Media Watchdog

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Davidman's Twitter Activity Covered by DC-37's Newspaper: PEP, Public Employee Press

Public Employee Press Cyberactivism Their president tweets Local 1189 members Besides heading city Psychologists Local 1189, Leonard Davidman chairs DC 37's Jewish Heritage Committee and serves as the president-elect of the New York State Psychological Association; he will become its president next year. A voracious reader of newspapers and magazines, he is also the association's "media watchdog," tasked with keeping members up to date on political and professional issues through an email group. Recently, Davidman added another tool to his communications arsenal, Twitter. For the only DC 37 local president with a Ph.D., tweeting has quickly become - to use a psychological term - an obsession. "I love it," Davidman said. For psychologists, Twitter is a powerful tool for sharing information and exchanging ideas. It provides an important sounding board for professional concerns and workplace and political issues. The challenge is to be concise, because Twitter limits messages, called tweets, to 140 characters and a link to a media post or YouTube video. In recent tweets, Davidman has shared a lot of useful information with his 159 followers [Now 200+]. You can search @DrLennyDavidman [www.twitter.com/DrLennyDavidman]to get to his Twitter home, view his tweets and opt to follow him. Davidman's tweets have covered such subjects as racism, suicide prevention, Internet addiction and the mainstream media's poor coverage of mental illness, as well as how raising the minimum wage would reduce poverty, Mayor Bill de Blasio's appointment of Robert Linn as labor commissioner and the union's recent celebration of Chanukah. A recent tweet included a link to an article on Nelson Mandela, and his Twitter home has a link to a 20-minute YouTube video (https://twitter.com/DrLennyDavidman/media) in which he discusses issues affecting public-sector Psychologists. While some Twitter users simply post items — mainly news stories — and use the service to find interesting reading, Davidman especially enjoys being part of the Twitter community. He sends users direct messages and retweets posts with his comments. "One of my goals is to get our message to people in power," Davidman said. "Twitter is a good platform to discuss the concerns of Psychologists and unions

Rihanna Assault: An Open Letter to Rihanna from Psychologist Dr. Leah Klungness and Rachel Sarah

Rihanna Assault:

Dr. Leah Klungness's model of public education by seizing a cultural hot topic‏

http://www.singlemommyhood.com/2009/03/rihanna-were-worried-about-you/

Many of you must have read about pop singer Rihanna ("Under My Umbrella") allegedly being beaten by her R&B singer boyfriend Chris Brown - and her recent return to him despite her now famous facial bruises.[Bruises Story: http://www.tmz.com/2009/02/22/rihanna-photo-face-beating/]

On Thursday March 5, 2009 Chris Brown was charged with two felonies in this case:

assault likely to cause great bodily injury and making criminal threats.

Psychologist Dr. Leah Klungness and columnist Rachel Sarah have written Rihanna an open letter educating her about domestic violence and urging her to reach out to a "psychologist" for support and treatment. Their open letter is posted on their website called "singlemommyhood.com"

LINK:

http://www.singlemommyhood.com/2009/03/rihanna-were-worried-about-you/

as well as the site called "momlogic.com.

LINK:

http://www.momlogic.com/2009/03/rihanna_were_worried_about_you.php

Public Education

This is an example of a bold approach to public education about psychology and psychologists - and seizing on a hot story to do it. In order to reach untapped markets and potential clients sometimes one has to go beyond the usual. Read their entire letter [it's pretty brief] - also look at their little side jab at Dr. Phil type interventions.

Again, here's the link:

http://www.singlemommyhood.com/2009/03/rihanna-were-worried-about-you/

http://www.momlogic.com/2009/03/rihanna_were_worried_about_you.php

Lenny Davidman, Ph.D.Media Watchdog - "Woof"

Monday, March 2, 2009

Psychology
in Sunday's New York Times

In the City section, the lead article entitled A Life Interrupted concerns a young woman with a dissociative disorder. The article details the story of Hannah Emily Upp who was missing but then found alive floating in the waters off Staten Island. She was spotted by the captain of the Staten Island Ferry.

LINK to New York Times article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/01/nyregion/thecity/01miss.html?_r=1&ref=nyregion

Week in Review / Psychology Jobs

On page 7 Devereux New York had a display ad for a Ph.D. Psychologist, Director of Clinical Services and Columbia University had an ad for a PostDoctoral Traineeship in University Mental Health.

Pop Culture:

Saturday's New York Post Feb. 28, 2009

The Post TV section (p.57) reviewed the Starz cable channel television series "Head Case."
This is a sitcom showing Hollywood stars interacting with their "neurotic" Beverly Hills therapist Dr. Elizabeth Goode (Alexandra Wentworth).

LINK to Story:
http://www.nypost.com/seven/02282009/tv/shrink_rap_157276.htm]

Thursday, February 26, 2009

New York Times Reports:

Lexapro maker, Forest Labs, accused of fraud by U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts and the The Civil Division of the U.S. Department of Justice

Dear Fellow Psychologist:

If you treat adolescents for depression and they are also being medicated by a psychiatrist you might want to read this. If you are in a hurry and scan the news sometimes an issue that we psychologists deal with might be in the 'Business' section rather than the 'Science' section of the paper.

