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Simon Wessely wins prize for "Standing Up For Science."

urbantravels

disjecta membra
Messages
1,333
Location
Los Angeles, CA
God I wish I was joking about this.

http://www.nature.com/news/john-maddox-prize-1.11750



Nature | Editorial

John Maddox prize

Two strong-minded individuals are the first winners of an award for standing up for science.
06 November 2012
The British psychiatrist Simon Wessely and the Chinese science writer Shi-min Fang are the two inaugural winners of the John Maddox Prize. Sponsored by Nature and the Kohn Foundation, and stimulated and organized by the UK-based charity Sense About Science, the prize commemorates a former Editor of Nature, John Maddox. John was distinguished for his championing of robust science. The prize rewards individuals who have promoted sound science and evidence on a matter of public interest, with an emphasis on those who have faced difficulty or opposition in doing so. In this inaugural year, the judges (see go.nature.com/9rvd1t) were able to make two awards, each of £2,000 (US$3,200).

snip

Simon Wessely is a psychiatrist at the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London, who has specialized in two areas above all — the mental health of military personnel and veterans, and chronic fatigue syndrome. He and his colleagues demonstrated substantial overlap in symptoms between chronic fatigue syndrome and clinical depression. He carried out a massive and ambitious study to test the link between common viral infections and later fatigue, and found that there is no simple causal association. He subsequently developed a treatment approach using cognitive-behavioural therapy techniques, which in many cases brought about substantial improvement and in some was life transforming. This treatment was tested in large clinical trials and can now be found in the guidelines of the United Kingdom’s National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence.

“All along the way,” says the individual who nominated him for the prize, “Wessely has had to suffer continued abuse and obstruction from a powerful minority of people who, under the guise of self-help organizations, have sought to promote an extreme and narrow version of the disorder. This version repudiates any psychological or psychiatric element to the extent that psychiatry is viewed as a contemptible discipline, which, by association, denigrates psychiatric patients. Hostile letters, e-mails and even death threats have been directed at Professor Wessely over two decades. Mischievous complaints have been made against him and his clinical team, and bogus questions raised in the Houses of Parliament. He has suffered a vigorous Internet assault and coordinated attempts have been made to turn him into a hate figure. He has been compared to Josef Mengele — particularly hurtful since Simon is the son of holocaust survivors. Simon has, perhaps naively, tried to deal with most of these by seeking dialogue and trying to educate and reassure, rather than by responding in kind.”
Wessely is the first to acknowledge that others working in this field have received similar or even worse abuse. Nevertheless, the prize recognizes the very public stand that Wessely has taken over these issues.
 

Sean

Senior Member
Messages
7,378
Wessely has had to suffer continued abuse and obstruction from a powerful minority of people...

One of the most powerful and protected people in the UK is complaining about being 'abused' by some of the sickest and most powerless and seriously abused people in his society (a situation he was instrumental in inflicting upon them).

But he is the victim, and gets a medal for it?

Anybody still doubt the power of propaganda?

Looks to me like Nature are trying to redeem themselves with the establishment after the XMRV fiasco. But they will come to deeply regret giving this inaugral award to Wessely. It is going to taint it forever.
 

notinfinite

Guest
Messages
20
Location
UK
I don't have the words...

I do but I will be in a court of law if I write the words I am feeling - I am beginning to wonder if it would be worthwhile challenging Wessely - I am already a living corpse, what else could they do to me?

Nature - Ha, the propaganda message is as strong as ever - tosspots the lot of them.

Hang on, is it April 1st?
 
Messages
13,774
He carried out a massive and ambitious study to test the link between common viral infections and later fatigue, and found that there is no simple causal association.

What an excellent piece of research that was. Did they decide to begin their investigations with those viral infections, like glandular fever (EBV), which had been widely reported to lead on to CFS? No, they just lumped everything in together, and ended up with another misleading result that led to patients being treated as if their accurate claims that their fatigue began with an infection were treated as being part of an attempt to escape responsibility, and the recognition of the emotional origins of their symptoms. The best examples of this come from others citing Wessely's work, but this is from a paper where he goes on to cite his lumping-viral study:

"Search-after-meaning and recall bias are also
relevant, since there are psychological and social reasons
why people may prefer to attribute their fatigue
syndrome to a virus as opposed to psychosocial
factors.

It is thus not surprising that the initial enthusiasm
for the role of Epstein-Barr virus in the United States
has now subsided (see Straus (86))."

