Sex as an Occupational Hazard?

The New York Post reports Dr. Glen Gabbard, a psychiatrist who treats his peers for sexual misconduct saying: "We all have to practice as if this (sexual misconduct) could happen to us - it's an occupational hazard to which we are all vulnerable."

How creepy is that? When I saw this and all the other psychiatrists and psychologists who said that they had been involved in sexual relations with their patients, I decided to do a little research. I did a quick search and found the following articles, a psychiatrist being charged with predatory behavior, a prison psychologist having an affair with a patient,a shocking report of psychiatrists involved in sexual misconduct.

There are more, but those are just a few links to check out. It's strange to think that those we trust with our sanity do such insane things themselves.

The Lobotomist

There's a new PBS American Experience called "The Lobotomist" out. It's about Walter Freeman who is considered the father of the lobotomy. For those of you who don't know what a lobotomy is, it's basically a barbaric practice with very serious side effects in which the "doctor" (I'm sorry, but I can't bring myself to call someone a doctor who does this) takes an ice-pick like instrument and a mallet, and after knocking the victim out - usually by using electroshock treatment - inserts the ice-pick through the bone of your eye and slashes the lobes of the front of your brain. It's really disgusting and it's actually making my stomach turn just writing about it. Anyway, the PBS special is very interesting, check it out if you have the stomach for it.

Eugenics continued

In 1870 British psychologist Herbert Spencer began to widely promote eugenics and claimed that selective breeding of the fittest would bring about a superior race and the unfit should be allowed to die out. He recommended that natural selection be allowed to take it's course and stated that the government should do nothing to help the poor, weak or "unfit". Herbert Spencer also claimed that aiding the children of the poor was a serious crime against society because it would "disadvantage the offspring of the worthy." He named his brand of eugenics "evolutionary psychology." He opposed enacting laws to mandate safety standards for housing, clean-water systems, effective sewage systems and mine and factory regulations because they represented an "artificial preservation of those least able to take care of themselves."

The United States was not immune to the eugenics ideology. In 1896, Connecticut enacted a law prohibiting the "insane" from marrying. Other states followed, threatening the mentally ill with a $1000 fine and five years in prison if they wed. Charles Davenport, who studied British psychological eugenics, argued that if a society had to choose between allowing "mental defectives" to procreate or executing them, the latter was preferable.

By the 1920s, eugenic sterilization was practiced in two dozen states. In 1921, the Second International Congress on Eugenics in New York declared that science should "enlighten government in the prevention of the spread and multiplication of worthless members of society."

During the 1930s, United States immigration policies were guided by eugenics theories, and many peoples of Italian and Easter European descent were turned away. And, to a large extent, as in Germany, anti-Semitism was fueled by advocates of the eugenics fallacy.

As last as 1974, women on welfare were twice as likely as other women to be sterilized. 25% of Native American woman had been sterilized and a decline in fertility was most pronounced amount African and Mexican Americans.

These same theories of eugenics inspired Adolf Hitler in his seminal book "Mein Kampf" (My Struggle).

Francis Galton

I've been gone quite a lot and have been neglecting my blogging - so here I am, back and ready to give you another piece of the history of psychiatry. This one involves eugenics - which is what Hitler used when he decided that Aryans were the "master race" and that Jews, homosexuals and mentally challenged people were "unfit to live". Eugenics is the "science" Hitler used to justify all of his heinous acts on humanity, and here's who invented it:

In 1883, Francis Galton - English psychologist and Charles Darwin's half cousin - invented the term eugenics (meaning "good stock"). Galton supported Darwin's theory that Man had evolved from classes of lower animals. He promoted the breeding of better "human stock" and discouraged the reproduction of those considered less desirable.
The progression from Wundt's "Man is an animal" theory to the breeding doctrines of eugenics was a natural one.

Galton once said, "The science of improving the stock [will] give more suitable races or strains of blood a better chance of prevailing speedily over the less suitable..."

