October
31, 2003
Leading
Critic of Ties Between Psychiatry and Drug Makers to Speak November
5
|
Loren
Mosher
|
Dr. Loren R. Mosher, former head of the Center
for Studies of Schizophrenia at the National Institute of Mental
Health (NIMH) and a leading critic of the close ties between psychiatry
and the pharmaceutical industry, will speak on the topic "Liberating
Madness: Healing without Medication" Wednesday, November
5 at 7:30 pm, in the Morrison Room of the Willits-Hallowell Center
at Mount Holyoke College.
Mosher, a Harvard-trained psychiatrist and the
author of more than 100 scientific publications, is founder of
the Soteria Project—Community Alternatives for the Treatment
of Schizophrenia, a nondrug, homelike, residential treatment facility
for acutely psychotic persons. His research demonstrating the
effectiveness of this alternative approach led to his dismissal
from NIMH, and he has become known for his criticism of the pharmaceutical
industry's influence on psychiatry.
In 1998, Mosher publicly resigned from the American
Psychi-atric Association (APA). In his widely circulated letter
of resignation, he wrote: "This is not a group for me. At
this point in history, in my view, psychiatry has been almost
completely bought out by the drug companies. The APA could not
continue without the pharmaceutical company support of meetings,
symposia, workshops, journal advertising, grand rounds luncheons,
unrestricted educational grants, etc., etc. Psychi-atrists have
become the minions of drug company promotions. APA, of course,
maintains that its independence and autonomy are not compromised
in this enmeshed situation."
Mosher is now the director of Soteria Associates
in San Diego and a clinical professor of psychiatry at the School
of Medicine, University of California, San Diego.
"We're very fortunate to have Dr. Mosher
speaking here at Mount Holyoke," said Gail Hornstein, professor
of psychology and education, who is teaching a seminar using patients'
writings to explore madness from the perspective of those who
have experienced it firsthand. "Students are bombarded with
ads that claim anxiety and depression can be 'cured'
with drugs. They need to hear another point of view."
Mosher's visit is sponsored by the Office
of the Dean of the College, the Department of Psychology and Education,
and the Freedom Center, a Pioneer Valley advocacy and human rights
group run by and for people diagnosed with severe mental illnesses
such as schizophrenia and bipolar, obsessive-compulsive, and borderline
disorders.
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