleep walking are even though they are listed in the DSM, the same place your flavor of the day, bipolar, which is not properly treated with atypicals someone has had previous bad reactions to nor with Lamictal which raises creatinine and is bad for kidneys and may cause Parkinsons’ or Tardive Dyskensia in susceptible, such as me, individuals according to an M.D. who is researching this now unlike you whose responsibility it was and most of all, thank you for violating my human rights and the standard of care over and over and over and forcing your resident to sign her name to your so called treatment plans to evade responsibility or because you were too lazy.

Thank you for telling me my bladder would burst if you didn’t do an “in and out” catheterization which you wanted to do in my bedroom until I objected and for not calling in experienced medical nurses to do it leaving me with pain and trouble urinating for several weeks not to mention the nightmares and fear of sleeping in my own bed.

Thank you for assuming me I could not drive at 52 as I was on my way out the door.  Insults are always a great way to say good-byel.

Thank you for confiscating my human rights booklet in my purse which could harm no one but could have helped me a lot.

Thank you leaving me blowing in the wind for services when I left by listing non-available to me services in my discharge plan, the one I never got a copy of but my providers did.

Thank you for discharging me on what your eldest psychiatrist called a dangerous dose of Zyprexa on the pretext that you could not lower it and scaring  me yet again.

Thank you for putting me on 3 drugs that were either listed as ones I could not take or were dangerous to my kidney and over all health, those being Inderal, Zyprexa and Lamictal.

Thank you for the shakes I have from Lamicatal which my nephrologist is resesarching as I write-well hopefully he is sleeping, but he is reseraching it because he said there are bad side effects.

Thank you for ignoring my licensed clinical psychologist and my psychiatrist.

Thank you for my fear of sleeping in my own bed due to putting a male sitter in my bedroom at your fine establishment despite my trauma history, oh right, you don’t believe in trauma, G-d help our veterans when put under your care.

Thank you for threatening me with Western State Hospital for a one time psychiatric side effect from a medication I had been begging to go off for 6 months and still not taking me off of it but choosing to blame and shame me instead and not consult nephrology who could have told you what the problem was.  Oh and a special thanks for being disrespectful to my very well respected and elder nephrologist when he went above and beyond to help me out.

Thank you for not listening.

Thank you for being rude to my lawyer, incredibly rude.

Thank you for scaring me each and every day.

Thank you for not informing me of my rights under Medicare in a way I could understand at the time so I could have avoided the fear of being transferred to Western.

Thank you for making me sleeping for 3 nights through noise and fear the criterion for my release.

Thank you for never offering me comfort nor a therapist to talk to about my fears and trauma in your  unit.

Thank you for allowing a man to touch himself in front of me and a very young woman and not listening to the young woman and letting this man go around looking for who complained about him.  I hope this young woman is okay.

Thank you for being disrespectful, hostile, arrogant and bullying every single treatement “team” meeting.

Thank you for the non-existent referral to available and helpful resources in our town.

Thank you for telling me I did not deserve anything better than traumatic treatment plans.

Thank you for telling me I was not dissociating when I opened the wrong doors when I was and calling me a bad person yet again.

Thank you for your blindness to my actual problem, which was you and steroids and dissociation to escape the trauma of being told my bladder might burst with no gentleness and certainly no debriefing let along ordinary human kindness.

Thank you for letting me know once again what I had suppressed: that I am not a person with rights once in a psychiatric ward.

Thank you for being you, may your treatment team which has bullied and railroaded so many be disbanded by the adults very soon.

Thank you for the flashbacks and the nightmares.

And thank you for every previously overcome phobia which have returned in full force and most of all, thank you for locking me inside for 2 weeks of my favorite time of year: 2 weeks I will never get back and months of recovery from your re-traumatization.

What Part of 12 Hours Apart Exactly Doesn’t 5 East Understand Inre Transplant Drugs?

Ever since my transplant in October of 2008 I have taken my anti-rejection drugs 12 hours apart.  It’s not that hard, well not after I learned to use my cell phone alarms, but apparently it is too hard for medical doctors on 5 East to understand and execute.  During my stay they consistently were either late or early with my anti-rejection drugs and when I mentioned 12 hours for all drugs was easier a nurse agreed but doctors did nothing to ensure I got my oh so importantly timed anti-rejection drugs 12 hours apart.   In fact they got me out of the habit of writing down my intake because I was too busy despite all the trauma and chaos trying to remember and memorize when they gave me my medications including the calcitrol which is every other day so I had it written down by week in the nice book transplant gives out at UVA.  These were the people who were protecting me from what?  I never heard and never knew and it’s taking forever even to find out.   Obstruction all they way.  I asked for my papers repeatedly but was always given the wrong ones.  Oh and just to be clear, you can’t discharge someone to home care if they are homebound Ms. Social Worker nor can you discharge someone to a case manager they don’t have, you haven’t made an appointment with and they are not qualified to use under CSB guidelines.  Why? Because I don’t have a serious mental illness, I have PTSD and that’s not serious.  Anyway, a drug reaction with psychiatric side effects is never a serious mental illness.  But hey docs, let’s spend all my precious time converting me to the one true religion of “you have bipolar” despite what everyone who is a professional and known me for years tells you.  Let’s keep trying until you can find someone out of the loop with no reason to know to agree with you.  Nice work 5 East.  Home and well despite you.  Not to spite you, despite you.  Your drugs made me sicker than I have been in years, luckily I have a smart psychiatrist who is rapidly titrating me off of them and a transplant doctor who has seen many cases of steroid induced psychiatric problems.  And a psychologist from heaven who you tried to argue with who would not argue but who has stood by me as has my psychiatrist.   But hey, you must be right, you are UVA (not even in the top 50 or maybe not in the top 100 in psychiatry) Health Systems’ doctors so you must be omniscient, right.  Hubris, not a pretty thing in action.  Oh and your reputation? Not so great among the other patients.  But keep on keeping loving yourself, you do it so well that I don’t have to.

Hey 5 East, You Might Want to Check This Out, It’s in Your Bible. Or Are You Non-Believers or Atheists?

http://allpsych.com/disorders/sleep/sleepwalking.html

Psychiatric Disorders

---

 

Sleepwalking Disorder (COMING SOON)   Category Sleep Disorders

Subtle Cues You Might Be a Good Mental Health Professional

These are subtle, so you would have to spend the time to look for them and I know that’s hard given today’s economic and reimbursement climate but I list them nonetheless to encourage those who are often embattled and even maybe embittered by the lack of respect and dignity given to their profession, something I know about as a former mental health counselor myself years ago.

First subtle hint:  Your patient or client thanks you after each visit. 

Second subtle hint:  Your patient or client smiles when they see you.

Third subtle hint:  Your patient or client returns to see you voluntarily.

Fourth subtle hint:  Your patient or client feels free enough to speak “French” in front of you. 

Fifth subtle hint:   Your patient or client does not run out of the room screaming nor slam the door when they leave.

Sixth subtle hint:  Your patient or client changes in a positive direction.

Seventh subtle hint: Your patient or client does not change for the worse under your care.

Eighth subtle hint: You have never been sued for malpractice and never been afraid that you might be.

Ninth subtle hint:  Your name is not splashed across Court TV.

Tenth subtle hint:   You believe change is possible and that every human being has the potential for growth.

Someone Alert the True Believers in Psychiatry–Die Gedanken Sind Frei

Patients Win Settlement against Psychiatric Hospital in Canada for Everyday Practices in the United States

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2009/03/19/pinel-settlement.html

1 million Canadian dollars to 200 former patients for being shackled and strip searched and as mainstream media in Canada describe it “treated like criminals” and “mistreated”.  And supportive comments for the patients by citizens below the story!  Can we bottle whatever they have going in Canada and ship it over the border?

We Must Demand Medical Screening of All Involuntarily Treated People in Our MH System

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/15/magazine/15wwln-diagnosis-t.html?emc=tnt&tntemail1=y

This woman could have died, now she is medication free.  But if she lived in Virginia or one of the many other states where forced outpatient and inpatient drugging occurs without adequate medical screening, what do you think her chances of survival would have been?  What are the chances anyone would have explored the possibility that she had a tumor and not a mental illness before sentencing/oops I mean “compassionate forced treatment for her own good” her to take drugs that almost killed her against her will? How many others HAVE died in Virginia because their medical condition was never discovered? 

Yes, medical screenings take time and money.  Cost.  Saving lives? Priceless.

Anna Nicole Smith: Finally Charges Brought Against Her Psychiatrist

It seemed as if Anna Nicole Smith’s psychiatrist was never going to face any consequences for prescribing drugs to aliases, prescribing drugs in outrageous quantities, prescribing addictive drugs to someone who struggled with addiction, but after all this time she is finally being charged with several counts and has been arrested. This may seem like a small thing or a trivial topic, but it isn’t, because Anna Nicole Smith was a person in trouble, a person who wanted or needed help after the death of her son and instead of grief counseling or support, all she got was drugs and far too many of them.  Unfortunately this is also the case for far too many folks who do not have Anna Nicole Smith’s money or celebrity status.  When folks suffered a death in the family when I was younger, we offered counseling and support in our mental health centers to deal with a normal reaction to a great loss.  Now counseling is very hard to come by in our public and it seems even sometimes in in our private mental health system and a person who is grieving who does not know about or have access to grief counseling is likely to be prescribed a pill rather than given the chance to talk their pain through with a supportive, trained person or group.  So I am glad to see charges brought against a psychiatrist who failed to look at the needs of her patient (allegedly) and just gave her more and more drugs until the drugs finally killed her patient.

Treatment Advocacy Center, So Many False Assumptions, So Little Time to Correct Them :)

I know the Treatment Advocacy Center folks are trying very hard to improve their image, I see their efforts to be more compassionate and less fear-mongering about people with psychiatric disabilities/diagnoses/histories, but it seems they just can’t stop themselves from making huge assumptions about the relationship between mental illness and homelessness. 

I wonder if the good folks at the Treatment Advocacy Center are aware of how many people diagnosed with mental illness are put out on the street by their families of origin?  Or how many are not allowed to come home if they leave home and then realize they need support and help only a family could give?  Or how many parents have bought into or been fooled into believing “tough love” is appropriate for their children in emotional distress?  I am aware of it.  I know too many people who as young adults, in some cases very young adults, were disowned by their families because they were given a serious mental illness diagnosis.  It is not the majority of folks of course, but it is a real and not uncommon phenomenon. How exactly will more forced outpatient treatment laws, which is what the good folks at the Treatment Advocacy Center want, help any of these people who have been disowned by their families and forced onto the streets or left on the streets?  If a person, any person, is homeless, what they need first is a home.

And how does the Treatment Advocacy Center make the leap from homelessness to jail? Sure some people end up in jail for status crimes who also happen to be homeless but to write that the choice is homelessness or jails is a big reach.  The choice is giving people who are homeless a place to live and lay their head or not making that commitment as a society and as individuals.  Unfortunately in most places in this country we have not made the commitment to provide a safe place to lay their head for every citizen who through hard times or hard situations or disownment due to emotional crisis has become homeless.  I would opine we have made a bad choice in that regard and that no amount of expensive outpatient commitment programs will help if we do not make the decision as a society to support people through hard times with at least a  bed and food. 

Yes, homelessness will get worse with these bad economic times and yes living on the streets will cause some folks to go into an emotional crisis and all to be unhappy and distressed, how could it not?  But no drug will fix their distress when it is caused by no place to call their own or even a pillow inside to lay their head on.  If a person, any person, is homeless, what they need first is a home.

Okay, that’s all I have time for tonight, tune in for more updates on the good but assumption-prone folks at the Treatment Advocacy Center as I have time.

From the Treatment Advocacy Center’s new and improved blog that still allows no comments and has no RSS feed (silly rabbits, no RSS feed is for kids ).

“Too many people with mental illness end up homeless. People with untreated psychiatric illnesses constitute one-third, or between 150,000 and 200,000 people, of the estimated 744,000 homeless population. The quality of life for these individuals is abysmal. Many are regularly victimized.

For some of those homeless, it is often part of a cycle between life on the streets and jail.  A choice no one, especially someone with a serious illness, should face.
When someone with a mental illness lives on the streets, they face a number of threats from the environment and weather, the lack of sanitation, theft, and violence.  At any given time, there are approximately twice as many people with untreated severe psychiatric illnesses living on America’s streets than are receiving care in hospital.

Given the current state of the economy, many fear the problem will grow worse. 
“With the nation and state in recession, the problem is likely to grow before it improves, but how a society treats those citizens who most need the help of other people or institutions says a great deal about it,” wrote a recent editorial in the Tennessee Knox News Sentinel.  Like in other states, the jail there has become the state’s largest mental hospital. 

