November 5, 2009
Category: Psychiatry
The standard wisdom in management of Major Depression, is that
medication plus psychotherapy is better that either treatment
alone. Many studies have shown this. But this one does not.
Cognitive
Behavioral Analysis System of Psychotherapy and Brief
Supportive Psychotherapy for Augmentation of Antidepressant Nonresponse
in Chronic Depression
The REVAMP Trial
James H. Kocsis, MD; Alan J. Gelenberg, MD; Barbara O.
Rothbaum,
PhD; Daniel N. Klein, PhD; Madhukar H. Trivedi, MD; Rachel Manber, PhD;
Martin B. Keller, MD; Andrew C. Leon, PhD; Steven R. Wisniewski, PhD;
Bruce A. Arnow, PhD; John C. Markowitz, MD; Michael E. Thase, MD; for
the REVAMP Investigators
Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2009;66(11):1178-1188.
Read on »
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 8:35 AM • 4 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
November 2, 2009
Category: Uncategorizable
A reader sent me a link about a scam that targets MD offices. It
is a retread of
a
scam that I wrote about in 2004, wherein I mention that I was
targeted for this scam. The new version of the scam was noted
first in Slate:
The GOP's
Fake Doctor Council. Then Political Animal picked it up:
Old
DeLay Scam Makes A Comeback. Later, Free Range Talk wrote
about it, summarizing the two earlier posts as well. So if you
only want to read one, read this one:
Tom
Delay undergoes makeover, so does his scam
by SurferKit
Posted on 21 September 2009 | 12:40 pm
Read on »
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 9:10 AM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
October 31, 2009
Category: Armchair Musings • economy
The world's largest shopping mall boasts some impressive statistics:
7.1 million square feet (659,612 square meters) of leasable
space and 890,000 square meters of total floor space; attractions,
including a roller coaster and a Venice-like canal; and over 1,500
shops, with an occupancy rate of 0.8%. That's right.
Although it opened in 2005, 99.2% of the shops are empty.
Attraction: A bored
attendant makes a phone call next to the ghost train ride at the mall
(Photo: Daily
Mail, UK)
From
Wikipedia:
Since its opening in 2005, it has suffered from a
severe lack of occupants. Much of the retail space remained empty in
2008, with 99.2 percent of the stores vacant...The only occupied areas
are near the entrance where several Western fast food chains are
located and a parking structure repurposed as a kart racing track.
The planned Shangri-La Hotel has not been constructed...
The New South China Mall was featured on the PBS show, POV: Utopia,
Part 3:
The
World's Largest Shopping Mall...
Read on »
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 7:45 AM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
October 30, 2009
Category: Photos of Interest
It's not photoshopped, and it really was for the Windows 7 launch.
The picture was taken in Sietes, Spain, which had been decorated for an
advertisement for the event. In point of fact, the
people
of Sietes are not a particularly good customer base:
The tiny village of Sietes Spain will be the new location
for an advertisement from Microsoft about Windows 7, which is slightly
ironic given the software giant has chosen a place that only has one
internet connection, which is about as fast as a slug.
The town of Sietes has only 40 citizens and out of those 40, most of
the people who live there do not know how to use a computer, which
makes it perfect for the company, which in the past advertised Vista as
so easy to use that people with little computer knowledge could figure
it out.
The staff of Microsoft arrived in the city with 50 computers and taught
them how to use the Windows 7 software while filming the advertisement,
which will hit airwaves on Oct. 22nd.
Perhaps most of you have seen the advertisement already. I have
not, so I was amused.
The photo, by the way, was a
Reuters
Editor's Choice, for 20 October 2009.
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 9:32 AM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
October 29, 2009
Category: Chatter • Photos of Interest
In general, I try to be respectful of cultural groups, even ones that
are rather aberrant. Somehow, though, I find it exceedingly
difficult to muster any sympathy or respect for Scientology.
By now, you probably have heard that Scientologists were fined $600,00
Euros in France:
Scientologists
convicted of fraud in France
...The Paris case followed a complaint by two women, one of whom says
she was manipulated into handing over 20,000 euros in 1998 for
Scientology products including an "electrometer" to measure mental
energy...
(link HT:
Fundamentally
Wrong)
The LA Times has an
extensive
writeup of the Paris conviction. For some reason, coverage of
Scientology is a big deal in LA.
