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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 11 of 11. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by dj on February 11, 2001, at 18:44:14
The intro. and first chapter of this recently released book (by Richard O'Connor, therapist, depressive and author of "Undoing Depression")have just been posted at: http://www.undoingdepression.com/Active-intro-chapterone.html
Those babbling above, ; ),and elsewhere about the defecits in their relationships with their therapists might want to bring this book to their attention, if you read and agree with the thrust of O'Connor's focus!
Posted by willow on February 11, 2001, at 23:26:24
In reply to Active Treatment of Depression excerpts..., posted by dj on February 11, 2001, at 18:44:14
Hey what happened to my previous post? (I posted to say I was off to read it.) Oh, well!
DJ I read most but scanned over the insurance issues. Here in Ontario psychologists and physiotherapists aren't covered under the provincial health insurance unless you're being treated in a hospital. I think minors are covered though if they go through government funded agencies, but there are big cut backs in their funding.
I agree very much with the author. I would have liked to read the chapter on CFS also. Hopefully the book is available at my library. If not I'll inquire through my psychologist or a book store.
Thanks again for the link!
Posted by dj on February 12, 2001, at 1:41:12
In reply to Re: Active Treatment of Depression excerpts..., posted by willow on February 11, 2001, at 23:26:24
> > I agree very much with the author. I would have liked to read the chapter on CFS also. Hopefully the book is available at my library. If not I'll inquire through my psychologist or a > >book store.
Willow,
I've just scanned the text and haven't been able to figure out what the CFS you note refers to... Perhaps you can enlighten me.
The book was just published in the U.S. in the last couple of weeks and may not yet be available in Canada, though I believe it is listed in Chapter's inventory list, if not yet in their stores.
I've sent some excerpts from the excerpt to a former therapist as well as to some Canadian media outlets whom I am hoping will review the book and interview Richard O'Connor.
Toronto Star reporter Scott Simmie also just published a new book on his explorations of the Canadian mental health system. Though I have yet to read it:"The Last Taboo: A Survival Guide to Mental Health in Canada" (co-authored with Julia Nunes), is partially about his own depressive experiences.
It was favourably reviewed in Saturday's Globe and Mail book section by Gabor Mate who noted that: "The diagnosis of mental disorder is far from a pure science," Nunes and Simmie discover... Recovery from mental illness, the authors demonstrate, demands much more than doctors and medications...". Pamela Wallin has also reviewed the book and her comments can be found on the Globe and Mail's website: (http://www.globebooks.com/wallin/20010205.html).
Using Google and doing a search for Scott Simmie on-line will also bring up some articles he wrote, which preceded the book's publication.
Here's another interesting Canadian link with universal application: http://www.camh.net/CLARKEPages/clarke_news/michael_wilson_speech.html
Cheerio!
dj
Posted by dj on February 12, 2001, at 2:16:11
In reply to Re: CFS... and further links.. » willow, posted by dj on February 12, 2001, at 2:13:52
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome - finally got down to that section. Some VERY good analysis of the GAPING flaws in American mental health care system, some of which apply above the border too...
Posted by willow on February 12, 2001, at 13:38:26
In reply to Re: CFS... ..., posted by dj on February 12, 2001, at 2:16:11
I had been struggling with the symptoms for two years and not one of the "medical" doctors had explained to me how it could be linked to mental health issues. Can you imagine my anger when I found reference to CFS and mental health in a textbook? I asked my old family doctor about it and he confirmed it. Then I asked to be referred to a psychologist and he said that wouldn't help.
About a year later I changed to a younger doctor, and now I can say that I actually am confident of my ability to get to a normal functioning level.
PS I saw the episode of Pamela Wallin. I've seen first hand how scared people can be of mental illness. My father has schizophrenia and even the interaction of some family members with him is shocking. It has affected his social graces but not the man, if that makes any sense. I have more respect for him than alot of other people. But even he thinks of mental illness as just being "crazy." Perhaps it's the generation.
Posted by dj on February 12, 2001, at 16:06:57
In reply to Re: CFS... ..., posted by willow on February 12, 2001, at 13:38:26
> I had been struggling with the symptoms for two years and not one of the "medical" doctors had explained to me how it could be linked to mental health issues. Can you imagine my anger when I found reference to CFS and mental health in a >textbook?