Living on the streets-and all that it entails-is a difficult circumstance for someone without a severe mental illness to adapt.  For someone with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder it can be a living hell. 
There need to be better alternatives.  The choice between life on the streets and jail is not choice at all.  As the Tennessee paper wrote, “Jail is not the proper place for any society to house homeless people with mental health issues.”"

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Children Left in Old Vermin-Infested Barracks by North Carolina Mental Health System

Makes Virginia look good anyway….What is wrong with people is all I can really say about this one.  Children as young as 5, not that different than Virginia where children as young as 3 and 4 have been admitted to our children’s state hospital, but in North Carolina  left behind in unhealthy conditions including poor heating in winter and poor air conditioning in summer because they built a new state hospital but didn’t make enough room for children.  Well kids should never be with adults anyway, but what was the plan here?  Throw away the kids?  They are just kids with psychiatric labels so who cares?  They may be foster kids so who cares?  Some will be orphans so who cares?  I’m a little old for the history of the meme “failed” but I think this just might be the place to use it: North Carolina Mental Health System for children for Failed, just Failed. 

RALEIGH, N.C., Feb. 24 (UPI) — Mentally ill children at a state hospital in North Carolina remain in an old Army barracks while older patients have been transferred to a new building. 

Conditions in the John Umstead Hospital are so bad that a job posting for a social worker last year warned potential candidates, The (Raleigh) News & Observer reported.

“Because of the age of the building, there is a constant battle against ants and roaches,” the posting said. “The heating and air conditioning units are unpredictably hot/cold regardless of outside temperatures (i.e. 80-plus degree in summer and/or 50 … in winter).”

The new Central Regional Hospital about a mile from Umstead proved to be too small to take all the patients, so the children , some of them as young as 5, were left behind. About 40 are being treated there. 

In addition to the problems with heat and vermin, the gym was closed down last month to be tested for mold contamination.

Vicki Smith, executive director of Disability Rights North Carolina, said the children should be moved immediately.

“We’ve never been really happy with the kids in the larger facility,” Smith said. “We are less happy with the kids in the old, outdated facility that, quite frankly, they determined was unsuitable for the adults to be in.”

© 2009 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

What I Would Write if Virginia Wasn’t an Authoritarian Commonwealth

Humor: What Can We Expect to be Named a Mental Disorder Next?

The New York Times ran an article a few weeks back on “Scrupulosity” as a possible mental disorder according to one psychiatrist.  I didn’t write about it at the time and therefore have lost the link, but it got me thinking about what else might end up being diagnosed as a mental disorder next? Here are some of my predictions, feel free to add your own in comments .

1.  Compulsive Obedience to the Law. 

This disorder is characterized by

 1) no parking nor speeding tickets over a patient’s entire lifetime despite possession of a driver’s license.

2) No criminal record, not even any misdemeanours in youth, youth being defined as under 50 years old…

3) Insistence that others not break the law in front of them nor ask them to break the law in any fashion.

4) Annoying others by asking them to follow their own rules and regulations.

2.  Celibacy-

This disorder is characterized by an unhealthy adherence to religious or personal  beliefs and can lead to:

1)  lack of children

2) lack of unsafe sexual practices

3) lack of morning after regrets/remorse/what was I thinking due to lack of one night stands.

Community Organizing

This disorder is characterized by an unhealthy interest in the welfare of others and can lead to:

1) actively encouraging people without power to speak up for themselves

2) getting people in dis-empowered groups together and helping them to become an organized group with a voice

3) and worst of all:  Becoming President of the United States of America

SB 1142 Senate Substitute Elimates Civil Rights in Health Care for Every Virginia Citizen

http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?091+ful+SB1142S1

B. If there is no individual eligible to make health care decisions in subsection A, the patient’s attending physician shall be authorized to provide, continue, withhold, or withdraw health care without obtaining a court order if such health care decision has been affirmed and documented as being ethically acceptable by the health care facility’s ethics committee, if one exists, or by two physicians who are not currently involved in the treatment of the patient and who did not make the determination that the patient was incapable of making an informed decision.

If you live long enough or even if you are young, you have every chance of being considered incapacitated at some point through accident or illness.  The Senate version of SB 1142, the bill that allows research not for their benefit on incapacitated and dying patients, now has a section added that says that if you have no advanced directive and no willing or available family member to act on your behalf, two doctors or an ethics committee (who are appointed by hospitals and one of which approved the Ashley X treatment out West) to decide to give you care you may not want or to withhold care you would want if you could communicate your wishes.  This bill essentially leaves no Virginia citizen safe from unwanted medical interventions or unwanted withdrawal of medical interventions.  

In addition, this bill is clearly aimed at people with psychiatric diagnoses, not people with dementia or Alzheimer’s as some have claimed as no where is dementia mentioned, but “severe and persistent mental illness” is specifically mentioned as a grounds for guardianship and a right for a guardian to admit a person without due process to a psychiatric facility for 10 days with no hearing, no lawyer, no protections against abuse of the law by bad actors at ALL. 

You thought last year was bad? This year the Virginia General Assembly is trying to take away all rights to make our own health care decisions if we even end up delirious from a temporary condition and G-d forbid have a disability or illness that some doctors consider our life a “life not worth living” or alternatively some doctor wants to give your family member a drug that could kill them such as an anti-psychotic to an elderly person with dementia instead of Alzheimer’s specific drugs which do not have the high risk of heart attack and stroke that commonly prescribed  psychiatric drugs do to the point where numerous articles clearly not read by the General Assembly have come out this year warning of the dangers to the elderly of psychiatric drugs in common use. 

Your only protection against this bill is to never have a serious car accident resulting in temporary incapacity, not have a label of “serious mental illness” pinned on you at any point in your life and that can be interpreted to include severe depression, to never have an illness that results in temporary unconsciousness, in short, to never get old and never get sick or injured. 

We are back to doctors as G-ds and incredible and dangerous intrusion by the state of Virginia into our most private and personal values and decisions including our right to live. 

This bill is crossing over.  If you don’t care if your civil rights are being further eroded, don’t do anything.  If you do, write your Senator and Delegate and tell them you will not stand for this incredible intrusion into your civil rights and liberty interest in your medical care and in your right to decide how and whether you die.  Or move to another state (except Texas) that still believes in individual rights to puruse life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.  Thomas Jefferson would hang his head in shame and so should the General Assembly of Virginia if they pass this bill as written.

Large Study Shows Mental Illness Without Drug Abuse Is Not Correlated With Violence

Mental illness alone is no trigger for violence

The Associated Press

Monday, February 2, 2009

CHICAGO: A new large U.S. study challenges the idea that mental illness alone is a leading cause of violence.

Researchers instead blame a combination of factors, specifically substance abuse and a history of violent acts, that drives up the danger when combined with mental illness in what they call an “intricate link.”

People with serious mental illness, without other big risk factors, are no more violent than most people, according to the study of more than 34,000 U.S. adults. The research was released Monday in Archives of General Psychiatry.

“Mental illness can provide the knee-jerk explanation for the Virginia Tech shootings,” but it’s not a strong predictor of violence by itself, said lead author Eric Elbogen of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine.

Elbogen compiled a “top 10″ list of things that predict violent behavior, based on the analysis.

Younger age topped the list. History of violence came next, followed by male gender, history of juvenile detention, divorce or separation in the past year, history of physical abuse, parental criminal history and unemployment in the past year. Rounding out the list were severe mental illness with substance abuse and being a crime victim in the past year.

After the 2007 Virginia Tech killings by a student ordered to get psychiatric treatment, some states considered laws adding mental health questions to background checks for gun buyers or denying weapons to people who’ve been involuntarily committed for mental health treatment.

The new research, which bolsters other similar findings, raises questions about such laws, experts said. Such legislation may be both ineffective and discourage people who need help from getting treatment.

“We are being misled by our own fears,” said Columbia University psychiatry professor Dr. Paul Appelbaum, who wasn’t involved in the new study. “We ought to be concerned about providing good treatment and helping people lead fulfilling lives, not obsessed with protecting ourselves from phantom threats that appear to be unrelated to mental illness.”

U.S. systems to treat mental illness and substance abuse are separate, uncoordinated and could do a better job treating people with both problems, Appelbaum said.

For the new study, the researchers analyzed data from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions. The original survey in 2001-2002 involved more than 43,000 face-to-face interviews with a representative sample of American adults. Three years later, many of the same people, more than 34,000, were interviewed again.

Questions about violence in both interviews included:

_”Ever use a weapon like a stick, knife or gun in a fight?”

_”Ever hit someone so hard that you injured them or they had to see a doctor?”

_”Ever start a fire on purpose to destroy someone’s property or just to see it burn?”

_”Ever force someone to have sex with you against their will?”

From the responses, the researchers determined what elements raised the risk of violent behavior.

There were 3,089 people deemed to have severe mental illness — schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and major depression — but no history of either violence or substance abuse. They reported very few violent acts, about 50, between interviews.

But when mental illness was combined with a history of violence and a history of substance abuse, as in about 1,600 people, the risk of future violence increased by a factor of 10.

The relationship between mental illness and violence is there, “but it’s not as strong as people think,” Elbogen said.

Predicting who will act violently is complex, said John Monahan, a psychologist at University of Virginia’s law school, who has done similar research but was not involved in the new study.

“It is true that our crystal balls are very murky,” Monahan said. “The vast majority of violence that occurs in American society has absolutely nothing to do with mental illness.”

The large national survey, conducted by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, included people living in shelters, hotels and group homes, as well as houses and apartments, but it didn’t include people living in hospitals, jails or prisons.

Rosanna Esposito of the nonprofit Treatment Advocacy Center in Arlington, Virginia, applauded the study but pointed out the researchers weren’t able to analyze whether the subjects were in psychiatric treatment or not. Medication for serious mental illness can reduce the risk of violence, she said.

___

On the Net:

Archives of General Psychiatry: http://www.archgenpsychiatry.com

To Improve Psychiatric Care, We Have to Start By Reforming Our Jails and Prisons for Adults and Teens

Every time there is a chance of closing a state mental institution people of good will and concern speak up and object.  Why? Why when they know most of these state institutions, especially for children and teens, are not good places for anyone to be?  The answer is that our juvenile detention centers are run like adult prisons and our adult prisons are run like Hells on earth.  We have completely given up on rehabilitation, second chances such as parole in Virginia, educational opportunities for adults in prison, decent, even semi-adequate medical care to the point that people die simply because they are in prison when they get sick, we do nothing about prison rape, even joke about it, we have thrown prisoners, adult and children away as if they were not even human. 

So anyone who has been inside of a jail, prison or juvenile detention center is going to look at a state run facility, no matter how many human rights violations, excessive restraints, patient on patient violence occurrences due to mixing of people who should not be mixed together due to archaic NGRI release policies, even deaths as at Central State Hospital, and think, “well, it’s not as bad as prison or a juvenile detention center.”  And it isn’t.  But that should not be our basis for comparison, people with illnesses who have not committed a crime, 3 year olds who should never be in a state psychiatric institution, should not have to suffer institutional abuse because we have not had the political will to reform our prisons, jails and juvenile detention centers.

So let’s start where we need to start.  Let’s start on prison reform, it’s only as old an idea as the nineteenth century, we’re only in the 21st century, could we just maybe go forwards instead of backwards?

Behavioral Health May Be A More Honest Description of What DMHMRSAS Does and Cares About

I object to to the term “behavioral health”, a term invented by managed care companies, not by individuals who seek mental health or substance use disorder services nor by the folks who treat them.  It is insulting, offensive, all that.  It is the same name used for the sex offender facility in this state.  It is stigmatizing, prejudicial.  But perhaps, for once, the Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse is being honest about who they are and what they do and care about by pushing this name on us with a push poll on their site in the summer in which 3 out of 4 choices included behavioral health and the 4th was too vague to be usable. 

Because DMHMRSAS does care and act only on behavior, not emotions and feelings of people served by it.  DMHMRSAS does not care as an agency about the feelings of people with mental illness nor people with substance use disorders nor people with intellectual disabilities.  They offer practically no services that help people deal with feelings, they do not mandate counseling of any kind in their community services nor in their state hospitals.  They sometimes “act” as if they care about advocates with mental illness they are forced into contact with by federal and state mandates, but most of them, most of the time, are only acting as if they care and a few of them, only if others are watching them. 

So I will oppose this name change but if it passes anyway, I will have the satisfaction of knowing that DMHMRSAS has been forced to be honest for once about who they are and what they do and  who they care about and who they do not care about.  And that’s something.  Not much, but something, because honesty from DMHMRSAS?  Really, that’s priceless.

