NEWS: Human Rights & Mental Health
http://www.MindFreedom.org - Jan. 2006
Media Watchdogs Say Bush Plan
for Psychiatric Screening of Kids
is a "Top Censored Story of 2006."
Thousands of Youth May be Drugged.
One of the "Top Censored Stories of
2006" is that the Bush Administration
is seeking to make psychiatric screening
of USA children common practice, says a
widely-respected media watchdog group.
These mass screenings would put
thousands of youth at risk of
inappropriate psychiatric drugging.
The American Psychiatric Association
was even caught bragging in print about
how well they've done in keeping this
story out of mainstream media.
Each year Project Censored -- a media
research group out of Sonoma University --
picks the top 25 stories censored by
mainstream media.
Here is Project Censored's summary of
the #11 Top Censored Story for 2006:
~~~~~~~~~~
PROJECT CENSORED - 2006
Universal Mental Screening Program
Usurps Parental Rights
In April of 2002, President Bush
appointed a 22 member commission called
the President's New Freedom Commission
on Mental Health in order to "identify
policies that could be implemented by
Federal, State and local governments to
maximize the utility of existing
resources, improve coordination of
treatments and services, and promote
successful community integration for
adults with a serious mental illness and
children with a serious emotional
disturbance."[1] Members of this
commission include physicians in the
mental health field and at least one
(Robert N. Postlethwait) former employee
of pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly and Co.
In July of 2003 the commission published
the results of their study. They found
that mental health disorders often go
undiagnosed and recommended to the
President that there should be more
comprehensive screening for mental
illnesses for people of all ages,
including pre-school age children. In
accordance with their findings, the
commission recommended that schools were
in a "key position" to screen the 52
million students and 6 million adult
employees of our nation's schools.[2]
The commission also recommended linking
the screenings with treatment and
support. They recommended using the
Texas Medication Algorithm Project
(TMAP) as a model treatment system.[3]
TMAP, which was implemented in Texas'
publicly funded mental health care
system while George W. Bush was governor
of Texas,[4] is a disease management
program that aids physicians in
prescribing drugs to patients based on
clinical history, background, symptoms,
and previous results. It was the first
program in the United States aimed at
establishing medication guidelines for
treating mental health illnesses.[5]
Basically, it is an algorithm that
recommends specific drugs which should
be used to treat specific diseases.
Funding for TMAP was provided by a
Robert Wood-Johnson Grant as well as
several major drug companies. The
project began in 1995 as an alliance of
individuals from pharmaceutical
companies, the University of Texas, and
the mental health and corrections
systems of Texas.[6]
Critics of mental health screening and
TMAP claim that it is a payoff to
Pharmaceutical companies. Many cite
Allen Jones, a former employee of the
Pennsylvania Office of the Inspector
General. He was fired when he revealed
that many key officials who have
influence over the medication plan in
his state received monetary perks and
benefits from pharmaceutical companies,
which benefited from their drugs being
in the medication algorithm.
TMAP also promotes the use of newer,
more expensive anti-psychotic drugs.
Results of studies conducted in the
United States and Great Britain found
that using the older, more established
anti-psychotic drugs as a front line
treatment rather than the newer
experimental drugs makes more sense.
Under TMAP, the Eli Lilly drug
olanzapine, a new atypical antipsychotic
drug, is used as a first line treatment
rather than a more typical
anti-psychotic medication. Perhaps it is
because Eli Lilly has several ties to the
Bush family, where George Bush Sr. was a
member of the board of directors. George
W. Bush also appointed Eli Lilly C.E.O.
Sidney Taurel to a seat on the Homeland
Security Council. Of Eli Lilly's $1.6
million political contributions in 2000,
82 percent went to Republicans and George
W. Bush.[7]
In November of 2004, Congress
appropriated $20 million[8] to implement
the findings of the New Freedom
Commission on Mental Health. This would
include mandatory screening by schools
for mental health illnesses. Congressman
Ron Paul, R-Texas introduced an amendment
to the appropriations bills which would
withhold funding for mandatory mental
health screenings and require parental
consent and notification. His amendment,
however, was voted down by a wide margin
(95-315 in the House of
Representatives).[9]
Paul, a doctor and long-time member of
the American Association of Physicians
and Surgeons (AAPS) states, "At issue is
the fundamental right of parents to
decide what medical treatment is
appropriate for their children. The
notion of federal bureaucrats ordering
potentially millions of youngsters to
take psychotropic drugs like Ritalin
strikes an emotional chord with American
parents." Paul says the allegation "that
we have a nation of children with
undiagnosed mental disorders crying out
for treatment is patently false," and
warns that mental health screening could
be used to label children whose
attitudes, religious beliefs, and
political views conflict with
established doctrine.
Paul further warns that an obvious major
beneficiary of this legislation is the
pharmaceutical industry. The AAPS has
decried this legislation, which they say
will lead to mandatory psychological
testing of every child in America
without parental consent, and "heap even
more coercive pressure on parents to
medicate children with potentially
dangerous side effects."
~~~~~~~~~~
Update by Jeanne Lenzer: Whether it's
the pills we take or the oil we use, it
would be reassuring to know that the
information used to develop new
medicines or to utilize natural
resources wisely is based on
science--not corporate spin.
