Big Pharma and Biological Psychiatry Challenged in LA

Aug. 14, 2011 - PRLog -- Los Angeles, CA:  Is it possible to bring integrity to modern psychiatry?  The International Society for Ethical Psychiatry and Psychology (ISEPP) is an organization that brings scholars, clinicians, and “ psychiatric survivors “ together to do just that!

Their Los Angeles conference this coming October 28 : “Alternatives to Biological Psychiatry:  If we don't medicate, what do we do?” takes on the hegemony of the pharmaceutical industry.

Their featured speaker is the incomparable Thomas Szasz, M.D., author of “ The Myth of Mental Illness “ and numerous other books that critique the practice, disjointed thinking and morality of psychiatry.

Check it out at www.PsychIntegrity.org

Joseph Tarantolo, M.D.
Chairman of the Board, ISEPP

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7pcO1fnuxA



Topics Include:
■Safe, humane, life-enhancing methods of treating adults, children, families and couples in psychological distress without reliance on psychotropic drugs.
■Consumer-centered interventions that help people move towards full recovery.
■Restoring psychotherapy as a first-line intervention in behavioral health.
■What parents and families can do to help children without reliance on psychotropic drugs.
■Withdrawing from psychotropic drugs: Clinical indications, safety and supervision concerns.
■The impact of the pharmaceutical industry on evidence-based clinical mental health practice.
■Treating children and adults with integrative care.

Panel Presentations, Roundtable Discussions, Meet the Authors & More!
■Psychotherapist Panel: Experts Discuss How They Work, Followed By Breakout Sessions on Each Clinical Approach!
■Early Psychosis Intervention Panel: How Can We Best Help Those in Crisis?
■Psychiatric Survivors Panel: Consumers Relay Their Experiences in the Mental Health System. Panel members include Nancy Rubenstein Del Giudice.  
■Evidence-Based Literature Panel: What Clinicians Should Know About the Scientific Literature.
■The Bipolar Child Panel: Analyzing an Epidemic.
■50 years after “The Myth of Mental Illness”: Reflections on modern psychiatry.

Confirmed Speakers (This list is being updated daily; our schedule is available here).
■Paula J. Caplan, Ph.D.
"When Johnny and Jane Came Marching Home: How All of Us Can Help Veterans"
■Nicholas Cummings, Ph.D
"Restoring Psychotherapy as a First-Line Intervention"
■Thomas Szasz, M.D.
"Varieties of Psychiatric Criticism"
■Robert Whitaker
"Psychiatry's Response to Anatomy of an Epidemic: What the Emperor Says When He Has No Clothes"
■David Antonuccio, Ph.D.
"It May Be Time To Stop Calling Them 'Antidepressants: Skills, Not Pills, for Depression'"
■Scott Shannon, M.D.
"The Ecology of the Child: A New View of Pediatric Mental Health"
■David Stein, Ph.D.
"A Unified Model for Matching Therapy with Etiology: Better Therapy Is the Most Effective Weapon Against Reliance on Drugs!
■Jacqueline Sparks, Ph.D.
"Listening to Clients, Not Disorders: A Revolution in Therapeutic Services"
■David Oaks
"Where's Your Canoe? Uniting the Many Islands in Our Movement for Deep Change in Mental Health"
■David Cohen, Ph.D., LCSW
"The Ethics and Politics of 'Neuroenhancement'"
■Joanne Cacciatore, Ph.D.
"The Zen of Death: A Mindfullness-based Traumatic Bereavement Intervention"
■Howard Glasser
"Transforming the Difficult Child"
■Ann Rider, MSW
"Narrative Therapy in Peer Support: An Alternative Approach"
■Bose Ravenel, M.D.
"Treating Behavioral Problems Without Drugs: An Integrative Approach to ADD, ODD, and Childhood Bipolar Disorder"
■Ron Unger, LCSW
"Learning to Not Be “Psychotic”: Cognitive Therapy for Psychosis"
■Mark Foster, D.O.
"Ghosts in the Machine: Lessons from the Front Lines of a Mental Health Revolution"
■Claudia M. Gold, M.D.
"Over-reliance on Psychiatric Medications for Children: A Pediatrician's View"
■Willa J. Casstevens, Ph.D. (w/ J. Coker and T. Sanders)
"Exploring Voices in A Mentored Self-Help Approach to Voice Hearing"
■Brian Kean, Ph.D.
"Psychotropic Medication in the Classroom: How Should Teachers and Education Students be Informed About This Complex Dilemma?"
■Virgil Stucker, MBA
"Restoring Mental Health Through Relationship-Centered Care and Philanthropic Action"
■Jill Littrell, Ph.D.
"Immune System Contribution to Major Depression and What to Do About It"
■Jeanne Stolzer, Ph.D.
"Alternatives to ADHD Medications: A Bioevolutionary Perspective"
■Jacob Z. Hess, Ph.D.
"'If McDonald's is the only place in town, we all eat Big Macs': The case for diversifying community mental health education in the U.S."
■Brad Hagen, Ph.D.
"The Greater of Two Evils? How People with Transformative Psychotic Experiences View Psychotropic Medications.
■Dathan A. Paterno, Psy.D.
"Desperately Seeking Parents: How to Reclaim Your Family"
■Phil Sinaikin, M.D.
"Psychiatryland: Marketing and Manipulation Tactics of the Biopsychiatry - Psychopharmacology Industry"
■Jennifer Spaulding-Givens, Ph.D.
"Florida Self-Directed Care: An Exploratory Study of Participants' Characteristics, Goals, Service Utilization, and Outcomes"
■Fred Baughman, M.D.
"An Epidemic of Sudden Cardiac Deaths in the Military Related to Psychotropic Drug Cocktails for PTSD"
■Niall McLaren, M.D.
"How to Cure Eccentrics - Rediagnosing Personality Disorder as Mental Disorder"
■Jay Joseph, Psy.D.
"The "Missing Heritability" of Psychiatric Disorders:  Elusive Genes or Non-Existent Genes?"
■Noelene Weatherby-Fell, Ph.D.
"A Non-Medical Intervention for Supporting the Mental Health of Teachers and Students"
■Mike Mullin, M.D.
"Nutritional Supplements and Diet in the Treatment of Pediatric Mental Health Issues"

We are adding speakers to our program daily!

Specialized sessions on psychotherapy, working with adults diagnosed as severely and mentally ill, treatment of disruptive children, cognitive therapy of psychosis, working with aggressive and/or treatment-resistant clients, group therapy,  alternatives to the medical model, consumer-directed care, how clients view psychiatric medications, innovative approaches to mental health problems in the educational system, the influence of the pharmaceutical industry, diversifying mental health education, and more

# # #

The International Society for Ethical Psychology and Psychiatry is a nonprofit organization acting as a vast network of professionals and individuals concerned with the impact of mental health theories and practices. Their new website is at www.PsychIntegrity.org