2 Virginia Psychiatric Solutions Owned Facilities Seek Permission to Break Human Rights Regulations at State Human Rights Committee Meeting on Jan. 23rd in Richmond

 

 

 

 

Notice

The State Human Rights Committee

will consider a request for variance to the

 

Rules and Regulations to Assure the Rights of Individuals Receiving Services from Providers Licensed, Funded or Operated by the Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services

 

at its meeting on

January 23, 2009

Request for approval of variances will be considered from the following providers:

Virginia Beach Psychiatric Center

12 VAC 35-115-110, C16, Time Out

Poplar Springs Hospital

12 VAC 35-115-110, B16, Time Out

Youth

Please consider attending this State Human Rights Committee meeting in Richmond in a show of support for children and adults in facilities owned by Psychiatric Solutions in Virginia as they seek “variances” (permission to legally violate state human rights rules and regulations) for two of their facilities.  You may be excluded from the actual variance hearing but your presence will mean something to the State Human Rights Committee and to these patients and their families.

http://www.dmhmrsas.virginia.gov/documents/HumanRights/ohr-SHRCvariance2009-0123.pdf

 

Psychiatric Solutions Owned Facilities in Virginia–Be Aware, Be Safe

Read Pro Publica’s year end wrap up of their extensive investigation of Psychiatric Solutions facilities across the country here:  http://www.propublica.org/feature/where-things-stand-troubles-with-private-mental-hospital-conglomerate-1231

Virginia

Crawford First Education
825 Crawford Parkway
Portsmouth, VA 23704
757-391-6675 (Phone)
757-391-6651 (Fax)

Cumberland Hospital
9407 Cumberland Road
New Kent, VA 23124
800-368-3472 (Toll Free)
804-966-2242 (Phone)
804-966-5639 (Fax)

First Home Care
1634 London Blvd.
Portsmouth, VA 23704
757-393-7211 (Phone)
757-393-7219 (Fax)

The Hughes Center for Exceptional Children
1601 Franklin Turnpike
Danville, VA 24540
434-836-8500 (Phone)
434-836-8552 (Fax)

Liberty Point Healthcare, Inc.
1110 Montgomery Avenue
Staunton, VA 24401
540-213-0450 (Phone)
540-213-0456 (Fax)
800-496-7941 (Toll Free)

North Spring Behavioral Healthcare, Inc.
42009 Victory Lane
Leesburg, VA 20176
703-777-0800 (Phone)

The Pines Residential Treatment Center
825 Crawford Parkway
Portsmouth, VA 23704
757-393-0061 (Phone)
877-227-7000 (Admissions)

Poplar Springs Hospital
350 Poplar Dr.
Petersburg, VA 23805
804-733-6874 (Phone)
804-861-0076 (Fax)

Virginia Beach Psychiatric Center (VBPC)
1100 First Colonial Road
Virginia Beach, VA 23454
757-496-6000 (Phone)
757-496-4550 (Fax)

Whisper Ridge Behavioral Health System
2101 Arlington Boulevard
Charlottesville, VA 22903
434-977-1523 (Phone)
434-872-1573 (Fax)

Psychiatric Technicians, Psychologists Among Health Workers Not Checked For Criminal Pasts

Health & Science

Many California Health Workers Not Checked for Criminal Pasts

by Charles Ornstein and Tracy Weber December 29, 2008 9:25 pm EST
Tags: California, Nurses

This story was co-published with the Los Angeles Times and also will appear in the Times‘ Dec. 30, 2008 edition.

 

Michael Marcus, a dentist from San Jose, Calif., was arrested in July 2005 for allegedly touching a 17-year-old patient’s breasts and making inappropriate comments to her during an exam. Although he is set to stand trial next month, he still practices without restriction. Marcus said the criminal charges are not true.

California’s failure to check the criminal backgrounds of health professionals extends well beyond nurses, encompassing tens of thousands of doctors, dentists, psychiatric technicians and therapists.

 

The Times reported this fall that regulators had not vetted about 195,000 of the state’s registered and vocational nurses, exposing patients to caregivers with histories of violence, addiction, predatory behavior or corruption.

Prompted by those articles, the state Department of Consumer Affairs has identified 104,000 more professionals from all levels of medical care to add to that tally.

All told, the agency now estimates that close to a third of the state’s 937,100 licensed healthcare workers have not been screened through fingerprint checks.

Licensing boards maintain inconsistent rules about who must be fingerprinted and when. Fingerprints are the primary tool that regulators can use to root out convictions and allow law enforcement agencies to automatically alert regulators if a licensee has ever been arrested.

Those who have not been fingerprinted include almost three-quarters of psychiatric technicians; nearly half of family therapists, social workers and dentists; and 12 percent of physicians.

“We depend on the state of California…to screen out those who are incompetent or impaired or dishonest or otherwise unqualified,” said Julianne D’Angelo Fellmeth, administrative director of the Center for Public Interest Law at the University of San Diego. “If the state doesn’t do that for whatever reason, we’re all in trouble.”

After the reports by the Times, which collaborated with the investigative news organization ProPublica, the state Department of Consumer Affairs moved quickly.

Agency Director Carrie Lopez ordered the 20 health-related boards and bureaus she oversees, including the Medical Board of California, to collect fingerprints from any licensee who had not provided them.

She also told the agencies to begin asking licensees whether they had been convicted of a crime since their last renewal. Other states’ boards, including those in Arizona and Texas, already do that.

Lopez urged regulators to more quickly pursue professionals who may pose a danger to the public.

“I have and fully intend to make use of all resources to ensure that we remove threats to the public safety and well-being of Californians,” Lopez said in a written statement.

The Board of Registered Nursing received expedited approval from the state Office of Administrative Law last month to collect fingerprints from the 147,000 nurses licensed before 1990. The board estimated that the new fingerprinting requirement will cost more than $4 million to implement over the first three years and $1.7 million annually thereafter.

In seeking the requirement, nursing board officials wrote that the Times’ “articles packaged information in a different way and in a different light than the board had done in the past. Moreover, these articles raised the issue with respect to specific licensees with notable criminal histories that the board had never disciplined.”

The Bureau of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians plans to seek a fast-track review for proposed fingerprint regulations. It also has sought to discipline some of those mentioned in the Times’ articles, including Cynthia Knott, convicted in 2007 for selling drugs that had been stolen from her job at the Fresno County Jail to an undercover investigator.

The consumer affairs department, which oversees all licensed professionals in the state, said it is focusing on healthcare first but intends to expand fingerprinting to other boards as well, including those that govern auto repair and contractors.

Fingerprinting requirements originally were adopted because boards believed that some crimes could reflect poorly on a licensee’s character, competence or ability to safely perform the job.

But gathering missing fingerprints has not been a priority.

The Dental Bureau of California, for example, started requiring fingerprints in 1986 but has almost none on file for any dentist licensed before then — some 16,000 people, said Cathleen Poncabare, the board’s executive officer.

 

 

Kiyoshi Fukuda, a dentist from Santa Rosa, is a registered sex offender.

The new background checks will probably flag such cases as that of Kiyoshi Fukuda, a dentist from Santa Rosa.

 

Licensed in 1969, he has a clear record, according to the bureau’s Web site. Yet reporters found that he is a registered sex offender, listed on the state’s Megan’s Law Web site.

Fukuda, 63, was convicted in 1990 of two counts of oral copulation on a child under 16.

 

In an interview, Fukuda said he had disclosed his conviction to the board when he renewed his license years ago and never heard anything back. He closed his private practice in January and said he recently sent a request to the dental board to cancel his license.

The conviction “did not have anything to do with my office, my profession or anything. It was something that was on the private side. But should they have checked? My guess would be yes. …I’ve done everything since then to try to atone for this,” he said.

Poncabare, who has been in her post about six months, said she couldn’t explain why the bureau did not seek fingerprints from every dentist sooner.

“It’s perplexing to me that it was never done,” she said.

Fingerprinting is not always the issue. Some licensing boards have known about professionals’ convictions or pending charges for years but still have not acted.

Michael Marcus, a dentist from San Jose, for example, was arrested in July 2005 for allegedly touching a 17-year-old patient’s breasts and making inappropriate comments to her during an exam.

Prosecutors charged him with misdemeanor sexual battery against three patients, and he is set to stand trial next month. Although the dental board cooperated in the investigation, Marcus continues to practice without restriction, and the board’s Web site lists only a previous disciplinary action against him from 1996. In that case, the dental board suspended him for 30 days and placed him on five years’ probation for fondling the breasts of three patients.

In an interview, Marcus said the criminal charges are not true and should be dealt with by the courts before any action is taken by the dental board. A spokesman for the Department of Consumer Affairs said the board was aware of the case but could not comment on it.

Laura Moskowitz, a staff attorney for the National Employment Law Project in Oakland, said the state should proceed with caution as it gathers arrest and conviction information on health professionals. The law requires proof that the convictions are “substantially related” to the qualifications and duties of the job, she said.

“There are thousands and thousands of people who may have had something happen in the past, and it’s not reflective of who they are today and the kind of work they can perform,” she said.

The Times and ProPublica have found more than 115 recent cases involving registered nurses and an additional 27 cases among vocational nurses in which the state didn’t seek to pull or restrict their licenses until they had racked up three or more convictions.

Many of the convictions involved off-the-job incidents, such as driving while intoxicated, stealing and taking drugs, or petty thefts. But the chaos and impairment often affected the nurses’ ability to care for patients, sometimes in critical-care settings.

 

Weeks later, Cahill-Therrien was fired from a different hospital job after she appeared to be drunk and refused to take a drug and alcohol screening test. Even after the board filed an accusation against her, she was able to get work at another hospital. She was fired after showing up drunk there too, the judge wrote. Her license was revoked in 2007.

Cahill-Therrien could not be reached for comment. Her former attorney declined to discuss her case, citing attorney-client confidentiality.

Linda Whitney, chief of legislation for the medical board, which oversees about 125,000 physicians, said her board plans to seek prints from up to 15,000 physicians licensed before 1968, who have never provided them. But, she said, her board has long used other methods to snag convictions among doctors.

“Could something slip through the cracks? Absolutely,” she said. “There could be a doctor licensed in 1965 that could be convicted next week and we may never hear about it. …For consumer protection, which is our No. 1 mission, we don’t want even one to slip through the cracks.”

This story was co-published with the Los Angeles Times and also appears in the Times‘ Dec. 30, 2008 edition.

ProPublica Investigation: California’s Criminal Nurses

• Board Knew of Nurses’ Criminal Records But Took Years to Act, by Charles Ornstein and Tracy Weber, November 1, 2008
• California Nursing Board Will Require Fingerprints From All Licensees, by Charles Ornstein and Tracy Weber, October 24, 2008
• California Takes Steps to Probe Nurses’ Criminal Backgrounds, by Charles Ornstein and Tracy Weber, October 11, 2008
• Criminal Past Is No Bar to Nursing in California, by Charles Ornstein and Tracy Weber, October 4, 2008

The Stats on Fingerprinting

• 
• Health Care Fingerprinting in California

Document Dive

• Statement from Director Carrie Lopez (PDF), Re: Fingerprinting of Licensees
• Notice Publication/Regulation Submission (PDF), Board of Registered Nursing, State of California
• The Case of Michael Marcus (PDF), Accusation and Settlement Before the Board of Dental Examiners
• Press Release on Michael Marcus (PDF), San Jose Police Department, July 5, 2005

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Regressive Mental Health Laws Inhibit Free Speech

Someone once told me that I don’t share enough about myself on this blog.  I didn’t agree but it is true that there are many important things I never write about on this blog.  Why? Because Virginia, and to be fair, most other states in this country, have now passed such regressive commitment laws that they inhibit my free speech.  Anything I put on this blog could and would be used against me in the kangaroo court they call a civil commitment proceeding under the regressive laws passed as “reform” last year due to the high emotions after Virginia Tech. in which no leader in this state was willing to step up and ask citizens not to take their feelings out on everyone with a psychiatric label or history or mislabel or even the perception of such.  Even George W. Bush eventually spoke publically of the need not to scapegoat American citizens who happened to be Muslim or from the Middle East after 9/11.  But no one in this state had the courage (sic) of George W. Bush when it came to people with psychiatric labels. 

So I don’t write as much these days.  I value honesty and full disclosure, but I value my health and well being and freedom more.   But hey,  free speech isn’t for people like me anyway, who do I think I am?  A law abiding citizen who has never even gotten a parking ticket and has voted  in every election since I was 18 except one where I was too ill? A volunteer for many groups in my community who has probably spent more money volunteering than I ever earned working?  People like me absolutely should not have free speech, that just makes good……..prejudice and bigotry and intimidation.

In France, Psychiatrists Join With Psychiatric Patients in Opposing MOT, Seclusion and National Database of Commitments!

