Dozens of leading professionals just slammed Theresa May’s controversial new mental health ‘guru’ [L

Demepivo

Demepivo

Dolores Abernathy
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411
From the Canary article, some of the prominent signatories are
  • Linda Burnip – Co-founder of Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC) (the group’s steering committee also signed).
  • Denise McKenna – Mental Health Resistance Network.
  • Professor Andrew Samuels – Former Chair, UK Council for Psychotherapy.
  • Anne Novis – Chair, Inclusion London.
  • Rich Moth – Social Work Action Network national steering committee.
  • Simon Duffy – Centre for Welfare Reform.
  • Tara Flood – CEO, Alliance for Inclusive Education.
  • Cathy Maker – Director, RUILS.
  • Kamran Mallick – CEO, Disability Rights UK.
  • Dr Jay Watts – Clinical Psychologist and Psychotherapist.
  • Bea Millar – Person-Centred Therapist.
  • Richard House – Chartered Psychologist and Mental Health Activist.
  • Paul Atkinson – UKCP Psychotherapist.
  • Joyce Kallevik – Director, Women in Secure Hospitals.
  • Eamon Andrews – Communications and Project Officer, Shaping Our Lives.
  • Andrew Lee – Director, People First.
  • Phil Gosling – Secretary, Regard.
  • Ian Parker – Psychoanalyst, Manchester.
  • Claire Glasman – WinVisible (Women with Visible and Invisible Disabilities)
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Demepivo

Demepivo

Dolores Abernathy
Messages
411
A quote from the letter about Simon Wessley's appointment by the UK government to review the Mental Health Act

A review is needed to address mental health injustice, yet Wessely’s body of work on ME [myalgic encephalomyelitis] (or ‘chronic fatigue syndrome’) demonstrates his lack of honesty, care and compassion for patients. His unsubstantiated claim that ME is driven by ‘false illness beliefs’ has led to patients being labelled as hypochondriacs, treated with contempt by some in the medical profession and stigmatised by society.
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Demepivo

Demepivo

Dolores Abernathy
Messages
411
@lilpink Yes, Twitter & Facebook are good ways to spread the word quickly. People like Tom Kindlon distribute information effectively.

One problem is the Canary isn't taken seriously by many people (IMO). It has a reputation of making stiff up, although not in this case. So whilst the letter is important, the messenger may put people off. |

Tricky one, can't think of any practical solution though. The inevitable petition, no confidence in Simon Wessley in his new role?
 
CFSTheBear

CFSTheBear

Senior Member
Messages
166
Demepivo said:
@lilpink Yes, Twitter & Facebook are good ways to spread the word quickly. People like Tom Kindlon distribute information effectively.

One problem is the Canary isn't taken seriously by many people (IMO). It has a reputation of making stiff up, although not in this case. So whilst the letter is important, the messenger may put people off. |

Tricky one, can't think of any practical solution though. The inevitable petition, no confidence in Simon Wessley in his new role?
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The Canary is rightly seen as a pretty crackpot site. It's difficult to get past this, as they also posted that good piece about the PACE trial. Its wider reputation, unfortunately, is terrible...it's a difficult situation as you say.
 
Y

Yogi

Senior Member
Messages
1,132
@lilpink great post.

This is the first time I have seen an open letter signed against Wessely in the media.

This is another milestone.:trophy::trophy::star::star::star::rocket::rocket:

We need more signatories from the ME charities. Can IIME sign @Jo Best ? @charles shepherd and the MEA?

We also need more mental health charities like MIND and in fact all charities who have seen their beneficiaries DWP benefits wrongly cut to sign.
 
Y

Yogi

Senior Member
Messages
1,132
Lots of lies by Wessely in his response to his letter.

He clearly is unfit for this and should be in front of GMC panel.

You also make allegations about my relationship with the insurance industry and DWP. These allegations have been made before, and I have responded to them here: http://www.simonwessely.com/index.php/misunderstandings-misperceptions-2/. On the other hand, during my time as President of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, I did actively lobby against the proposals to link receipt of benefits to co operation with psychiatric or psychological treatments: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jul/29/coercing-people-mental-health-problems-work-treatment.
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https://twitter.com/i/web/status/920772080441970688

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/920776305158782978

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/920798977548738560

He is a bare faced liar. He uses that publicity in Guardian by himself claiming that mental health patients should not be coerced which is of no value to those being coerced by doctors. But in private and in advice to all medical professionals and medical literature and internal advice to DWP he states that patients should be forced into treatments for their insurance and DWP benefits.
 
Demepivo

Demepivo

Dolores Abernathy
Messages
411
Apparently the Royal College of Psychiatrists tweeted the Canary story! :p (No idea if it is a spoof :) )

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/920952184619053056

DMfg5gHXUAEo-fj.jpg:large
 
L

Londinium

Senior Member
Messages
178
jstash said:
The Canary is rightly seen as a pretty crackpot site. It's difficult to get past this, as they also posted that good piece about the PACE trial. Its wider reputation, unfortunately, is terrible...it's a difficult situation as you say.
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Yeah, I hesitated posting something similar about the journalist who wrote it. Let’s just say that some feel he has a somewhat unfortunate fixation on Jews.

As for the RCPsych tweet, my guess is if it’s genuine it’s a bot they have to RT relevant stories that has backfired rather spectacularly
 
Y

Yogi

Senior Member
Messages
1,132
https://twitter.com/i/web/status/922721151146692609

http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/...efully-let-down-by-professionals#.We99GFKZM_V

Great article. Must read. Now need to get this into more of the mainstream press.

Finally the biggest medical, financial and scientific scandal getting attention.

LAST week, over 65 deaf and disabled people’s organisations, campaigns and mental health professionals wrote to the Prime Minister asking her to urgently rethink her decision to appoint Professor Sir Simon Wessely to lead the much-anticipated independent review of the Mental Health Act as announced in her speech at the Conservative Party conference on October 4.

Wessely’s body of work on myalgic encephalomyelitis (also known as chronic fatigue syndrome), and his conduct in relation to people with ME, make him resoundingly unfit to lead an inquiry into the Mental Health Act.

ME is a poorly understood illness, believed by most researchers in the field to have a physical cause. But the “psychiatrisation” of ME through a cognitive-behavioural approach to the illness led by Wessely since the late 1980s has resulted in treatment (particularly graded exercise therapy, or GET) which can be harmful and even coerced, in the stigmatisation of patients and let to the frequent denial of their entitlement to social security and support.

Wessely has consistently promoted the unsubstantiated suggestion that ME is caused or maintained by patients’ false illness beliefs and abnormal behaviour.

As a result, the integrity of patients’ experience of this devastating illness been destroyed as their testimony is deemed unreliable.

This form of “epistemic injustice” (according to medical ethics scholars Blease et al) has seen people with ME derided within the medical profession and wider society for misperceiving, exaggerating, even creating their own illness.
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