I've just started reading a new Wessely chapter I was going to post about in the on-going Wessely thread, which features more of his 'lumping': http://forums.phoenixrising.me/index.php?threads/simon-wessely-and-all-in-the-mind.13979/

I wonder if they mentioned at the award ceremony the work of others which has gone on to show that 'post-viral fatigue' is not just a phenomenon which was created by patients, but is instead something clearly associated with certain viral infections. I can't imagine they care.

eg: http://www.bmj.com/content/333/7568/575

The straw-manning of those who think that he has harmed patients is another pretty consistent theme of attempts to pretend that patient anger is unjustified.

Edit: This is the Wessely paper referred to, I have read it, but cannot find a copy that can be linked to right now. I wouldn't mind reading this award winning piece of research again at some point:

Post infectious fatigue: a prospective study in primary care.
 

Sean

Senior Member
Messages
7,378
Wessely, et al, are certainly going to be held to account by history.

But that is of little help to patients having to survive in the here and now, while he still lives and prospers.
 

alex3619

Senior Member
Messages
13,810
Location
Logan, Queensland, Australia
This is another attempt at legitimacy. Now that his "science" is under attack and being objectively disproved on several fronts, step by step, the political justification of his "science" is in full swing. I don't think this is a joke. I think its another example of politics rather than facts and reason pushing a lot of modern "science", especially in psychiatry. Bye, Alex
 

snowathlete

Senior Member
Messages
5,374
Location
UK
They don't necessarily pay for it, and it doesn't necessarily happen in their lifetime. Someone raised the example of jimmy saville, and as is happening there, the truth comes out eventually.
One day people will speak or read his name and they will know the truth about what he has done. He may not pay for it, but that is the world we live in.
 

heapsreal

iherb 10% discount code OPA989,
Messages
10,089
Location
australia (brisbane)
What an absolute load of crap! I cant believe they can organise an award for that sort of BS.
Are u sure Wessely isnt behind the whole thing and giving himself the award, thats called pissing in your own pocket.
 
Messages
13,774
He subsequently developed a treatment approach using cognitive-behavioural therapy techniques, which in many cases brought about substantial improvement and in some was life transforming.

It's enjoyable how vague they have to be about this - to be flattering they can say almost nothing of substance. That is the way that a homoeopath would have to describe their efficacy.
 
Messages
95
If I could draw a cartoon, it would look a little like this description:-

A hornets nest suspended in air is being poked by a pointing stick. Out from the nest a number of hornets appear, representing ME patients.

One says "That Bastard!".

The next, "Unbelievable".

And the last, "He'll get what's coming to him one day".

Meanwhile, reclining in a chair is Wessely, wielder of the aforementioned pointing stick. His feet balanced comfortably on a huge pile of "Biomedical ME research", his gaze is nonchalantly averted from the hornets nest, his other hand carrying a telephone into which he says "Call the SMC dear, I believe there's been another death threat, get me the George Cross this time!". Finally, sitting next to him, smoking away in an ashtray, is a rolled cigar with the words "Rituximab trial money" inscribed on the side.
 

taniaaust1

Senior Member
Messages
13,054
Location
Sth Australia
One day he will probably get a knighthood too but the truth comes out eventually. People who abuse their power and inflict misery on vulnerable people get found out in the end.

Unfortunately he is probably going to go to his grave with not having to be held officially responsible for all the harm he's caused patients etc with all the warped research he's done.

Does anyone know if it is true that both his parents were holocaust survivors? (I wouldnt put it past him to mislead then allow the media to keep on making statements without correction).
 

taniaaust1

Senior Member
Messages
13,054
Location
Sth Australia
If I could draw a cartoon, it would look a little like this description:-

A hornets nest suspended in air is being poked by a pointing stick. Out from the nest a number of hornets appear, representing ME patients.

One says "That Bastard!".

The next, "Unbelievable".

And the last, "He'll get what's coming to him one day".

Meanwhile, reclining in a chair is Wessely, wielder of the aforementioned pointing stick. His feet balanced comfortably on a huge pile of "Biomedical ME research", his gaze is nonchalantly averted from the hornets nest, his other hand carrying a telephone into which he says "Call the SMC dear, I believe there's been another death threat, get me the George Cross this time!". Finally, sitting next to him, smoking away in an ashtray, is a rolled cigar with the words "Rituximab trial money" inscribed on the side.

Hahaha soo funny. Can someone who's a good at drawing draw this whole scene for us. Sounds a good advocacy image.