NEWS: Psych. Screening of Kids is a Top Censored Story

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Sat, 28 Jan 2006 08:16:02 -0800

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NEWS: Psych. Screening of Kids is a Top Censored Story

 

 

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

 

~~~~~~~~~~

 

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

to MindFreedom International today:

 

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in mental health: http://www.madmarket.org

 

MindFreedom International

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Eugene, OR 97440-3484 USA

 

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~~~~~~~~~

 

Please forward this to all appropriate

places on and off the Internet. Thank you!

 

 

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