But blandishments from Big Pharma to
politicians and doctors have a profound
effect on health care in the U.S.,
making medical research closer to
propaganda than science at times.
One way drug companies, in collusion
with doctors, increase their market
share is to expand the definition of
diseases. When diagnostic criteria were
liberalized for attention deficit
disorder in 1991, the number of children
diagnosed jumped by about 60 percent.
The American Psychiatric Association
(APA) acknowledged in the July 2004
issue of Advocacy News that, "The BMJ
story has gained some traction in
derivative reports on the Internet."
But, they boasted, "mainstream media
have not touched the story, in part
thanks to APA's work, for which the
[Bush] Administration is
appreciative."[10]
The APA's boast is curious. The article
was the most downloaded article in the
history of the BMJ. It clearly struck a
nerve with a public wary of doctors and
politicians whose pockets are lined with
drug company money.
Given the interest in the BMJ story, it
would seem that the APA, instead of
attempting to keep the story out of the
mainstream media, would be anxious to
counter the widely circulated statements
in the article. It would also seem that
the mainstream press could provide the
Administration and the APA the best
possible vehicle to counter these
supposed factual errors in the BMJ
article.
But, the facts might prove difficult to
square with the public. More than one in
every 100 toddlers and preschoolers in
the United States are on powerful
psychiatric drugs, such as Ritalin and
Prozac, according to a study published
in the February 2000 issue of the
Journal of the American Medical
Association.
Joseph T. Coyle, M.D., wrote in an
accompanying editorial, "It appears that
behaviorally disturbed children are now
increasingly subjected to quick and
inexpensive pharmacologic fixes, as
opposed to informed mutimodal therapy."
He concluded, "These disturbing
prescription practices suggest a growing
crisis in mental health services to
children and demand more thorough
investigation."
But instead of issuing warnings about
overmedication or inappropriate
prescribing, the experts on the New
Freedom Commission warn ominously that
too few children are receiving treatment
for mental illness. They cite escalating
numbers of toddlers expelled from
daycare as evidence of potentially
serious psychological problems--problems
to be diagnosed and cured with mental
health screening and pills. Social and
economic reasons for the rise in kiddie
expulsions are left unexamined.
As bad as this is for those put on drugs
and labeled "mentally ill," the far
bigger concern is the creation of a
disease for every drug, a situation made
possible by the hand-in-glove
relationship between industry and the
government.
~~~~~~~~~~
NOTES
1. http://www.mentalhealthcommission.gov/.
2. http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=39078.
3. http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=39078.
4. http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=39078.
5. http://www.news-medical.net/?id=3084.
6. http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=39078.
7. http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=39078.
8. http://www.truthnews.net/world/2004090078.htm.
9. http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=41606.
10. See Medicating Aliah:
http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2005/05/medicating_ aliah.html.
Alliance for Human Research Protection “http://www.ahrp.org”; www.ahrp.org
http://www.psych.org/join_apa/mb/newsletters/advocacy/
AdvNewsJuly2004.htm#21.
~~~~~~~~~~
Sources:
_Asheville Global Report_ (_British Medical
Journal_),No. 284, June 24-30, 2004
Title: "Bush Plans To Screen Whole U.S.
Population For Mental Illness"
Author: Jeanne Lenzer
http://www.agrnews.org/issues/284/#2
Truth News, September 13,2004
Title: "Forcing Kids Into a Mental
Health Ghetto"
Congressman Ron Paul
http://www.truthnews.net/world/2004090078.htm
Faculty Evaluator: David Van Nuys Ph.D.
Student Researchers: John Ferritto, Matt
Johnson
~~~~~~~~~~
From: http://www.projectcensored.org/
Project Censored is a media research
group out of Sonoma State University
which tracks the news published in
independent journals and newsletters.
From these, Project Censored compiles an
annual list of 25 news stories of social
significance that have been overlooked,
under-reported or self-censored by the
country's major national news media.
Between 700 and 1000 stories are
submitted to Project Censored each year
from journalists, scholars, librarians,
and concerned citizens around the world.
With the help of more than 200 Sonoma
State University faculty, students, and
community members, Project Censored
reviews the story submissions for
coverage, content, reliability of
sources and national significance.
- end of Project Censored story -
~~~~~~~~~~
ACTION: STOP THE CENSORSHIP! Let
the public know about this! Please
forward to all appropriate places
on and off the Internet! Thank you!
~~~~~~~~~~
Forwarded by MindFreedom International
http://www.MindFreedom.org
The above news story is forwarded as a free
public service by the nonprofit human rights
organization MindFreedom International.
* Win human rights campaigns in mental health.
* End abuse by the psychiatric drug industry.
* Support the voices of psychiatric survivors.
* Promote safe and humane options in mental health.
MindFreedom USA has a national campaign
to challenge psychiatric screening of youth.
MindFreedom International unites 100 sponsor
and affiliate groups with individual members,
and is accredited by the United Nations as
a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) with
Consultative Roster Status.
MindFreedom is one of the very few totally
independent groups in the mental health
field with no funding from governments,
drug companies, religions, corporations,
or the mental health system.
JOIN, DONATE, or give GIFT MEMBERSHIPS
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~~~~~~~~~
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