In response to this question, the majority of health care professionals would say that more and more frequently mental health patients are badly cared for both in hospital and when back at home. That is why health professionals and patient support organisations are widely opposed to Sarkozy’s plan.

I wish I was better at learning languages.  Despite several years of studying French, my speaking fluency never reached a high level.  It is so amazing to me, so heartening, so hopeful and yet so discouraging, to see a country where psychiatrists and other mental health professionals are protesting proposed further oppression of psychiatric patients.  They are opposing more seclusion, opposing a national database of involuntary commitments–USA has one and now the FBI has it too–actually telling the truth that psychiatric patients are more likely to be victims of violence than perpetrators, opposing making psychiatric hospitals more prison like and opposing restrictions on outings for patients. 

If psychiatrists in France can be on the same side as their patients, why do we continue to have such refusal to even talk to survivors of psychiatry in the U.S.?  The APA doesn’t want to talk to patients unless they are telling a story of how psychiatry saved their life.  They want to talk to the parents of patients AKA NAMI and ally themselves with them, despite the fact that NAMI supports allowing psychologists to prescribe and most patients and most psychiatrists do not.  What is the APA afraid of?  Or is it just that they feel they are too good to associate with ex-patients in anything but a paternalistic manner? What is DMHMRSAS of Virginia afraid of when they  act two-faced and passive aggressively towards any ex-patient who is critical of them? What would it be like to have a Department of Mental Health that was not fear and retaliation based, where money was not given out based on toeing the party line and not speaking up too loudly or too critically?  Where promises were kept, legitimate business phone calls were returned, opinions did not sway with the wind of politics, accountability was not a dirty word and DMHRMSAS knew what most mature adults in organizations know, that their critics are their best friends in improving their organizations? I must be high on Christmas candy to even dream of such a state of affairs…….

Psychiatrist Starts First of Kind Program to Help Children Who Are on Multiple Psychiatric Medications

Martin Irwin, MD, Professor of Psychiatry at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans School of Medicine, is launching what he believes is a first- of-its kind-program nationally to “Get Kids Off Medicine.”
 
The LSUHSC Get Kids Off Medicine Program, dedicated to tapering and discontinuing psychiatric medication for children being treated with three or more psychiatric medications, is being implemented three half days a week at the LSU Behavioral Science Center at 3450 Chestnut Street. The program accepts Medicaid and most insurance. Discounted and possible free care will be provided to those who qualify based on income.
 
“Along with the increase in prevalence of mental illness in children and youth, is a skyrocketing rate of use of psychiatric medication often as the sole treatment and most commonly to treat disruptive behaviors and aggression,” says Dr. Irwin, who specializes in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. “It is not uncommon for children even as young as five to six years of age to be on multiple medications, as many as four to five at the same time.”
 
Dr. Irwin says the over-medicating of the problems of children in the mental health system is likely to result in misdiagnosis-labeling of behavioral problems that result from interpersonal difficulties, realistic feelings that are not excessive or out of proportion to the child’s real life experiences, or reactions to current life stresses as major psychiatric disorders leading to unnecessary medical treatment. Many of the medications used to treat children are either not approved by the FDA for use in this age group, or are not approved for the indication they are being prescribed.
  
Dr. Irwin notes that optimal treatment, including use of medication, is predicated on complete and comprehensive evaluations leading to reliable, meaningful and valid diagnosis, case formulation and treatment recommendations. He says it is extremely rare that medication should be the sole treatment. A comprehensive treatment plan including, when indicated, recommendations for other mental health interventions, a behavior management plan and psycho educational planning should be part of every evaluation.
  
“Non-medical mental health interventions are generally more effective and should be tried first,” says Dr. Irwin. “One should have a healthy respect for the side effects of the medication and therefore not over rely on it. Overall the medication should be used cautiously and only after other non-medical interventions have been tried and failed.”
 
For more information about the LSUHSC Get Kids Off Medicine Program or to make an appointment, call (504) 412-1582.

This article was originally published in the December 15, 2008 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper

Maine Governor John Baldacci Also Acts to Protect Women and Children From Abuse, What about Virginia?

http://www.bangornews.com/detail/94918.html

The Governor of Maine thinks that increased deaths of women from domestic violence is a crisis and held a press conference to urge routine and universal screening for domestic violence and abuse by all medical providers.  Virginia continues to act as if people with psychiatric labels are never victims of domestic violence nor abuse when in fact all studies show they are at increased risk relative to the rest of the population so if you go to your obstetrician in Virginia you will be screened for domestic violence without any sign of such, just as a universal precuation but if you go to a Community Services Board hysterical after an episode of abuse you may never be asked why you are hysterical and be thrown into a psychiatric ward where you will have the lovely chance to relive the authoritarianism you endured in your own home and now your abuser can tell the police you are crazy if you ever dare to call them when he abuses you.  Great job Virginia, not protecting women with disabilities in so many ways it is hard to keep count.

Maryland Created Database That Will Actually Save Lives, Unlike Virginia Which Created One That Only Creates Fear and Prejudice

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/10/AR2008121001813.html

Virginia created a database of folks who have been committed to a psychiatric unit for any reason including a psychiatric reaction to a prescribed medical medication or temporary inability to care for self years ago and last year made it even more extensive by adding in folks who volunteer for hospitalization after being detained initially.  There is no evidence this database, created years before the massacre at Virginia Tech. ever saved any lives or ever will.   There is every reason to believe that it will  create prejudice and stigma  againtt Virginia citizens who have committed no crime and are no danger to anyone at all and that it will deter people from both seeking treatment for themselves and loved ones and from volunteering for hospitalization. 

Maryland on the other hand created a database that makes sense and will save lives–a database of all court orders around domestic violence that sheriffs can access at any time of day or night without going to a courthouse, impossible in the middle of the night, and which also allows them to print out orders in their patrol cars in case a perpetrator has torn up a protective or restraining order or an order was issued very recently.  In Maryland, men (and a few women) known to be violent and likely to be violent again are in a database that law enforcement can use in the moment to keep victims, including their children, safe and protected.  In Virginia, we have only succeeded in regressing the status of people who have psychiatric issues at any time in their lives and in increasing popular misconceptions that people with psychiatric histories are dangerous which has no scientific basis at all.  But hey, Virginia’s politicians had to show they were tough on….people with disabilities?  G-d forbid Virginia’s politicians showed any sign that they were tough on people who beat their wives and/or children, after all, the Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse does not even bother to check if someone who is detained is in an abusive living situation, and they know best, right?  Oh, except for that unfortunate and preventable killing in Fairfax in which a woman in an abusive relationship was taken to her Community Services Board’s crisis center and no one there seemed to realize the danger of her situation so when she left and was attacked by her abusive boyfriend she killed him in self-defense and was found not guilty months later after being restored to competency because she was defending herself, not because she was mentally ill.  Do you know how innocent she must have been with a psychiatric label in a criminal court to actually be found not guilty?   Ordinary citizens figured it out, but not the trained clinicians at her community services board.  Virginia’s Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse created a new pre-screening form this year.  A perfect opportunity to add screening for abuse to the process, instead they added a nonsensical and non-existent “level of insight” called “blaming” on their pre-screening form.  Sort of telling about their real attitude towards people with psychiatric disabilities, don’t you think?

Locked Wards Harm Psychiatric Patients British Study Finds: Does the U.S Have ANY Unlocked Wards Anymore?

Locked Wards ‘Harm Patients’

by Denis Campbell Guardian November 30 2008

The locking of mental health patients into their wards in NHS hospitals makes them more likely to be violent, harm themselves and refuse medication, new research shows.

Treating people with depression, schizophrenia or manic moods as if they were prisoners is designed to promote safety, but increases the risk of them attacking nurses or fellow patients, according to the study by London’s City University.

‘A locked-doors approach is more likely to leave the patient seeing the ward as a prison, themselves as prisoners and the staff as jailers,’ said Professor Len Bowers, who led the research. He found half of all hospital wards which look after those being treated under the Mental Health Act use a ‘locked doors’ approach.

But Bowers and his team found that it leads to patients feeling frustrated, stigmatized and depressed, and that can result in them being unruly. The policy increases the risk of physical aggression to others by 11 per cent, self-harm (20 per cent) and refusal of medication (22 per cent). The study found that while patients held this way are 25 per cent less likely to escape and commit suicide outside, those who cannot go out are more likely to feel worthless and suicidal.

Strict security does not reduce the 150-strong toll of such patients who take their own life each year, said Bowers. He argued that wards should be unlocked, with staff placed at the entrance to check who enters and leaves. There are about 10,000 people in the UK on acute psychiatric wards.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/nov/30/mental-health-nhs-locked-wards

“All Our Lives We Must Struggle to Rid the Earth of All Such Crimes”

Two Good Arms by Charlie Parker sung by Holly Near

We All Matter

I Aspire To Be Just Like My Father :)

“In the early 1970s, John Szwed, Erving Goffman, and Hymes founded the Center for Urban Ethnography at the University of Pennsylvania. Szwed recalls that Goffman, a renowned sociologist, was famously critical and acerbic in his judgments, but Hymes was never the victim of his coruscating tongue. One day, Szwed asked Goffman why. Goffman’s reply: “That’s because he’s a principled man and principled people are dangerous.”‘

Cesar Chumil’s Company in the Activity Room Looks Really Friendly Doesn’t It?

Male Patient with Criminal History Rapes Female Patient In Bedroom ACROSS From His

http://www. tampabay.com/news/health/article928112.ece

Still no need for giving patients the option of single gender units Virginia?  You are building a new Western State Hospital, unfortunately, and you are not taking advantage of this opportunity to create a building that allows female and male patients to make the choice to live on single gender units.  Not units with a day room in the middle, but truly single gender units/wards is what is needed to keep (mostly) female patients safe.  Also in need of change is Virginia’s system of release of NGRI and lacking capacity forensic patients who in the present system can not be released unless they move up to units where they are mixed with civilly committed patients who have no criminal history.  You can say all you like that those who are convicted are no different than those who are not but I am not buying it, that is just stigmatizing all psychiatric patients and comes from working too long with forensic patients and with released convicts.  We need separate forensic units and we need to make it possible for NGRI folks (until we get rid of this out of date and harmful plea option which leads to more time locked up than simply pleading guilty or being convicted) to be released without putting other patients in danger of being raped in a hospital.

Cesar Chumil Not Moved From Western State, Not Given Spanish Language Treatment, Not Treated Like Human but Technically, Using a Loophole, Not in Seclusion Since Monday

http://www.delmarvanow.com/article/20081205/NEWS01/81205042/1002

The State Human Rights Committee Friday, December 5th, 2008, approved Western State Hospital’s Director Jack Barber’s plan to allow Cesar Chumil to leave his suite but not to interact with his fellow patients even though it has been years since he interacted let alone attacked a fellow patient.  They also are saying he has staff with him but the staff are in protective gear and helmets, so that’s a little like saying having the riot squad or the SWAT team in a large room with you is being “with” “treatment” staff.  Staff who do not speak Spanish which is the language Cesar speaks, so technically Cesar is no longer in seclusion as of this past Monday but in reality, he still has no one to talk to in his language, no active treatment and no chance of regaining lost social skills or overcoming fears of interaction.  In other words, Western State Hospital proposed and the State Human Rights Committee approved, a plan that will do nothing to prepare Cesar Chumil for more freedom or more interaction and certainly not for the claimed plan to discharge him to a community treatment center.  It’s like buying your dog a really big crate and hiring men in protective gear to stand around but never play with your dog and pretending you are taking good care of your dog.  Or raising your child in a really big Skinner’s box.  Choose your own metaphor but this is not what the SHRC originally asked for and is based on fear and suspicion and prejudice towards Cesar Chumil rather than true treatment planning geared towards his unique needs, needs created by Western State Hospital and other state hospitals in the first place.  It almost seems as if Virginia’s DMHMRSAS itself is a fear-based organization.  Fear of litigation, fear of doing something different, fear of criticism, fear of new ideas, fear of change.

How Minnesota Is Observing International Human Rights Day-By Forcing ECT on Ray Sandford Who Lives in the Community

 Ray’s Next Scheduled Involuntary Outpatient Electroshock is:
     10 December — International Human Rights Day!

by David W. Oaks, Executive Director, MindFreedom International

This Wednesday, 10 December 2008, human rights activists all over the
world will be celebrating the 60th anniversary of the signing of the
United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

10 December is the UN’s official International Human Rights Day.

10 December is also the day that Ray Sandford is scheduled to receive
his 35th involuntary outpatient electroshock.

NEW ON WEB: Learn Ray’s story — Frequently Asked Questions About Ray
Sandford Campaign, click here:
http://www.mindfreedom.org/shield/ray/sandford-faq

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

     Latest News on Ray Campaign

Unless action is taken swiftly, then this Wednesday morning, as he
has been for most mornings in the last few months, Ray will be
awakened early by staff in his room at the group residence Victory
House near Minneapolis.

