For a full 13-page report on the recent shootings/massacres (especially in the schools) and their connection to psychiatrics/psychologists and in almost all cases, psychiatric drugs, call Citizens Commission on Human Rights at 800-869-2247. And once again, thanks for this most timely article.
Mark W. Manroe, DDS, PA
Merriam
In addition to lawsuits or complaints to licensing boards, there is another little-known recourse available to patients, families, and hospital staff who witness psychotherapy abuse. Requests may be made to the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, located in Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois, for a "public information interview." The Joint Commission is the chief accrediting agency of hospitals and treatment centers. Hospitals need accreditation to receive insurance reimbursement.
The interview is then scheduled to take place during the triennial survey of the hospital. Information such as a hospital's noncompliance with the commission's safe standards of care, harmful treatment outcomes, or the lack of an informed-consent policy are considered by the commission's examiners during the survey. Hospitals are required to publicly post the date of a survey and must inform the public of the survey dates, when asked. The Joint Commission's Accreditation Manual for Healthcare Networks is available in hospital and medical school libraries.
I have found that public complaints made directly to the Joint Commission's surveyors effectively circumvent the psychobabble often used by hospitals to defend their recovered-memory nonsense.
Karen Johnson
St. Louis
I would venture that if you compare the current most-used diagnosis from the DSM-IV with the latest fad psychiatric units at your for-profit hospital, you will find a correlation. Back when Masters and Johnson were opening units across the country, Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD) and satanic-cult diagnoses were everywhere. Well, now that the fad has run its course, they have dropped out of sight. Where are all these MPDs who needed their own hospital units five years ago? Were they suddenly cured? Or perhaps the public is getting a glimpse at the therapy world's nasty secrets. As a clinician, I believe in the principle of Multiple Personality. It is rare, and I have never worked with someone who fits the criteria of the diagnosis, in 15 years of providing therapy. I have had certain types of clients come into my office fishing for a diagnosis or validation from someone in my position toward that type of label. Often we work with very fragile people who are susceptible to what and how we frame things. I could have led those clients down that road if I chose, but I have found more traditional and far less complicated ways to help them alleviate their emotional pain.
The foundation of all good therapy is truth. Once you start the process with a lie, one can only add more layers of the lie. There are so many wonderful and talented people in this profession, and I hope that consumers will reward these professionals for the dedicated work they do and will hold the therapeutic community accountable, like this article did.
Bart Ewing, LSCSW, LCSW
Fairway
I'm so close to boycotting your rag altogether, and this may have been the last straw. Instead of attempting to be artsy, why don't you exhibit a little class?
Name Withheld Upon Request
Liberty
Seems like a quick two-minute scan of the stock at the local Barnes & Noble or Amazon.com or even a phone call to a bookstore could have elicited better information than he gave out. Glad to see Lethem merits a first-up in local announcements, but why bother if you're just gonna mangle information willy nilly? Ah, well, thanks anyhow.
Christopher Sebela
Kansas City, Missouri
Thank you for the support of Descension (Around Hear, October 26); we truly appreciate it! It has not been easy being this type of band in this area. We have been ridiculed, and we have a very hard time getting gigs (some bands don't want us to play due to our shows, while some promoters are scared of us). We have even been told we are TOO SCARY to play certain places. But Andrew Miller's insight and appreciation of who we are and what we do is very, very awesome. It is a major plus coming from this magazine, because many in the Kansas City area seem to believe that the Pitch is THE paper to be in. The opinion on the street is that the Pitch is the only local paper that really has its fingers on the pulse of the local music scene, and Miller's kind words were welcomed, even by denizens of the dark like ourselves. We invite you all, and anyone out there reading this, to see a hell of a show, literally, at El Torreon November 24.
Astoroth Occultus
Kansas City, Missouri
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