Conference presenters will describe empathic drug-free therapeutic approaches to helping children and adults in emotional crisis, chronically disturbed street people, soldiers returning home with PTSD, head injury survivors, the elderly and even victims of dementia.  Others will apply empathic therapy principles to everyday living.  Presenters include international experts from South America, Australia, Canada, the Middle East and Europe as well as from the United States. 

One of the most moving and informative events of our conference involves the gathering of several family members who have lost loved ones to suicide caused by psychiatric drugs.  Young siblings, mothers, fathers and children will talk about their personal family experiences as well as the larger tragedy we are all seeing unfold as a result of these drugs. In a truly unprecedented and deeply moving presentation, the mother and sister of a child who committed suicide at age 12 while taking an antidepressant will be joined by attorney Karl Protil and medical expert Peter Breggin who worked together on the lawsuit that resulted from the death. 

Here is a link to a video documenting just a few of the deaths related to psychiatric drugs, which begins to illuminate the depth of the problem.

Continuing education credits will be available to counselors, psychologists, social workers and addiction counselors.  Professionals from the mental health field, educators, students and lay public are all invited to attend. 

To learn more about the conference and to register see the Empathic Therapy Center’s website or telephone  Ginger Breggin at 607 272-5328.

We have created a new Finger Lakes region page for those of you who want more information about sightseeing in the Finger Lakes region of New York State before or after our conference.


States May Hold Important Key to Stemming the Onslaught of Psychiatric Drugs
By Ginger Breggin

I often hear from folks who wonder why the government doesn’t become more involved with protecting children in foster care and the elderly in nursing home, among others, from over-prescription of psychiatric drugs.

Although we all naturally think of the federal government when we wish there was more ‘supervision’ and control over the quantity of psychiatric drugs prescribed to some of our most vulnerable populations through Medicare and Medicaid, there are other important governmental levels to consider.

Louisiana’s Attorney general is now bringing suit against one drug company giant charging illegal marketing of their diabetes drug.  And in Georgia legislators have introduced a bill to implement further scrutiny to prevent and stop over-prescription of psychiatric drugs for children in foster care.  

Florida legislators have also been working to protect children in the Florida foster care program from over exposure to psychiatric drugs or enrollment in clinical drug trials.  The St. Petersburg Times reports “The state's growing use of adult medication on emotionally and mentally troubled children has sparked debate for years.” 

Much of this concern was ignited in 2009 after seven year old Gabriel Myers in Florida foster care hanged himself in his foster home.  At that time the child was on Vyvanse (an ADHD drug) and Symbyax (a combination antipsychotic and antidepressant).  In the subsequent investigation it was found that more than 13% of the 20,000 children in Florida foster care in 2009 were being given one or more psychiatric medications, including antipsychotics such as Risperdal and stimulants like Adderall.  “That compares with about 4 or 5% of children in the general population who are on such prescriptions,” according to the St. Petersburg Times.

We need to continue to do better.  We must keep raising awareness of the dangers and life-damaging outcomes from childhood exposure to psychiatric drugs. We must seek out and utilize all the tools we have as humans, from counseling to improved education to tutoring to wraparound programs to various community involvements in the lives of the children in our care.  Working, educating, advocating and reforming at the state and local levels can change lives.   


Medicare and Medicaid Fraud Cases Growing

We have heard a lot about the Qui Tam cases that can be brought against drug companies and other entities involved in fraud.  These are whistleblower cases that are brought by the whistleblowers and which are then evaluated by the federal government to determine whether they will join in the suit.
 
Journalist Ed Silverman, editor of Pharmalot.com, reports on the status of Qui Tam cases and federal government involvement.  Silverman reports that the Qui Tam cases do seem to be assisting the federal government in locating healthcare fraud, including many reports of filing of false claims for Medicare and Medicaid.  Read more here.  


Respect: an Essential Element of Good Experiences
by Doug Bower, Ph.D.

Two lines from Dorothy Law Nolte’s poem “Children Learn What They Live” (1972) read, “If children live with acceptance, they learn to love. If children live with approval, they learn to like themselves.” We should easily connect the word respect with the themes of acceptance and approval that are presented in the poem.

In the arena of counseling and psychotherapy, the person-centered approach, has asserted for nearly 50 years that prizing and acceptance are “necessary and sufficient” for personal growth. The research of Carl Rogers, Nat Raskin, Barbara Brodley, John Shlien, and Jerold Bozarth among others points to the effectiveness of prizing, valuing, and respecting in clients. It facilitates growth and change, if not healing.

On December 20, 2010, in the Dr. Peter Breggin Hour, Dr. Breggin, M.D., and Dr. Robert Foltz, PsyD, asserted the importance of respect in building relationships. They clearly held that it was extremely important to have respect in relationships.

My new friend, Nancy, who is about 13, glared at me when I first met her. She virtually snubbed all my attempts to form a relationship with her. If I attempted to shake her hand, she
wouldn’t take it. If I tried to give her a high 5, she rolled her eyes. In taking pictures of group activities, she warned me not to get one of her. She was often caustic and sarcastic with her
remarks.

For several weeks, I simply offered her respect. That is not the same as liking the negative feedback I was getting. I respected that she didn’t want to shake my hand, or give a high 5, or
have her picture taken. It didn’t mean I felt good about it.

Then suddenly, she offered to shake my hand, gave high 5s, and started posing during group pictures. On one occasion she came up to and put her elbow on my shoulder. She leaned
on me during a conversation she was having with another person. It was a complete reversal of behavior.

I am convinced respect was the trigger to openness and interaction on Nancy’s part. Her attitude changed.

However, at the heart of so many problems is disrespect. Dismissiveness of behaviors, discounting of ideas, and skepticism concerning the potentials of others run rampant in our homes, schools, communities, and the helping professions. Some psychiatrists pull power plays on patients using medications that dull the senses, are linked to suicide, and violence and foster dependency. Then they say, “See, we told you are ill. I need to increase your medication.” Some
teachers, parents, and community leaders don’t trust the children around them and view them with distrust. They then wonder why they act so disrespectfully.

The problem of respect is not the respect. It is not that respect doesn’t work. The problem is it’s absence. It is usually not given a chance to succeed and more invasion methods are used.
For thousands of years people are been trying to encourage people to be respectful. Jesus exhorted people: “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye
even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets” Matthew 7:12 (KJV). Or another Biblical example of promoting respect, or love in this case, “Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth
all sins” Proverbs 10:12 (KJV). The point being that human kind has struggled with this a long long time. As easy as it is to encourage people to use respect, the fact that this encouragement has to be offered again and again suggests it is illusive.

Another difficulty with respect is that people are so bombarded with disrespect that they lose touch with how to access respect. They lose touch with how to experience respect. So simply telling someone to show respect is like speaking for foreign language to some people.

It takes a discovery within based on a reality without to find and thus have respect. Again, Carl Rogers wrote about being incongruent. I think of it as a state of losing touch with how to be in charge of our behaviors. The potential to feel the way we want to feel is always present. The congruent, genuine person knows how to access his or her feelings and experience
them. His or her experiences, attitudes, and thoughts are available to awareness. Choices can be made on how to use such attitudes as respect.

A significant attitude which can help us get to this place of congruence is respect. It takes work, inner work, but it is important to our well being that it is part of our lives.