Once more an escort will bring him against his will the 15 miles to
Mercy Hospital, where once more — under court order — doctors will
place electrodes on his head for another electroconvulsive therapy
(ECT), or electroshock, that can and has wiped out precious memories
and cognitive abilities from Ray.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

     The Good News About Ray Campaign:

Because of MindFreedom’s campaign to support Ray Sandford:

* The Minnesota Governor’s office reports receiving “hundreds” of
complaints. Thank you everyone!

* Three agencies are now working to replace Ray’s non-responsive
court-appointed attorney with a new attorney.

* National media has finally interviewed Ray for an upcoming broadcast.

     The Bad News: It is Not Enough! Speak Out Now!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

      ** ACTION ** ACTION ** ACTION **

It is time to take the Ray Campaign up a notch, peacefully but strongly!

Let this become a top issue in the Governor’s office.

Telephone Governor Pawlenty’s office *NOW*:

Call any day, but especially call *before* Ray’s scheduled
electroshock next Wednesday, 10 December 2008.

Call from anywhere in the world phone (651) 296-3391.

  From inside Minnesota phone toll free (800) 657-3717.

You have the best chance of reaching staff from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm
Central Time weekdays.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

     WHY WON’T GOVERNOR PAWLENTY REPLY? Find out! Ask!

Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty has completely stone-walled!

* His office refuses to issue any statement on the policy of forced
electroshock.

* He claims he can do nothing, that the courts are in charge, when he
could at least make sure Ray gets better legal representation for a
stay or appeal.

* His office operators have been instructed to immediately redirect
calls about Ray into a voice mail. No one we know of has ever heard
back. Some operators have hung up on callers.

* Meanwhile, the Governor is sponsoring a $200-a-head luxury hotel
conference about International Human Rights Day!

     It is time to get creative!

* Ray will not give up!

* We will not give up!

* Don’t you give up!

     Please be peaceful, but be CREATIVELY MALADJUSTED in your next
phone calls to Governor Pawlenty’s office.

First, get the name of the operator and write it down. Then start by
asking polite but firm questions about advocacy…

* about citizen input…

* about who to talk to about mental health policy…

* about the names and phone numbers of the Ombudsman office

* about mental health policy and the mental health division…

* about how poor people can have adequate legal representation…

And only then ask about why the Governor is refusing to speak out
about Involuntary Outpatient Electroshock (IOE)?

Insist on speaking to a live real person about this issue.

If you do not get a real person with a real reply, CALL BACK.

If an operator hangs up on you, call back and ask to speak to a
manager and complain.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

REMEMBER:

Telephone Governor Pawlenty’s office *NOW*:

Call any day, but especially call *before* Ray’s scheduled
electroshock next Wednesday, 10 December 2008.

Call from anywhere in the world phone (651) 296-3391.

  From inside Minnesota phone toll free (800) 657-3717.

You have the best chance of reaching staff from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm
Central Time weekdays.

If you do receive any helpful information or leads, e-mail it to news-
at-mindfreedom.org.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

     Learn more about Ray on the all-new “Frequently Asked Questions”
page about the Ray Campaign.

Learn about:

* The back story about Ray.

* How MindFreedom filed an official torture complaint about the State
of Minnesota to the United Nations.

* And what else you can do to help.

Click on the Frequently Asked Questions page here:
http://www.mindfreedom.org/shield/ray/sandford-faq

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A clickable version of above Ray Alert 5 is on web here:
http://www.mindfreedom.org/shield/ray/alert-5-sandford

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

     Get Around the Media Blackout! Forward this human rights alert to
all people who care about human rights, on and off the Internet!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Encourage Everyone to Join MindFreedom International During the Fall
2008 Support Drive

Build the people power it will take to stop the kind of torture that
Ray is experiencing!

For information about how you can join MindFreedom today, click here:

http://www.mindfreedom.org/join-donate

Surprising and Welcome Update to: Virginia Department of Mental Health Complete Whitewash of the Tragic History of Western State Hospital

http://www.dailypress.com/news/local/virginia/dp-va–westernstatehospi0415apr15,0,4147515.story
from the story above and please read the whole story:
In a 1933 report from the board of directors to John G. Pollard, then Virginia’s governor, sterilization is claimed as the facility’s “greatest work”–105 patients that year were prevented permanently from having offspring.

“This is the greatest economical measure we have as it prevents the reproduction of the unfit by the unfit and enables us to turn back into the world, under supervision, these patients without any danger of reproduction or bringing into the world extra burdens for the state in the form of criminals and dependents,” Pollard said. “We have sterilized in the State of Virginia 1,444 patients and Virginia ranks second in the number of sterilizations in the United States.”

Pollard extolled sterilization’s future by referring to another person known to be employing the measure–Germany’s Chancellor Adolf Hitler–and predicted that the measure was becoming a universal idea.

Unlimited institutional stays remained commonplace until the 1960s, when community-based treatments were introduced as the preferred option.

In 1974, a law limited involuntary commitment to a maximum of 180 days.

“Just cause had to be shown in order to extend the commitment up to another 180 days,” Beghtol said.

Someone who returned to Western State on a daily basis was Ralph DeWitt Jr., who worked for Western State for 47 years, beginning in 1953 as an aide then later as a registered nurse. About 3,500 patients lived at the hospital then.

“There’s a stigma about mental illness and the public likes to keep them hidden away,” DeWitt said.

He also said any threatening behavior could be cause to get a person committed.

“It was an easy way to get rid of a (spouse),” he said, adding that the hospital’s primary duty was to warehouse patients.

“It was what the public wanted,” DeWitt said.

“I don’t know if I could’ve stood it. A lot of the behavior was caused by us locking them up. We kept people in seclusion for unlimited periods.”

DeWitt believes assessment is the key to gaining a better understanding of patients.

Today, Western State is a 260-bed facility and is similar to a college campus, providing up to 86 classes per day that teach patients about recovering from their illness, Beghtol said. The system involves three tracks: symptom recognition and medications; total wellness, which includes job and living skills and exercise; and recreation skills.

“We’ve come a long way, but if you have the attitude that the patient is subhuman, they’re going to prove to you they can be,” DeWitt said. “We’ve got a ways to go. They are people, too.”

P>

Information from: The News-Virginian, http://www.newsvirginian.com

So, DeJarnette is mentioned as a long serving director of WSH but no mention of his notoriety as a major promoter and perpetrator of forced sterilization on patients of Western State Hospital and the role that Virginia’s eugenics law played in the mass eugenics in Nazi Germany and even at the Nuremburg Doctor trials?  No mention of his notorious complaint that the Nazis were ahead of Americans when we had invented eugenics?  No mention of torture of patients through insulin comas, cold water packs, beatings and of course always restraints and seclusion.  No mention of forced lobotomies by the notorious Walter Freeman at Western?  No mention of all the folks who had no reason to be there at all who were locked up for life?  Well I guess if you are going to justify tearing down a site of historic torture and human rights violations as if it were just any other set of buildings than you would need to pretend there is nothing to the history of this place to make such a plan abhorrent to decent people who respect the memories of those who have been tortured and mutilated and had their lives stolen in the name of pseudoscience and sexist “morality” and religious intolerance and all the other unconstitutional and un-American happenings at this historic set of buildings. 

Or, you could actually tell the truth as they do on the University of Virginia website about UVA’s role in eugenics or just tell the truth and shame the devil.  

 http://www.wsh.dmhmrsas.virginia.gov/history.htm

Western State Hospital was founded in January 1825 by an Act of the General Assembly becoming the second mental health facility for the Commonwealth of Virginia. A Court of Directors was commissioned by the Governor to select and purchase “a site near the town of Staunton in Augusta County to the West of the Blue Ridge Mountains and to thereupon construct an appropriate asylum for the receipt of patients.”

The original building (which is still standing and registered as a National Historical Landmark) was opened on July 24, 1828, with Mr. Samuel Woodward designated as Keeper, and his wife, Mary Woodward assigned as Matron. A visiting physician, Dr. William Boyes of Staunton, provided care for patients admitted during the early years of the hospital.

The first patient was admitted the morning of July 24, 1828. He was a teacher whose diagnosis was “hard study.” A second patient was admitted that afternoon from Goochland County, Virginia, but remained only a few months at the facility before he escaped. The first woman arrived on July 25, and was admitted with a diagnosis of “Religious Excitement.”

Shortly after the facility opened, it was filled with patients and the Court of Directors implemented an admissions screening process to limit admissions to only those patients “who were either dangerous to society from their violence, or those who were offensive to its moral sense by their indecency and to those cases of derangement where there is reasonable ground to hope that the afflicted may be restored.”

The first director of the hospital, Dr. Francis T. Stribling, was appointed in 1840. He served the hospital until his death in 1874. Dr. Stribling embraced the concept of “Moral Therapy” and was one of the thirteen founders of the American Psychiatric Association. In 1905, a physician who began working at Western State in 1889 as a medical intern was appointed Director of the facility.

Dr. Joseph DeJarnette served as Director from 1905 until 1943, 38 years, which represents the longest tenure of any of the sixteen facility directors serving the facility since its opening.

The facility’s name was changed in 1894 from Western Lunatic Asylum to Western State Hospital. The facility continued to increase in size through the 1950’s and 1960’s with the opening of a second site in 1949-1950. The facility’s patient population eventually increased to above 3,000 at two sites.

Beginning with the Commonwealth’s move toward deinstitutionalization in the early 1970’s, the population declined substantially until, by the late 1970’s, it stood at approximately 1,350. Further reductions were realized over the last fifteen years as hospital programs were related to sister facilities and the communities. A more restrictive criteria for admissions and improved prescreening programs have also been implemented. Substantial improvements in psychopharmacology and community treatment modalities along with earlier intervention have also contributed to reduced census.

In 1978 the University of Virginia (UVA) expanded its affiliation with the hospital providing for joint faculty appointments and the assignment of psychiatric residents and medical students to the facility for training. This program continued to expand with particular highlights in 1985 with the appointment of Dr. Spradlin as the Facility Director at Western State. In 1990, the hospital received the first National Award from the American Psychiatric Association as the exemplary program in Collaborative Services between a public mental health facility and a university.

Western State Hospital has extensive affiliations with colleges and universities involved in all of the major professional groups including. Various staff at Western State Hospital had joint faculty appointments with a number of institutions of higher education; staff with the Department of Psychiatric Medicine interdigitate with hospital programs for the provision of services and educational supervision.

Blacks Disproportionately Involuntarily Committed in the United Kingdom, Also UK Campaigners Fight for Single Gender Wards, Why Not U.S. Advocates?

http://psychminded.co.uk/news/news2008/nov08/mental_health_race_row007.htm

“THE row over the vastly disproportionate rate that black people are detained in psychiatric units intensified yesterday after the release of figures indicating no improvement since the government vowed to tackle the problem three years ago.”

“Campaigners were also furious that the commission’s Count Me In census found 68% of psychiatric inpatients not being on single-sex wards. They are particularly concerned about vulnerable female patients sharing wards with male patients”

Virginia is unfortunately building a new Western State Hospital for millions and millions of dollars but there is no talk at all of providing the option of single gender units to women and men who would prefer them.  And it isn’t even up for discussion.  Why not?

Thanksgiving Greetings to the 2 Million American Citizens in U.S. Prisons and to Everyone In Psychiatric Prison/Hospital on Thanksgiving Day

Western State Local Human Rights Committee Minutes in Which They Deprive Cesar Chumil of His Human Rights, Again

http://www.wsh.dmhmrsas.virginia.gov/docum/LHRC200811.pdf

DRAFT

Western State Hospital

Staunton, Virginia

Local Human Rights Committee Meeting Minutes

Jeffreys Building, Room 95 at 12:30

 

 

 

 

 

November 12, 2008

Present:

 

 

 

 

 

David Reed, Linda Thumma, Ski Washington, Donna Gum, Hal Meyers, Committee

Members; Jerry Thomas, Advocate; Chuck Collins, Regional Advocate; Gail Burford,

Director’s Liaison

 

 

 

Guests:

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. Jack Barber, Director; Karen Walters, Office of Attorney General on behalf of

WSH; Nathan Veldhuis, attorney on behalf of Mr. C.C. and family; Kimberly Crett,

Court Reporter, Cavalier Reporting and Videography,

 

 

 

Absent

 

 

 

 

 

: Debbie Harris, Committee Member

David Reed, Chair, called the meeting of the Local Human Rights Committee to order on November 12, 2008.

A quorum of members was present. .