Meanwhile, back at Scienceblogs, scientists are all going to wonder,
what is an
"electrometer?" It is difficult for nonbelievers to learn of such
things. But it turns out that there is not only an explanation,
but an actual photograph, somewhere on the Internet. Not only
that, but the photograph shows none other than L. Ron Hubbard
himself. With a sort-of smile. Looking not unlike John
Travolta, without the makeup.
Read on »
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 8:49 AM • 5 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
October 26, 2009
Category: Bioethics • Psychiatry • Social Issues
In 2007, the American Psychological Association commissioned their
Task
Force on Appropriate Therapeutic Responses to Sexual Orientation.
The background is this: early in the history of mental health treatment
efforts, homosexuality was considered to be an illness.
Therefore, it was thought to be appropriate for therapists to try to
change the sexual orientation of persons who are homosexual.
This attitude never was universal; it is said that even Sigmund Freud
was skeptical of it. Even so, it was not until 1962 that efforts
began to remove homosexuality from the
DSM.
It was decided, in 1973, to remove the diagnosis from the subsequent
edition. The American Psychiatric Association issued a statement
at that time, in support of civil rights protection for homosexual
persons. The American Psychological Association followed suit in
1974. In 1991, the American Psychoanalytic Association finally
saw the light. In 1992, homosexuality was removed from the World
Health Organization's
International Classification of Diseases.
Even so, a small number of licensed mental health practitioners
continued
their efforts to pathologize and "treat" homosexuality.
The American Psychological Association's Task Force on Appropriate
Therapeutic Responses to Sexual Orientation set out to research this
matter and issue a definitive proclamation. This is described:
Sexual
"Conversion"? American Psychological Association Says Not Through
Psychotherapy
October 10, 2009
Psychiatric Times. Vol. 26 No. 10
Natalie Timoshin
Read on »
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 9:08 AM • 6 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
October 25, 2009
Category: Humor
We used to see a lot of cartoons that portray a psychiatrist's
couch. That is not so common anymore. When we do see them,
they tend to be annoying. This is no different, because it is so
unrealistic.
No psychiatrist would put the couch under the window like that.
It would defeat the purpose of the couch.
(HT:
Economic
Populist)
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 11:34 PM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
October 22, 2009
Category: Photos of Interest
The Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photography competition winners have
been announced. (The spelling,
Environnement, is
correct; it's a French company.) The competition is operated by
the Natural History
Museum (London) and BBC Wildlife Magazine, sponsored by Veolia
Environmental Services.
The overall winner is this one (click to enlarge)
My favorite is one of the Highly Commended photos in the
10-years-and-under age category:
The photo of the leaping wolf was
written up
on the BBC news website:
Jose Luis Rodriguez captured the imaginations of the judges
with a picture that he had planned for years, and even sketched out on
a piece of paper.
"I wanted to capture a photo in which you would see a wolf in an act of
hunting - or predation - but without blood," he told BBC News. "I
didn't want a cruel image."
With a great deal of patience and careful observation of the wolves'
movements, he succeeded in taking the award-winning photograph.
Mr Rodriguez used a custom-built infrared trap to snap the wolf as it
leapt into the air.
The entire collection, comprising 17 categories, is at the
Natural
History Museum website. What is most remarkable to me, is how
many good photographs are taken by young people.
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 11:25 PM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
October 21, 2009
Category: Armchair Musings • Social Commentary • economy
I spend a lot of time working with gang kids.
One of the amusing things, is to see some of these kids strutting
around,
feeling like a million bucks, because they are so smart. In
actuality, they have IQs in the 90-100 range. But the rest of
their crew is down in the 70-80 range. Such is the life of a
genius.
Tonight I watched the
PBS Frontline special,
The
Warning. It's about the warning that
Brooksley Born
gave the the US government about the hazards posed by the
under-the-counter derivatives market. Born tried to institute
regulation, as the chairperson of the Commodity Futures
Trading Commission during the Clinton administration. She
was totally shut down and pushed out, not only by the Administration,
but by Congress as well.
The program featured everyone's favorite homies: Alan Greenspan, Robert
Rubin, Larry Summers, Timothy Geithner, and the majestic Phil
Gramm. Among others. Many others.
By the way, the word
homies is
derived
from the French
hommes, meaning men. No disrespect
intended.
Read on »
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 7:28 AM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