Wilhelm Wundt

In 1879, German psychologist Wilhelm Wundt unveiled "experimental" psychology to his students at Leipzig University, declaring the study of the soul a "waste of energy" and Man was nothing more then an animal. By redefining Man's problems in biological terms, Wundt and his fellow psychologists were able to place the treatment of such problems, and the funding for it, firmly within their own ranks.
Wundt's new "science" in describing Man as an animal that could be manipulated as easily as a dog could be trained to salivate at the sound of a bell, found great favor with governments. His theories fueled the ambitions of Germany's "Iron Chancellor", Otto Von Bismarck, who sought control of the masses to feed his war machine.
Although the "man is an animal" theory is easily disproved - dogs do not drive cars, horses will never paint masterpieces and concertos have yet to be performed by an orchestra of monkeys - psychology and psychiatry adopted Wundt's theory as truth.
Man was declared "victim" of his environment and was said to have little conscious control of his own thoughts and actions. However, psychology and psychiatry have yet to scientifically isolate one biological cause of unwanted behavior, or offer a workable cure.

As a closing statement for today's blog, here is a quote from Wilhelm Wundt in 1911:
"The soul can no longer exist in the face of our present-day physiological knowledge."

Origins of the words Psychology and Psychiatry

The word psychology first appeared in the English language in the 17th century and derives from psyche (soul) and ology (study of). As a philosophical subject, it considered the mid and body as separate entities. French philosopher Rene Descartes reasoned "the mind and body were separate because if something is taken away from the body (i.e. a foot), nothing is considered to have been lost by the mind." His philosophy, known as dualism (dual condition), determined that the mind does not exist in space as ordinary physical substances do; it can think for itself and has purpose and freedom of will.
As long as man's problems were those of the soul, it was the domain of the clergy and religion to to address those problems.
Later, in 1808 the word "psychiatry" was coined by Johann Christian Reil. This word means "doctoring the soul", coming from psyche (soul) and iatros (doctor). This new word allowed psychiatrists to take matters of the soul away from religion and into their own, incapable hands.

"The Father of American Psychiatry"

Dr. Benjamin Rush - also known as the "Father of American Psychiatry" was alive from 1745-1813. Just before he passed away - in 1812 - he published the first American textbook on psychiatry.
In this book, masturbation and too much blood to the brain were considered causes of madness. Treatment involved cauterizing the spine and genitals or encasing the patient's private parts in plaster to prevent masturbation. (Oddly enough, in present time masturbation is considered and needful activity which prevents madness.)
Rush's recommended treatment included:

• Dropping "patients" into a well, on the basis that "if the patient nearly drowned and then brought back to life, he would take a fresh start, leaving his disease."
• Blistering the ankles to draw blood away from the "overheated head."
• Bleeding as much as "four-fifths of the blood in the body" to relieve the "excessive action" in the patient's brain.

None of his ideas about the brain being the cause of insanity has ever been medically proven, and psychiatrists still forward this fallacy today to market their mind-altering drugs.

To end this segment about American Psychiatry's "Father", here as a quote from him about his invention - the "Tranquilzer Chair" pictured about two posts below this one:

"It binds and confines every part of the body. By preventing the muscles from acting...the position of the head and feet favors the easy application of cold water to the former and warm water to the latter. Its effects have been truly delightful to me."

Johann Christian Reil, 1800-1808

Johann Christian Reil coined the term "psychiatry" in 1808. The word literally means "healing the soul" from Greek "psyche". Yet Reil had already concluded in 1803 - without evidence - that mental disturbances were of the brain, not the soul. He advocated punishment, intimidation, loud noises, flogging and opium as treatments, describing them as "non-injurious torture." For a man that suffered "delusions about the purity of the female sex," Reil recommended "a prostitute who will cure his delusions."

1700s-1800s

Here's a continuation of our history. I last left off on the 1700s. Here are the "advances" psychiatry made from 1700-1800:

Throughout the 1700s and 1800s, patients were chained naked to walls, beaten with rods and lashed into obedience. French asylum director Philippe Pinel abolished the use of chains in Paris' Salpetriere Institution in 1793. In their place he instituted straitjackets and threatened patients who misbehaved with "10 severe lashes".

I can't say that there were any huge advances or changes made in psychiatry during this time, it was pretty much the same torturous treatment as in the 1600s-1700s. None of the above is not nearly as awful as what the "Father of American Psychiatry" Benjamin Rush did to his patients. I'll share that with you next time, but just to leave you with an idea of his attitude, here's a quote from Dr. Benjamin Rush regarding one of his inventions - the "Tranquilizer Chair", which was used to keep the patient in a state of discomfort and pain for hours on end:
"It binds and confines every part of the body. By preventing the muscles from acting...the position of the head and feet favors the easy application of cold water or ice to the former and warm water to the latter. Its effects have been truly delightful to me."
Here's a pic of the chair:

A history of Psychiatry -1600-1700

I have decided to post some information on the history of Psychiatry. Recently, I visited CCHR's Psychiatry - An Industry of Death Museum, which gave me a greater understanding of Psychiatrists and what they think of the human race and WHY they think that way. This museum shows the progression of psychiatry and it's views. I'd like to try to show anyone reading this blog that same progression. So, here it goes - starting with Psychiatry from 1600-1700:

Until the mid 1800s, the practice that became known as "psychiatry" was responsible only for the warehousing of the mentally disturbed. Patients were treated like animals, often confined to cages, closets and animal stalls. They were also shackled and flogged.

