NYT Reporter

Today the New York Times has an article about a recently deceased (2004) journalist named Lucy Freeman who, in the 1940s and 50s, wrote a great deal about mental illness. Apparently she wrote many articles about how great lobotomy was, though she was actually a psychoanalysis devotee. From the article:

In truth, many psychiatrists were trying to convert such institutions from overcrowded, custodial facilities to state-of-the-art medical centers. Believing that mental illness stemmed from organic problems within the brain, psychiatrists had devised a series of treatments, including electroshock therapy and lobotomy.

It was these advances that Ms. Freeman relentlessly publicized as The Times's reporter on mental health. Writing scores of articles like "Action Now Urged on Mental Cases" and "State Mental Care Entering New Era," she willingly blurred the roles of reporter and advocate.

Ugh, some legacy. I wonder how many people underwent that horror of an operation because of her senseless cheerleading.

Later it says, "'By saving them,' she wrote, 'in some way I also saved myself.'".

Good Lord, who did she think she saved exactly? I bet she never even bothered to meet a lobotomy victim.

The article also includes this gem, "Moreover, recent studies have demonstrated that disorders like schizophrenia have a genetic basis and result from chemical abnormalities in the brain."

Yeah, right. How come whenever Mindfreedom confronts these "studies" head-on, they never turn out to be anywhere near as conclusive as their authors claim?

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Nude Therapy?

While perusing the news I found this odd article about a couple who ran a group home for mentally ill people. I'll let the article tell the rest of the story:

Therapist for Mentally Ill gets 30 Years

A therapist who ran a group home for the mentally ill was sentenced to 30 years in prison for enslaving its residents, forcing them to work naked and making them perform sex acts. His wife received seven years behind bars.

Arlan Kaufman, 69, and his wife, Linda, were convicted in November on charges that included health care fraud, forced labor and involuntary servitude.
...

Prosecutors contended the Kaufmans controlled the lives of their residents, including deciding who could wear clothes and forcing them to masturbate, fondle each other and shave each other's genitals — activities Arlan Kaufman videotaped.

Arlan Kaufman insisted the residents' behavior was voluntary. He testified that he videotaped them so they could see themselves more objectively later when their judgment was not clouded.

Wow. What freaks. Here are more articles I found about the case:

More about the charges

Out on bond

The Defense including the charming assertion that residents were locked in isolation rooms for "only a few days", not weeks or months as the prosecution alleged.

Interesting article about how consent was an issue - patients testify that they did consent, then talk about how they had clothes taken away as punishment and felt compelled to attend a group masturbation session called "massage group".

Finally the inevitable "How we're going to reform everything so this never happens again" article.

Downtime

As you may have noticed, we have suffered some downtime as we changed over to a new host. There are some functions on the website that still need repair, but we are back online and ready for an exciting new year!