Trial By Error: The Psychosomatic Conference’s Pathetic Response
17 OCTOBER 2018
By David Tuller, DrPH
After I posted
yesterday’s blog about Per Fink’s upcoming appearance at the fourth annual Columbia Psychosomatic Conference being held this weekend, I received the following e-mail from Columbia’s Alla Landa. She is an assistant professor of “clinical psychology in psychiatry”–whatever that means–and director of the conference.
I found her note unsatisfactory on multiple fronts, and responded accordingly. My e-mail to her follows below.
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Dear Mr. Tuller,
Thank you for sharing with us you concerns about these important matters. I can assure you that the conference committee and I received your email and are taking what you expressed to us very seriously.
As a clinician and researcher, I am aware that Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) brings severe suffering to millions of people around the world, and truly hope that biomedical research will help find cures for this condition. I also want to share that the Organizing Committee of the 4th Psychosomatics Conference and the Columbia University Department of Psychiatry affirm our support for the ME/CFS community and state unequivocally that we agree that ME/CFS is a serious multi-system disease associated with neurological, immunological, and energy metabolism impairment. We also support our colleagues at Columbia University’s Center .........................................
