Syracuse, NY - Free Event Concerning the Drugs that are Changing a Generation

April 6, 2011 - PRLog -- SYRACUSE, NY: Wednesday April 13 2010 at Empire College (Carrier Circle - 3rd Floor)

Sponsored by the not-for-profit organization, It's About Childhood and Family, Inc.
Theatre is Limited to 100 seats, so register early!

1. 6:00-7:30 pm Presentation by Robert Whitaker (author 'Mad in America, 'Anatomy of an Epidemic')

Award winning journalist/author Robert Whitaker will review long-term efficacy studies of major drug classes.. He has been an invited speaker to national and international conferences, seminars, etc. including APA.. has presented to psychiatrists, psychologists, therapists, sw, etc...

2. 7:30-9:00 pm Film Screening and Discussion with Director Kevin Miller 'Generation Rx' (Robert Whitaker will also be available for Q&A) you can register for event at www.iacaf-whitaker.eventbrite.com

Participants are welcome to attend either presentations or both, but you need to register for each one seperately, so make sure you register for both if you plan to attend both..


Event Details


APRIL 13, 2011 at EMPIRE COLLEGE - EAST SYRACUSE

**PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU REGISTER FOR BOTH LECTURE AND FILM IF YOU PLAN TO ATTEND BOTH**

REGISTER HERE:

http://iacaf-whitaker.eventbrite.com/

ROBERT WHITAKER - AUTHOR 'ANATOMY OF AN EPIDEMIC'

KEVIN MILLER - DIRECTOR 'GENERATION RX'

Robert Whitaker has won numerous awards as a journalist covering medicine and science, including the George Polk Award for Medical Writing and a National Association for Science Writers’ Award for best magazine article. In 1998, he co-wrote a series on psychiatric research for the Boston Globe that was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service. His books include 'Mad In America' and 'Anatomy of an Epidemic'.

In his latest book, 'Anatomy of an Epidemic (2010), Whitaker investigates what is known today about the biological causes of mental disorders. Do psychiatric medications fix “chemical imbalances” in the brain, or do they, in fact, create them? Researchers spent decades studying that question, and by the late 1980s, they had their answer. Readers will be startled—and dismayed—to discover what was reported in the scientific journals.

Then comes the scientific query at the heart of this book: During the past fifty years, when investigators looked at how psychiatric drugs affected long-term outcomes, what did they find? Did they discover that the drugs help people stay well? Function better? Enjoy good physical health? Or did they find that these medications, for some paradoxical reason, increase the likelihood that people will become chronically ill, less able to function well, more prone to physical illness?

This is the first book to look at the merits of psychiatric medications through the prism of long-term results. Are long-term recovery rates higher for medicated or unmedicated schizophrenia patients? Does taking an antidepressant decrease or increase the risk that a depressed person will become disabled by the disorder? Do bipolar patients fare better today than they did forty years ago, or much worse? When the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) studied the long-term outcomes of children with ADHD, did they determine that stimulants provide any benefit?

By the end of this review of the outcomes literature, readers are certain to have a haunting question of their own. In addition, he reports on innovative programs of psychiatric care in Europe and the United States that are producing good long-term outcomes.

Kevin Miller is an independent film maker, with a B.A., who has been producing documentaries since the late 1980s. His latest film, entitled "Generation Rx" is an award winning documentary that examines the dramatic cultural shift that has taken place in our country and elsewhere, involving drugging our kids earlier than ever before, and at a greater frequency than had been the case in the history of society. Mr. Miller has won a dozen international film and television awards, in addition to acclaim he has received for his writing.

GENERATION RX addresses many of the alarming issues surrounding the growing use of ADHD drugs, antidepressants, and anti-psychotic medications among children and teenagers worldwide. GENERATION RX is a film about families who confronted horror and found nowhere to turn for help -- and how scores of children have been caught in the vortex of mind-bending drugs at the earliest stages of their growth and development. Ultimately, Miller says, "GENERATION RX may help parents decide whether the perceived benefits of these medications outweigh the serious risks to children."

REGISTER FOR EVENT AT http://iacaf-whitaker.eventbrite.com/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xehHwkPpevk



Michael Gilbert, Psy.D.
Director
It's About Childhood & Family, Inc.
315.382.0541
www.iacaf.org

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The International Society for Ethical Psychology and Psychiatry (ISEPP) is a nonprofit organization acting as a vast network of professionals and individuals concerned with the impact of mental health theories and practices.