There's a LOT of conficting info. out there even for so-called professionals and for any one person to stay on top of it all is very difficult, MD or not... particularly when there are so many classifications for both mental and physical challenges and so many different interpretations of what it all means...which both of the above-cited books note, I gather.
BTW, the Scott Simmie book is available at Chapters and Indigo and there is an overview on it at: http://www.indigo.ca/cgi-bin/bookrec.cgi?bn=077108062X
Posted by dj on February 12, 2001, at 21:13:05
In reply to Re: CFS... ..., posted by willow on February 12, 2001, at 13:38:26
Another qoute from around the end of Ch. 1 of "Active Treatment of Depression" which relates to your concern about your former MD's knowledge and attitude.
"A popular response to the difficulty of funding treatment for depression by specialists has been to attempt to treat it in primary care. The NIMH Depression Awareness, Recognition, and Treatment (D/ART) campaign, begun in 1988, was a highly visible effort to educate the public and health care providers about the incidence and treatability of depression. Incredibly enough, no study of the campaign's effectiveness was ever completed (Magruder & Norquist, 1999). NIMH has also sponsored extensive research to investigate how depression can be treated more effectively by the primary care physician. "Enhanced acute-phase treatment," consisting of physician training, patient education, and consultation between physicians and mental health specialists, has been shown to improve compliance with medication regimes and better outcomes shortly after treatment (Katon et al., 1995; Katon et al., 1996). However, at 19 months the effects disappeared; both the treated and untreated groups scored the same on several measures of depression, and were likewise indistinguishable on continuation of medication (Lin et al., 1999). Another study of physicians who participated in a special four-hour training seminar on practice guidelines for depression found that their sensitivity to depressive symptoms was no better than a control group, despite the participants' belief that the seminar was effective in changing their practice (Thompson, 2000). Most primary care physicians have minimal training in providing mental health care and very limited time to work with each patient; those who participate in research studies like these are likely to be a self-selected subgroup with a special interest in mental health; yet their results are no better than this."
Posted by willow on February 12, 2001, at 22:24:01
In reply to Re: CFS... and further links.. » willow, posted by dj on February 12, 2001, at 1:41:12
"Here's another interesting Canadian link with universal application: http://www.camh.net/CLARKEPages/clarke_news/michael_wilson_speech.html"
The Clarke institute is an excellent facility. They do research and preventive care for mental health issues. This is the only hospital which contacted our family when my father had been admitted. I had attended a talk by a psychiatrist from this institute on "prevention of teenage suicide." (Which is endemic around here.) He was late because of a flight delay, besides that he was very informative.Thank you again for the links!
Posted by willow on February 17, 2001, at 17:14:51
In reply to Re: CFS... P.S. » willow, posted by dj on February 12, 2001, at 21:13:05
"The Last Taboo: A Survival Guide to Mental Health Care in Canada" on Wednesday. It'll be on at 1:00pm est, "More to Life" is the show which will be featuring the authors of this book. I don't know if you'll be able to get the program? If not I'll try to make an attempt to watch it and report back. It is a call-in show where the public can call in questions for the guests to answer.
Posted by dj on March 5, 2001, at 23:03:04
In reply to DJ - TVO will be featuring ..., posted by willow on February 17, 2001, at 17:14:51
>... I'll try to make an attempt to watch it and report back. It is a call-in show where the public can call in questions for the guests to >answer.
Just saw this now, Willow, your post that is... Did you watch it and if so anything of interest?
Posted by willow on March 6, 2001, at 9:51:13
In reply to Re: DJ - TVO will be featuring ... » willow, posted by dj on March 5, 2001, at 23:03:04
"Did you watch it and if so anything of interest?"
Yes I did watch it. For myself having a parent who has had schizophrenia for the past twenty plus years and my own mental health issues, I found the show pretty basic. The authors, a couple, discussed briefly the husbands course with bi-polar. Plus, they were only on for about 20-30 minutes. They did say that the Canadian Mental Health Association recommended their book and that they were doing another one. They did post their web-site but I didn't get it done. I think if you go to www.tvo.org and under "more to life" it can be found. If you want I can look it up.
Willow
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