Jerry Thomas reviewed with the committee the Human Rights Regulation

 

 

 

 

 

12 VAC 35-115.220

 

on Variances.

Mr. Reed announced the request for a Variance to

 

 

 

 

 

12 VAC 35-115-110 (Use of seclusion, restraint, and time

out)

 

 

 

 

 

of the

Rules and Regulations to Assure the Rights of Individuals Receiving Services from Providers

Licensed, Funded or Operated by the Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse

Services

 

 

 

 

 

presented by Dr. Jack Barber in regards to patient CC.

Nathan Veldhuis objected to the Local Human Rights Committee going into “closed session”.

The committee made a vote to have the court reporter excluded from the “closed session”.

Mr. Veldhuis also objected to this decision.

 

 

 

Upon a motion made by Hal Meyers and seconded by Donna Gum, the Local Human Rights Committee

convened in Closed Session pursuant to Virginia Code, 2.2-3711(15), for the purpose of discussion or

consideration of medical and mental records excluded from the Virginia Freedom of Information Act.

Upon reconvening in public session, each member of the committee certified that to the best of each one’s

knowledge, only public business matters lawfully exempt from statutory open meeting requirements, and only

public business matters identified in the motion to convene the Closed Session were discussed in the Closed

Session.

The specific regulations to which WSH requested variances along with the LHRC’s decisions are as follows:

12 VAC 35-115.110.C.3:

 

 

 

 

 

Only residential facilities for children that are licensed under the Regulations for

Providers of Mental Health, Mental Retardation, and Substance Abuse Residential Services for Children (12

VAC 35-45) and inpatient hospitals may use seclusion and only in an emergency

LHRC Decision: The committee unanimously recommends the approval of this variance for a period of

six months.

12 VAC 35-115.110.C.13.(a-e):

 

 

 

 

 

Providers may use seclusion or mechanical restraint for behavioral purposes in

an emergency only if a qualified professional involved in providing services to the individual has, within one

hour of the initiation of the procedure.

LHRC Decision: The committee unanimously recommends the approval of this variance for a period of

six months.

12 VAC 35-115-110.C.17:

 

 

LHRC Decision: The committee unanimously recommends the approval of this variance for a period of

six months.

12 VAC 35-115-110.C.15:

 

Providers shall not issue standing orders for the use of seclusion or restraint for

behavioral purposes.

LHRC Decision: The committee unanimously recommends the approval of this variance for a period of

six months.

There being no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned.

 

 

 

 

12 VAC 35-115-110.C.17:

 

Providers shall monitor the use of restraint for behavioral purposes or seclusionthrough continuous face-to face observation, rather than by an electronic surveillance device.

 

And Central State Hospital Is Different From a Prison How Exactly????

The State Human Rights Committee of Virginia approved a variance for Central State Hospital to search body cavities and do pat downs and forbid patients from retaining money on their person at their October 24th meeting.

“Patients” at Central State Hospital are already prohibited from smoking cigarettes, from eating according to their own preferences, from drinking sugar containing sodas if they wish, in fact, I suspect many prisoners have more rights than do patients at Central State Hospital.  At least I have never heard of a prison that restricts calorie intake at a psychiatrist’s whim, oops,  I mean “medical order”. This is the prisonification of our state psychiatric hospitals and if the Commission on Mental Health Law Reform and the Treatment Advocacy Center and others have their way of our outpatient public mental health system in due course if they get even easier outpatient commitmentenacted. Let’s stop talking about people with mental illness in prison and start talking about how we are turning our mental health system into one big prison. 

“Upon a motion by Joseph Lynch and seconded by Jannie Robinson the SHRC unanimously approved the following variances for a two-year period with an annual report to be submitted for review upon the anniversary of the approval date.

12 VAC 35-115-20 A, Assurance of Respect for Basic Human Dignity; and 12 VAC 35-115 50 C3a, Right to Reasonable Privacy (Non-Forensic Pat-Downs)

Allows facility to search rooms and body cavities for contraband.

12 VAC 35-115-100 A 1c, Freedom to Have and Spend Personal Money. Prohibits consumers from retaining money.

 

12 VAC 35-115-20 A, Assurance of Respect for Basic Human Dignity; and 12 VAC 35-115-50 C 3 a, Reasonable Privacy

Allows Civil and Forensic Exams, Inspections, Pat-Downs and Searches

Good Night Cesar Chumil, A Song Sung by Immigrants from Guatamala for You

Gee, I bet a way to play music and some music would be nice in your suite/room/cell, but I suspect there is none there in the silence and isolation.

Good Night Cesar Chumil, Good Night Everyone Who Is Locked Up in Our Country’s Psychiatric Prisons

Good night Cesar.  Maybe tomorrow someone will walk down the hall a few steps to say good night in person.  But probably not.

Good Night Cesar Chumil, I Hope You Are Sleeping Better Than I

Hard to tell if it’s the anti-rejection drugs I’m taking now with their known side effects of insomnia or if it is the sadness and rage of knowing so few Virginians care about the plight of one of their own citizens, locked up in violation of all human decency and social norms of our culture with no conversation in his own language, no one to say good morning and good night even though there are people all around you on your ward, the ward your cell is placed in, with patients who have to live with the knowledge and fear that someone who is a patient at the same hospital as them has been so abused for so long and staff who have been ordered and taught not to think of you as a human being like all other human beings so that they do not quit nor protest when told they should want to look at you through a camera’s lens every fifteen minutes rather than walk a few steps to look and see if you are okay.  Or is it my own projection of my own horrible experiences with doctors who pledge an oath to do no harm and then do great harm, in my case killing my kidneys along with traumas I won’t mention given the extremity of your trauma?  Or is it all of the above.  This is not a bright and happy song tonight.  It is _One of the Light_, sung by Cris Williamson.  Good night, sleep well, may hearts change and minds wake up soon in the state of Virginia.

Western State Hospital Director Allowed by Commissioner Reinhard to Request ANOTHER Variance to Keep A Virginia Citizen in Isolation

The Director of a Virginia State Hospital can not request a variance after a State Human Rights Decision against him without the permission of the Commissioner of DMHMRSAS as I understand the Human Rights Regulations.  The State Human Rights Committee JUST ruled against Western State and its Director Jack Barber this summer and the Commissioner said he would abide by their decision but now here we go all over again as if none of that happened at all.  What gives?  This could not be a cynical attempt to keep Cesar Chumil’s case out of a court of law could it?  The Commissioner could not have changed his mind so quickly on such an important human rights issue with implications for ALL Virginia state hospital patients could he?  Was what went before just a show with the hope that people would forget, reporters would lose interest and everything could go on as before with a Virginia citizen incarcerated in a cell with no human contact nor treatment in his language for years more to come until he dies of old age?  Was there never any intent to do anything constructive to correct this abomination of civil society and psychiatry’s claim to be a medical speciality now rather than old time alienists and wardens?  Where is the outrage?  Where is the integrity and honesty? And most of all, where is the first do no harm?

 

Notice

The State Human Rights Committee

will consider a request for variance to the

 

 

Rules and Regulations to Assure the Rights of Individuals Receiving Services from Providers Licensed, Funded or Operated by the Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services

at its meeting on

December 5, 2008

Request for approval of variances will be considered from the following providers:

(snipped)

Western State Hospital

12 VAC 35-115-110 C3, Seclusion in an Emergency

12 VAC 35-115-110 C13, Seclusion or Mechanical Restraint

12 VAC 35-115-110 C17, Monitoring

12 VAC 35-115-110 C15, Standing Orders

Richmond Ambulance Authority

2400 Hermitage Road

Conference Room B

Richmond, VA 23220

December 5, 2008

9:15 am

Questions People Detained Under Virginia’s Mental Health Laws Will NOT Be Asked in the Uniform Pre-Screening

http://www.vsdvalliance.org/Resources/screeningguidesforhelpers.html

Screening for Domestic Violence
A Guide for Professionals

While inquiring about abuse may seem difficult at first, recognizing that identifying abuse is an important, legitimate, and potentially lifesaving task can help professionals overcome their initial hesitation. Professionals can help decrease a battered person’s potential discomfort by framing questions in ways that let her/him know that you take domestic violence seriously and that help is available.

Framing Questions

It may feel awkward to introduce the subject of abuse, particularly if there are no obvious indications a woman is being abused. The following are examples of ways you can introduce the issue.

• “We know domestic violence is a very common problem. About 25% of women in this country are abused by their partners. Has that ever happened to you?”
• “Because domestic violence is common in women’s lives, I make it a practice to ask women I see here about domestic violence.”
• “I don’t know if this is a problem for you, but many of the women I see here are dealing with abusive relationships. Some are too afraid or uncomfortable to bring it up themselves, so I’ve started asking about it routinely.”
• “Some of the lesbians and gay men we see here are hurt by their partners. Does your partner ever try to hurt you?”

Direct Questions

However you initially raise the issue of domestic violence, it is important to include direct and specific questions.

• “Did someone hit you? Who was it? Was it your partner?”
• “Has your partner or ex-partner ever hit you or physically threatened to hurt you or someone close to you?”
• “Does your partner ever try to control you by threatening to hurt you or your family?”
• “Has your partner ever forced you to have sex when you didn’t want to? Has your partner ever refused to practice safe sex?”
• “Does your partner frequently belittle you, insult you, and blame you?”
• “Has he/she ever tried to restrict your freedom or keep you from doing things that were important to you (like going to school, working, seeing your friends or family).”
• “Do you feel controlled or isolated by your partner?”
• “Do you ever feel afraid of your partner? Do you feel you are in danger? Is it safe for you to go home?”
• “Is your partner jealous? Does he/she frequently accuse you of infidelity?”

Indirect Questions

In some settings, it may be appropriate to start the inquiry with an indirect question before proceeding to more direct questions. The following are some examples of this approach.

• “Have you been under any stress lately? Are you having any problems with your partner? Do you ever argue or fight? Do the fights ever become physical? Are you ever afraid? Have you ever gotten hurt?”
• “You mentioned that your partner loses his temper with the children. Can you tell me more about that? Has he ever hit or threatened to physically harm you or the children?”
• “How are things going in your relationship/marriage? All couples argue sometimes. Are you having fights? Do you fight physically?”
• “You mentioned that your partner uses alcohol/drugs. How does he/she act when intoxicated? Does your partner’s behavior ever frighten you? Does he/she become violent?”
• “Like all couples, gay couples have various ways of resolving their conflicts. How do you and your partner deal with conflicts? What happens when you disagree? What happens when your partner doesn’t get his/her way?”

If the person does not acknowledge abuse:

If she/he says that abuse is not occurring but you are still concerned about abused, it is appropriate to offer resources and support. Voice your concerns. She/he may feel comfortable listening without directly acknowledging the abuse. In this case it is still helpful to offer some information about abuse, provide a referral sheet or phone numbers, and to encourage her/him to contact resources in the community.

This document was adapted from the publication entitled, “Improving the Health Care System’s Response to Domestic Violence: A Resource Manual for Health Care Providers,” produced by the Family Violence Prevention Fund in collaboration with the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence. Written by Carole Warshaw, M.D. and Anne L. Ganley, Ph.D., with contributions by Patricia Salber, M.D.

Good Night Cesar Chumil, Something a Little Different Tonight

But you may have heard this song before you entered Virginia’s state hospital system 2 decades ago.  I wonder how many steps it is from the nurse’s station to your room/cell?  Sleep as well as you can in your too small bed in your room without even a table that they dare to call a suite.

Good Night Cesar Chumil, A Song and Pictures of Sights You Have Not Been Allowed to See for 20 Years

Sleep well Cesar, as well as you can in your too small bed in your cell that they pretend to call a “suite”.  Maybe some night a nurse or aide will walk all the way down the hall from their nurse’s station to say good night to you.  But probably not. 

Good Night Cesar Chumil, Sleep Well, A Song My Father Loves Just For You

If It Is Any Night of the Week, Cesar Chumil Is Locked in His Cell With No One to Say Good-Night to Him

Good night Cesar, sleep tight.