Psychiatrist Lee Coleman, author of Reign of Error: Psychiatry, Authority, and Law, says the roots of psychiatry are based on control and power, "Whatever was done to make this person more manageable would be simply called a treatment. And the sad realty is that many of these so-called treatments were in essence torture."

Through the 1600s and 1700s, inmates of the infamous "Bedlam" mental asylum in London were chained, beaten, fed rotten food and subjected to regular bloodlettings. The only beneficiaries of this treatment were the asylum attendants, who made fortunes from their human warehouses and displayed their victims like circus sideshow acts to anyone willing to pay admission.

In 1684 in England, Dr. Thomas Willis authored a text on insanity, claiming: "Discipline, threats, fetters [shackles], and blows are needed...Truly nothing is more necessary and more effective for the recovery of these people than forcing them to respect and fear intimidation."

It has often been said that those who don't know the history are likely to repeat it. Lets see if Psychiatrists have. I'll be posting tidbits of history that I've been able to find every day that I can.

An article I ran across

The following article - titled "INHUMAN BEINGS - The Chemicalized Personality" is by Tom Solari, a writer and producer:
A mother murders her five children. High school students massacre their classmates. An Iraq vet stabs his wife 71 times. How can this happen?
A common thread in these occurrences is the fact that the killers have been taking psychiatric medications. But that is too simple. So we hear about “post-partum depression” and “combat stress.” In the case of the teens, it's “the breakdown of the family" or it’s the music, the movies, the video games.
The real answer is the dehumanizing effect of drugs.
A human being has more than one aspect. There is a definite electro-chemical component. The body physically functions via electro-chemical processes. Then there is that aspect which perceives and reasons and creates. This is not electro-chemical. When people communicate with each other, it is not chemical molecules that are exchanging ideas. This is the spiritual aspect; the conscious, aware individual.
There is also a mental component—a mind—which is an interactive link between the reasoning factor and the physical. A healthy mind (motivated by the spirit) is analytical. A less healthy mind is less analytical and more and more reactive. It operates on a stimulus/response basis, motivated by random factors. A troubled, unhealthy mind doesn't reason. It doesn't perceive well. It reacts to stimuli.
For a long time now, the mental health establishment has been telling us that we are chemical in nature. They would have us believe that they can solve our problems with mood-altering drugs—a little dash of this and a little dash of that. That approach may work at the purely physical level, as in taking antibiotics to handle infection, but it is not the physical component that gives us our rationality, our humanity. It is not the molecules in the brain that are thinking and perceiving, loving and caring, creating great music and poetry. No, the physical component is comprised of cells and electrical impulses, which are as reasoning and creative as an avocado or the electric current that powers your toaster.
When a person is troubled, he is already sliding in the direction of the reactive, unthinking, physical impulse side of his nature. To then give him chemical, mood-altering drugs, pushes him further in that direction. While the sedative effect may appear to calm him down, he is becoming, more and more chemicalized.
So is it any wonder that these killers seem less than human? They ARE less than human. Though they can appear bright and calculating at times, real judgment is gone. They are completely reactive; alienated. Their minds bubble and boil like the mass of chemicals they have become. The analytical capacity is gone. The spirit is gone. Their humanity is gone. They respond randomly and literally to stimuli (enter music, movies and video games). Then, in the extreme, they lash out with violence at the imagined demons and enemies in their own unreal world. They have been mentally short-circuited by the drugs that are supposed to be helping them. It is the ultimate betrayal.
And when their bizarre, chemically induced, nightmare world collides with the world of OUR reality—which consists of living people, loving families, children, teachers, learning, accomplishment—a slaughter ensues and we are left to wonder "WHY?" "WHAT HAPPENED?"
The answer: psychiatry happened. And why would anyone perpetrate such a crime as to drug children and adults, driving them insane, all in the name of help? It's too horribly simple. It’s a multi-billion dollar business. They do it for money.
The good news is that when society wakes up to these facts, we will cease to allow these evils to occur. It's time.