Why Feminists Should Be Concerned About the Next Diagnostic and Statistical Manual

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-lane16-2008nov16,0,5678764.story

Parental Alienation Syndrome, which has no scientific basis whatsoever, is most often used against women in custody cases including by ex-husbands with documented histories of domestic violence against their ex-wife and/or children.  It does not mean “alienated parent” as the author above implies, it means that a parent, usually a mother, is being accused in court of alienating her child or children from their father by being truthful about the danger they pose to their child’s physical safety or the mother’s safety.  Courts seem to love the made up syndrome as an excuse to give custody rights or shared custody to men who have abused their wives and/or children, but until now there has been no official status for this made up syndrome.  If it makes it into the DSM’s next version, divorce lawyers and abusive divorcing spouses will have even more ability to continue to abuse their exes through the courts and to put their children in danger in some cases.  Women will continue to be labelled hysterical for reacting normally to horrible experiences such as discovering their children have been sexually abused by their father but now there will be so called scientific backing for these made up claims in court.  Up for inclusion again is making women’s menstrual cycles into a psychiatric condition also.  We now have many more women psychiatrists than we did when the first DSM came out, why do women continue to be the target of sexist and destructive labelling by the American Psychiatric Association behind closed doors even so?  While there is a dearth of concern about psychiatry and its destructive effect on women over the ages today, nothing like the great work that was done in the ’70’s and 80’s is out there now and in fact many feminist blogs are guilty of the same continuation of prejudice against people with psychiatric labels as the rest of society, forgetting their history altogether in my personal opinion, maybe the threat to custody of children will start to wake feminists up to the destructive and continuing sexist power of psychiatry over the lives of women in the United States.

About PTSD From Punishment Used As “Treatment” In People With Autism But Applicable to Punishments Used As “Treatment” In People With Psychiatric Labels

Can Aversives and Restraints Produce PTSD in People with Autism?
Published in The Communicator, the newsletter of The Autism National Committee (Summer 1998)

As we learn to listen to people with autism, to their families and to their friends, evidence is growing that, in certain extreme circumstances, behaviors typically explained away as newly-emerged symptoms of the person’s autism may in fact indicate something else: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD.
The general public may have heard of this disorder occurring among Vietnam veterans, Bosnian civilians, or even the young witnesses to the recent spate of schoolyard shootings. In the book Trauma and Recovery (NY: Basic Books, 1992), Judith Lewis Herman, M.D., describes the origins and consequences of PTSD:
“The human response to danger is a complex, integrated system of reactions, encompassing both body and mind. Threat initially arouses the sympathetic nervous system, causing the person in danger to feel an adrenalin rush and go into a state of alert. Threat also concentrates a person’s attention on the immediate situation. In addition, threat may alter ordinary perceptions: people in danger are often able to disregard hunger, fatigue, or pain. Finally, threat evokes intense feelings of fear and anger. These changes in arousal, attention, perception, and emotion are normal, adaptive reactions. They mobilize the threatened person for strenuous action, either in battle or in flight.
Traumatic reactions occur when action is of no avail. When neither resistance nor escape is possible, the human system of self-defense becomes overwhelmed and disorganized. Each component of the ordinary response to danger, having lost its utility, tends to persist in an altered and exaggerated state long after the actual danger is over.
Traumatic events produce profound and lasting changes in physiological arousal, emotion, cognition, and memory. More-over, traumatic events may sever these normally integrated functions from one another. The trauma-tized person may experience intense emotion but without clear memory of the event, or may remember everything in detail but without emotion. She may find herself in a constant state of irritability without knowing why. Traumatic symptoms have a tendency to become disconnected from their source and to take on a life of their own.” (p. 43)
Among the symptoms of PTSD described by Dr. Herman are alterations in affect regulation, which may be manifested as self-injury or explosive anger; alterations in consciousness, including the unwanted reliving of experiences, either in a sudden, intrusive manner or as a preoccupation or thought that won’t go away; and alterations in a person’s sense of self or of relations with others, resulting in manifestations of helplessness, paralysis of initiative, isolation, or withdrawal. (p. 121)
As Dr. Herb Lovett observed, “People who have been hurt in the name of therapy may not understand their plight any differently than survivors of cult abuse or sexual abuse. A common feature of post-traumatic stress syndrome is the flashback in which a person acts as if a memory is present reality…. every time they recall their previous maltreatment, unless their panic and rage are recognized as a function of stress, they are likely to be further stigmatized as `impossible to serve.’” (p. 208, Learning to Listen, 1996).
Those who are without speech, whose ability to produce the needed words “on demand” is unreliable, or whose words are discounted, not only may be more vulnerable to what we perceive as “typical” criminal acts, but also to experiences of intense frustration, helplessness, and entrapment in “no-win” situations. An unreliable sensorimotor system — a body that does not always do what you want it to do — in combination with “treatments,” services, and living facilities which not only fail to help the person accomplish what they need to do, but make their quality of life contingent on their successful accomplishment of what someone else wishes them to do, may, however unintentionally, establish a situation of intense threat from which neither victory nor escape are perceived possible. Those families and people with autism who have reported to the Autism National Committee on trauma-type symptoms often connect them to experiences of this type of “entrapment.”
Despite fairly abundant anecdotal evidence, knowledge of the nature, prevalence, and treatment of psychological trauma in the lives of people with severe disabilities is lacking. Herman’s book suggests a possible reason. In outlining the historical roots of PTSD research, she observes that “Periods of active investigation have alternated with periods of oblivion.” (p. 7). Three forms of trauma have come to light over the past century, and “Each time, the investigation of that trauma has flourished in affiliation with a political movement.” (p. 9).
The first to come to public awareness was “hysteria,” which the late nineteenth century was briefly inclined to consider as a possible manifestation of the isolated, politically powerless lives led by most Western women (an interpretation later dismissed in favor of Freudian reductionism). The second form of trauma to be studied was “shell shock” or combat neurosis, which became an issue in England and the United States after the First World War and reached a peak after the Vietnam War. Here the political context was the growth of an antiwar movement and a re-thinking of the effects of armed combat in the modern world. The last and most recent type of trauma to achieve widespread public awareness was sexual and domestic violence, spotlighted by the feminist movement as well as modern political advocacy to secure the human rights and protection of children. Many people with disabilities and their advocates would like to add to Herman’s list a fourth category, but its recognition may well be dependent on their success in bringing political awareness of issues such as aversive “treatments” and institutional living conditions.
The personal and public recognition of trauma which occurs at the hands of another human being is difficult to achieve, Herman notes: “When traumatic events are natural disasters or `acts of God,’ those who bear witness sympathize readily with the victim. But when the traumatic events are of human design, those who bear witness are caught in the conflict between victim and perpetrator. It is morally impossible to remain neutral in this conflict. The bystander is forced to take sides.
It is very tempting to take the side of the perpetrator. All the perpetrator asks is that the bystander do nothing. He appeals to the universal desire to see, hear, and speak no evil. The victim, on the contrary, asks the bystander to share the burden of pain. The victim demands action, engagement, and remembering. …
In order to escape accountability for his crimes, the perpetrator does everything in his power to promote forgetting. Secrecy and silence are the perpetrator’s first line of defense. If secrecy fails, the perpetrator attacks the credibility of his victim. If he cannot silence her absolutely, he tries to make certain that no one listens. To this end, he marshals an impressive array of arguments, from the most blatant denial to the most sophisticated and elegant rational-ization….The perpetrator’s argu-ments prove irresistible when the bystander faces them in isolation. Without a supportive social environment, the bystander usually succumbs to the temptation to look the other way….” (pp. 7-8)
How much more operative might this principle be when the victim can be characterized as a person with a severe disability and problem behaviors who must experience aversive “treatments” as a “medical necessity,” and when the perpetrator seems both pleasant and reasonable? As Herman observes, those who expect a purveyor of abuse to radiate warning signals will find themselves confused: “Since he does not perceive that anything is wrong with him, he does not seek help — unless he is in trouble with the law. His most consistent feature, in both the testimony of victims and the observations of psychologists, is his apparent normality….Authoritarian, secretive, sometimes grandiose, and even paranoid, the perpetrator is nevertheless exquisitely sensitive to the realities of power and to social norms. Only rarely does he get into difficulties with the law; rather, he seeks out situations where his tyrannical behavior will be tolerated, condoned, or admired. His demeanor provides an excellent camouflage, for few people believe that extraordinary crimes can be committed by men of such conventional appearance.” (p. 75).
Nor do perpetrators of abuse have to resort to violence in order to cause trauma: “Although violence is a universal method of terror, the perpetrator may use violence infrequently, as a last resort….Fear is also increased by inconsistent and unpredictable outbursts of vio-lence and by capricious enforce-ment of petty rules.” (p. 77)
Dr. Herman finds other key elements in the development of PTSD to be “isolation, secrecy, and betrayal (which) destroy the relationships that would afford protection.” (p. 100). In the absence of relationships with caring, affirming people, the foundation of personal develop-ment is undermined.
The only way back from severe psychological trauma is through re-establishing connectedness with others: “Traumatic events destroy the sustaining bonds between individual and community. Those who have survived learn that their sense of self, of worth, of humanity, depends upon a feeling of connection to others. The solidarity of a group provides the strongest protection against terror and despair, and the strongest antidote to traumatic experience. Trauma isolates; the group recreates a sense of belonging. Trauma shames and stigmatizes; the group bears witness and affirms.” (p. 214).
It may be significant that the reestablishment of trust and connectedness to others is also the factor credited with improving the lives of people with autism who believe, or whose families believe, that certain of their symptoms originated in psychological trauma. Clearly we have much to learn as this issue begins to receive the attention it deserves.
http://www.autcom.org/articles%5CPTSD.html

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Cesar Chumil Put Back on the Human Rights System Merry Go Round

http://www.inrich.com/cva/ric/news.apx.-content-articles-RTD-2008-11-12-0213.html

And around and around we go again.  Even though the State Human Rights Committee which is over all Local Human Rights Committees in Virginia issued recommendations for Cesar Chumil’s release from seclusion by next month, the Director of Western State Hospital, Dr. Jack Barber and the Commissioner of the Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse, Dr. James Reinhard, have managed to use and abuse the system set up to protect patients rights to circumvent the basic human rights of Cesar Chumi.  They went back to the Local Human Rights Committee which issued recommendations in complete disregard and disagreement with the recommendations of the State Human Rights Committee.  The Local Human Rights Committee approved 6 more months of seclusion after all these years in seclusion and did nothing to improve the situation, dignity and decency of Mr. Chumil’s situation at his prison that is Western State Hospital. Of course Mr. Chumil would actually have more rights in any Virginia prison, even on death row.  He would have more time out of his suite/cell in any Virginia prison or death row but hey, let’s not let that bother us, eh?  The lame excuse of DMHMRSAS for this?  They need more time.  More time????????  Are they just waiting for Mr. Chumil to die so they don’t have to do anything????  They say moving too fast could set him up for failure.  Um, what exactly are they doing that could even lead to failure?  They have changed exactly nothing in his situation.  This is a farce and a scandal and shows that we need new legislation changing the way our human rights regulations are implemented in Virginia’s facilities so that the Commissioner, whoever he may be (and it has always been a he in Virginia by the way, unlike most states), can not override the State Human Rights Committee and the human rights system can not be used and abused to keep patients from having access to state and federal courts for years as they try if they are lucky enough to have legal representation to exhaust all less extreme remedies as required by the courts.  And this is a patient who has a pro bono lawyer and other lawyers working on his case.  99 per cent or more of Virginia’s patients have no access at all to a lawyer to represent them.  Our Protection and Advocacy represents so few people with mental illness each year it is laughable if it were not enough to make one cry.  And even when they do represent people in our institutions they never release the results of their work so nobody knows how many problems we have in our state institutions and legislators and the public can continue in the illusion that we have a beneficent state mental health system and no one is aroused to action. 

How can any decent and moral person even consider working at or with Western State Hospital given what they are continuing to do to Cesar Chumil?  It is time for all psychiatric survivors to boycott all interactions with Western State Hospital officials and staff unless and until Cesar Chumil is moved out of seclusion.

Western State Hospital Director Wants to Continue Abusing the Human Rights of His Patient Cesar Chumil

http://www.nbc29.com/global/story.asp?s=9338862

http://www.wsls.com/sls/news/state_regional/article/state_mental_hospital_asks_to_extend_patients_seclusion/21097/

The stories say officials but that means the director of Western State Hospital, Dr. Jack Barber, just so we are clear on who is in charge of Western State Hospital in every way.  So Dr. Barber, who has fought every inch of the way for at least 2 years any change in the inhumane and violating of state human rights regulations situation of his patient of many years is now asking both to keep Cesar Chumil in seclusion for another 6 months and to be allowed to get away with not even having his staff make face to face checks on Cesar as required by the State Human Rights Committee in its last decision.  He can’t even find the humanity to realize that this means Cesar will not know anyone is checking on him at all?  He can’t afford the minimal cost of face to face contact or he just doesn’t care at all about the humanity of his patient?  I don’t know and can’t possibly begin to put myself in the heart and mind of a DOCTOR who would make such requests and who would laugh about other things shortly after watching a heart wrenching video of his own client as Dr. Barber did at the State Human Rights Committee meeting held in Charlottesville.  I don’t even want to try to put my heart nor mind in such a dark and uncaring place. 