Tom Solari
Copyright(c)2006 Tom SolariAll Rights ReservedTom Solari is a writer and video producer, living and working in Los Angeles. He is concerned about a culture that promotes chemical dependency as a solution to problems, when logic and the evidence shows that this approach deepens the problem by numbing the brain, muddling the mind and undermining the human spirit

What is Psychosurgery (aka Neurosurgery for Mental Disorders)?

I'd like you to keep in mind that the following still occurs in mental hospitals today:

The roots of psychosurgery can be traced to a medieval treatment called “trepanning” (cutting out circular sections of the skull). Ancient doctors believed this liberated demons and bad spirits from a person.

However, modern psychosurgery can be traced to an incident in 1848 when an explosion drove an iron rod through the cheek and out the top of the head of railway worker Phineas Gage. Before the accident, Gage had been a capable foreman, a religious man with a well-balanced mind and a shrewd business sense. After the rod was removed and he recovered, Gage became fitful, irreverent, grossly profane, impatient and obstinate.

That an alteration in behavior could be achieved by damaging parts of the brain without killing a person did not go unnoticed, and in 1882 Swiss asylum superintendent Gottlieb Burckhardt became the first known psychosurgeon. He removed cerebral tissue from six patients, hoping “the patient might be transformed from a disturbed to a quiet dement.” Although one died and others developed epilepsy, paralysis and aphasia (loss of ability to use or understand words), Burckhardt was pleased with his now quiet patients.
So was born a new mental “treatment.”

On November 12, 1935, Egas Moniz, a professor of neurology in Lisbon, Portugal, performed the first lobotomy inspired by an experiment in which the frontal lobes of two chimpanzees were removed. Moniz conducted the same operation on humans, theorizing that the source of mental disorders was this part of the brain.

A 12-year follow-up study observed that Moniz’s patients suffered relapses, seizures and deaths. Yet this did not deter others from following in his footsteps.

On September 14, 1936, U.S. psychiatrist Walter J. Freeman performed his first lobotomy. Using electric shock as an anesthetic, he inserted an ice pick beneath the eye socket bone into the brain with a surgical mallet. Movement of the instrument then severed the fibers of the frontal brain lobes, causing irreversible brain damage.

Between 1946 and 1949 the lobotomies increased tenfold. Freeman himself performed or supervised approximately 3,500 procedures, producing armies of zombies. By 1948, the death rate from lobotomies was 3%. Yet Freeman toured from city to city, promoting his procedure by lecturing and publicly lobotomizing patients in theatrical fashion. The press dubbed his tour “Operation Ice Pick.”

Today, under the sanitized name of “neurosurgery” for mental disorders (NMD), psychosurgery advocates such as the Scottish Health Secretary propose that lobotomies — performed by burning out the frontal lobes — be used on patients without their consent. In Russia between 1997 and 1999, Dr. Sviatoslav Medvedec, director of St. Petersburg’s Institute of the Human Brain, admitted to overseeing more than 100 psychosurgery operations given mainly to teenagers for drug addiction. “I think the West is too cautious about neurosurgery because of the obsession with human rights...” he said.

In 1999, Alexander Lusikian was admitted to the “Brain Institute” at St. Petersburg, Russia, where he was to receive psychosurgery to cure his drug addiction. The operation was performed without anesthesia. Four holes were drilled into his head during a four-hour operation and sections of the brain were cauterized (burned) with liquid nitrogen, causing excruciating pain. After he was released, the wounds on his scalp festered so badly that he needed to be re-hospitalized. Within a week of the psychosurgery, Lusikian was craving drugs and within two months, he had completely reverted to drugs.

Frances Farmer 1914-1970
Upset over a string of failed relationships, Hollywood actress Frances Farmer was arrested in January 1943, after a bout of heavy drinking. Refusing to cooperate with psychiatrist Thomas H. Leonard, she was committed to an institution. For the next seven years, she was subjected to 90 insulin shock treatments and numerous bouts of electroshock. She later told of being “raped by orderlies, gnawed on by rats, poisoned by tainted food, chained in padded cells, strapped in strait jackets and half drowned in ice baths.” By the time of her release, she was withdrawn and terrified of people. After three years, she was up to working again—sorting dirty laundry. Her career and life were ruined.

This was exerpted from this Citizen's Commission for Human Rights link.