This is what Commissioner Dr. Reinhard’s statement that there would be no transfer of Mr. Chumil to another Virginia state hospital has led to and Dr. Reinhard is Dr. Barber’s boss whether he ever actually admits that or not.  It is time for Dr. Reinhard to step up to the plate and tell his employee that this kind of behavior is unacceptable in Virginia’s mental health system.  It is time for James Reinhard M.D. to do the compassionate thing for Cesar Chumil and take him out of the care of Dr. Jack Barber forever.  Dr. Reinhard has the power to transfer Mr. Chumil to NVMHI, it is time for him to exercise his power now.  This situation is poisoning the entire state hospital system by telling patients and potential patients that they could end up in Mr. Chumil’s situation and by forcing good and not so good staff to defend the indefensible at Western State Hospital if they want to keep their jobs.  It is a cancer on our system of “care” that needs to be treated immediately.

Research Shows Most Psychiatrists Are Not Taking Adequate Care of Their Patients’ Medical Needs

http://pn.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/full/43/21/2?etoc

Despite all the warnings and all the publicity about the medical dangers of second generation anti-psychotics, the majority of psychiatrists are not monitoring their patients cholesterol and diabetes.  If psychiatrists want as they say they do to be as respected as other medical doctors in the United States, which they currently are not by far, they need to step up their practice of medicine and stop just handing out pills in the quickest appointments they can manage and or earn the biggest bucks in psychiatry by doing ECT because it pays so well compared to medication monitoring and psychotherapy.  First do no harm applies to every medical doctor, including psychiatrists.  Instead of blaming the lower respect and trust in psychiatrists compared to other medical specialities on stigma associated with their patient population, psychiatrists need to look in the mirror at their own behavior.

American Citizen Forced to Have Weekly Electroshock Against His Will From His Own Home

MindFreedom International — 7 November 2008
Human Rights Alert: Involuntary Electroshock
http://www.mindfreedom.org – please forward

    If it’s Wednesday, then Ray Sandford is Getting
    Escorted from His Home for Another Forced Electroshock

    Minnesota Resident Gets Involuntary Electroconvulsive
    Therapy (ECT) On A Weekly Ongoing *Outpatient* Basis

    ACTION: How You Can Easily E-mail Minnesota Governor

    by David W. Oaks, Director, MindFreedom International

The past Wednesday morning after the historic USA election what were 
you doing?

I know what Ray Sandford, 54, was doing.

Each and every Wednesday, early in the morning, staff shows up at 
Ray’s sheltered living home called Victory House in Columbia Heights, 
Minnesota, adjacent to Minneapolis.

Staff escorts Ray the 15 miles to Mercy Hospital.

There, Ray is given another of his weekly electroconvulsive therapy 
(ECT) treatments, also known as electroshock. All against his will. 
On an outpatient basis.

And it’s been going on for months.

Ray says the weekly forced electroshocks are “scary as hell.” He 
absolutely opposes having the procedure. He says it’s causing poor 
memory for names such as of friends and his favorite niece. “What am 
I supposed to do, run away?” Instead, Ray phoned his local library’s 
reference desk to ask about human rights groups, and the librarian 
referred him to MindFreedom International.

Ray called me at our office here at MindFreedom International about 
two weeks ago. At first I wasn’t sure I believed him.

Of course, MindFreedom International has documented proven cases of 
electroshock against the expressed wishes of the subject all over the 
world, including in the USA. MindFreedom succeeded in having the 
United Nations World Health Organization call in writing for a global 
ban on all involuntary electroshock.

But this is the first time I’ve been on the phone with someone 
getting court-ordered forced shock while living out in the community, 
on an outpatient basis.

This is the ultimate double whammy.

I confirmed Ray’s story by calling two staff at Victory House as well 
as his court-appointed conservator, Tonya Wilhelm of Luthern Support 
Services of Minnesota.

Ms. Wilhelm said, “We are following the letter of the law.” She said 
the State of Minnesota had secured a variety of court orders that 
require Ray to have forced electroshock against his expressed wishes. 
Ms. Wilehlm says it’s all legal and she can’t do anything about it.

Krista Erickson, chair of MindFreedom’s Shield Campaign, sees it 
differently. “This is terrible. This is a serious human rights 
violation that should stop. I hope MindFreedom members and supporters 
speak out. Even if Minnesota is following the letter of the current 
law, the law ought to be changed. And Ray has not had the legal power 
to appeal to higher courts.”

I pointed out to Conservator Wilhelm that the public — when they 
find out about forced electroshock — is passionately opposed to 
their taxpayer money being used to force such brutality on citizens. 
Ms. Wilhelm did let slip that what is happening to Ray — involuntary 
outpatient electroshock — is not that uncommon in Minnesota.

But when Ms. Wilhelm found out we at MindFreedom are issuing one of 
our public human rights alert to you and others, at Ray’s repeated 
request, she said something chilling.

Ms. Wilhelm claimed she had a legal right to stop MindFreedom!

Ms. Wilhelm told me, “Only I can give you permission legally to say 
anything publicly about this.”

I pointed out we are not a medical facility, and that if she falsely 
claims we’re doing anything illegal then this is defamation. Which 
really is illegal.

Ms. Wilhelm laughed loudly in the phone, said “let our lawyers talk,” 
and hung up on me. I hope she hung up to read the First Amendment.

Let’s disobey Ms. Wilhelm!

Spread Ray’s alert far and wide! Speak out against this electrical 
torture, now!

Because… Remember… While the world marvels at the power of USA 
democracy:

If it’s Wednesday morning, then Ray Sandford is being led from his 
home — which is supposed to be his castle — to get another weekly 
forced procedure that can cause brain damage and wipe out memories.

- David W. Oaks, Director, MindFreedom International

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mind your freedom. Disobey Ray’s conservator now!

Forward this alert to all appropriate places on and off the Internet, 
IMMEDIATELY!

And take the *below* actions. Thank you. Ray and I are counting on you!

~~~~~~~~~~~~

      * * * ACTION * * * ACTION * * * ACTION * * *

You can do this in a moment. It’s free! DO IT NOW!

E-mail your firm but polite message to Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty.

SAMPLE MESSAGE — your own words are best:

“Investigate the weekly involuntary outpatient electroshock of Ray 
Sandford. Every Wednesday morning, MindFreedom says Ray is brought 
from Victory House in Columbia Heights, Minnesota to Mercy Hospital 
for forced electroshock. Stop all forced electroshock today! Taxpayer 
money should not fund torture!” [Your name/contact.]

E-mail address: tim.pawlenty@state.mn.us

Or use this handy web form:

http://www.governor.state.mn.us/contacts/Forms/askthegovernor/index.htm

or this link:

http://tinyurl.com/mn-governor

~~~~~~~~~~~~

      * * * ADDITIONAL ACTIONS TO SUPPORT RAY! * * *

1) E-mail a complaint to Luthern Social Services of Minnesota (LSSMN) 
about Ray’s conservator.

Sample message:

“Investigate allegations that LSSMN employee Tonya Wilhelm tried to 
stop a public human rights alert by MindFreedom International about 
her client, Ray Sandford, who is receiving weekly outpatient 
involuntary electroshock at Mercy Hospital in Minneapolis. If 
verified, please reprimand, fire and replace Ms. Wilhelm, and please 
place this in her permanent personnel record. Please support human 
rights.” [Your name/contact.]

Use LSSMN’s web page:

http://www.lssmn2.org/contact_lss.htm

Or phone Luthern Social Services at: (218) 726-4888

You can copy your message to headquarters of The Evangelical Lutheran 
Church in America (ELCA):

info@elca.org

 From ELCA’s web site about their church: “It’s a story of a powerful 
and patient God who has boundless love for all people of the world, 
who brings justice for the oppressed.”

More at:

http://www.elca.org/What-We-Believe.aspx

2) E-mail a complaint to Allina Hospital and Clinics, owner of Mercy 
Hospital.

Sample message:

“Investigate allegations that your patient Ray Sandford of Victory 
House is receiving involuntary outpatient electroconvulsive therapy 
against his will each Wednesday at Mercy Hospital.”

Use this web page:

http://www.allina.com/ahs/help.nsf/page/contact

Or phone: (763) 236-6000

3) Ray is open to visitors and supportive postal mail:

Ray Sandford
Victory House
4427 Monroe St.
Columbia Heights, MN 55421-2880 USA

MindFreedom will print out and mail to Ray some of your e-mail 
messages to the Governor and others, and put some on the web. E-mail 
a copy of what you write to news@mindfreedom.org.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

AND ONE MORE THING!

Say “no” to mental health system censorship!

Disobey Ray’s conservator now!

PLEASE forward this public human alert to all appropriate places on 
and off the Internet, IMMEDIATELY! Thank you!

Applebaum and Monahan-Compare and Contrast Biases Stated or Otherwise

John Monahan ends his editorial on leverage in mental health (in which he makes the mistake of conflating SSI payments with SSDI disability payments and the mistake of assuming the ADA allows landlords to legally discriminate against people with psychiatric disabilities) with the statement that “Contrary to the confident claims of advocates on either side of the debate, the legal status of many forms of mandated treatment is currently uncertain. Given the recent origins of many kinds of leverage, it will be some time before we know which will survive constitutional or statutory challenge.” As if John Monahan were not himself an advocate for outpatient commitment!?  What exactly was he voting for on the Commitment Task-force of the Virginia Supreme Court’s Commission on Mental Health Law Reform? For expanding the use of outpatient commitment in the state of Virginia, that’s what.  Monahan has made previous statements in articles implying that there are overly dramatic activists on both sides of the outpatient commitment debate while he himself is a disinterested, unopinionated academic observer.   No one who has seen him in discussions of the issue can make sense of these claims in my humble opinion.

Paul Applebaum on the other hand has just come out with a reviewof E. Fuller Torrey’s new book promoting stigma and forced treatment that takes on Torrey’s misleading use of anecdotes and limited and dated statistics to make his case.  Applebaum is not a civil rights activist by any stretch of the imagination, he actually believes it is still too hard to commit folks to psychiatric hospitals in some parts of this country (some people will not be happy until we have a 100% commitment rate in every state), but he points out the huge gaps in funding for services in the community and does not claim that these need to be coercive or leveraged to be effective, a claim with no proof nor merit in my opinion that Monahan seems to be making.  The existence of leverage does not prove that it works, it only proves that it exists and no more.  Applebaum is honest enough to point out that even the best funded mental health system (or any system) can prevent rare acts of random violence by anyone, “mentally ill” or sane and that preventing all acts of violence by people labelled with mental illness would do little to promote the safety of the American public given how low a percentage they comprise of the total.  Applebaum also points out that using fear of violence as a strategy to get what one wants makes the lives of people with psychiatric diagnoses harder not better. 

Of course there are no bias free human beings, academics or otherwise, but it does get old when some folks claim they are the unbiased one in the room or world while others are wild-eyed activists.  No matter who it is claiming to be the unbiased voice, Monahan or anyone in a position of prominence in mental health policy in Virginia.   Personally, I actually prefer the wild eyed activists on the other side because I always know what I am dealing with as do they .  Congratulations on your new up to date blog TAC <evil grin>.

6 Days in Jail for 2 Rapes of the Same State Hospital Patient by a Staff Member

The janitor who was originally charged with sexual assault  in Oregon was allowed to plead to 2 counts of official misconduct and sentenced to a whole 6 days in jail plus probation on the false theory that the woman he raped was able to give meaningful consent to sex in a total institution where new patients are told no one will ever believe anything they have to say and that they are completely dependent on staff for as long as they remain there.  The female patient was also most likely so drugged up as to be unable to give informed consent to anything, her so called consent is about as meaningful as the “consent” of a woman on the date rape drug. 

But let’s build more state hospital beds to keep women and men safer, eh, Treatment Advocacy Center and other fascists in training? Let’s keep calling this snake pits “hospitals” as if they bore any resemblance to a real medical hospital rather than being exactly like a prison by another name with more incapacitating drugs in use.  And let us not even THINK about single gender units as an option when we build new state hospitals, eh Virginia which is rebuilding Western State Hospital, infamous on the street for sex between patients most of whom are incapable of real consent, eh Virginia?  Because women who end up in state psychiatric hospitals are not really women are they?  Not really people deserving of protection from exploitation and rape and trauma, right?

And if this post makes you defensive and angry at me and others who keep bringing up this issue or who report their experience of assault in psychiatric settings I suggest you take a good look at what is making you so defensive rather than thoughtful and proactive.  Have you let reports like this slide by?  Have you failed to report suspected abuse in the past?  Are you feeling guilty and thus defensive?  Here’s a hint: your guilty conscience does no one any good and neither does your defensiveness but your proactive steps now and your support could do a lot of good for a lot of women.  Think about it rather than just react.