A perfect example is in today's New York Times Thursday 2/26/09. This was on the first page of the business section.

"Drug Maker Is Accused of Fraud"

"The Justice Department charged the drug maker Forest Laboratories on Wednesday with defrauding the government of millions of dollars by illegally marketing the popular antidepressants Celexa and Lexapro for unapproved uses in children and teenagers...."

For the full article click on the LINK:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/26/business/26drug.html?_r=1&ref=business

Read the press release from the Massachussetts United States Attorney's Office:

UNITED STATES FILED COMPLAINT AGAINST FOREST LABORATORIES FOR ALLEGEDLY VIOLATING THE FALSE CLAIMS ACT

Pharmaceutical Company Allegedly Marketed Drugs for Unapproved Pediatric Use and Paid Kickbacks

LINK:
http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/ma/Press%20Office%20-%20Press%20Release%20Files/Feb2009/ForestPR.html

It seems that the following agencies are investigating this:

1) U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts,

2) The Civil Division of the U.S. Department of Justice,

3) The Federal Bureau of Investigation,

4) The Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services,

5) The Office of Criminal Investigations of the Food and Drug Administration

6) The Office of Inspector General of the Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

This story is also covered in the blog called: Psych Central
http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2009/02/26/lexapro-maker-accused-of-fraud/

Also covered in "Trusted MD" website:
http://trusted.md/feed/items/system/2009/02/25/forest_labs_kickbacks

Lexapro's website:
http://www.lexapro.com/

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

From Psychology's Media Watchdog:

Kings County Hospital in Brooklyn, N.Y. just opened a brand new psychiatry building. This was planned way before a psychiatry patient died in their psychiatric emergency room.

The E.R. death was seen around the world as the unfortunate woman's neglect was captured on videotape.

The U.S. Department of Justice, in response to a civil rights suite, wrote a 58 page report about other problems that Kings County inpatient psychiatry department is facing. That report is linked below in an earlier posting on this blog. Below is the HHC promotional piece on the new psych building.

There is also a link to the NY-1 TV News story and at the end of the HHC story is a link to the New York Times report on the Justic Department report....."Woof!"

New $153 Million Dollar Psychiatry Building Opened at Brooklyn's Kings County Hospital

Inside the new Kings County Behavioral Health Center

This story is from the New York City Health & Hospitals Corporation website.

LINK to Story and HHC website:

http://www.nyc.gov/html/hhc/html/newsletter/safety-200902-kings.shtml

LINK to Time Warner Cable's New York-1 Story with video:
http://www.ny1.com/content/top_stories/93472/kings-county-hospital-opens-new-mental-health-facility/Default.aspx

HHC Text:

The opening of a modern $153 million psychiatric center at Kings County Hospital this month marked much more than the long overdue replacement of the antiquated “G” building. The award-winning structure will be a backdrop for comprehensive reforms to improve care and radically change the patient experience for the 12,000 New Yorkers served by the hospital’sbehavioral health program every year.

The reforms, and some of the improvements already in place, were announced February 5th by HHC President Alan Aviles, who was joined by the newly appointed Kings County Hospital Executive Director Antonio Martin and Dr. Joseph Merlino, the newly appointed Director of Behavioral Health Services.

In addition to the new center, the completed first phase of improvements in place at Kings include:

The addition of more than 200 new doctors, nurses, psychologists, social workers and other staff.
A reduction of the average length of stay in the ER from 27 hours to 8 hours or less through better coordination with EMS and other components of the mental health system, adequate staffing ratios, more efficient triage, assessment and treatment.
Priority access to 24 crisis beds at Kingsborough Psychiatric Center (KPC), jointly staffed by Kings County and KPC to further reduce overcrowding.
Reduced reliance on hospital police to manage patients in crisis with deployment of new, non-uniformed and specially trained personnel who have crisis intervention and security skills.

“The changes represent the most dramatic overhaul of mental health services the program has received in its nearly 70-year history,” said Antonio Martin, who was appointed February 2nd. “We are committed to rebuilding trust and creating a model mental health program that will make this community and this city proud.”

The second phase of the reforms will include changes like the addition of more Peer Counselors to serve as patient navigators and mentors and the creation of a Consumer and Family Advisory Group. A new care coordination model will also be developed to link patients with doctors who can help them manage chronic medical problems that often go untreated among the mentally ill.
Noting that the design and implementation of the sweeping and radical changes have been a year in the making, HHC President Alan Aviles said, “These efforts took on even greater urgency with the tragic and inexcusable neglect and death of Esmin Green. As we relocate psychiatric services into this modern facility, we are turning a page and putting into place a culture of patient-centered care, a culture anchored in compassion, respect and an emphasis on sustainable recovery for patients to help them re-integrate with their community.”

Click here to view complete highlights of the comprehensive program of reforms at the Kings County Behavioral Health Center.

Link to Press Release 2/5/09:

http://www.nyc.gov/html/hhc/html/pressroom/press-release-20090205.shtml

Past problems with the psychiatry inpatient units:

New York Times

Feb. 5, 2009

Abuse Is Found at Psychiatric Unit Run by the City
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/06/nyregion/06kings.html?hp

.....................

Thursday, February 19, 2009

5 Questions for Psychologist Dr. Mark Aron:

In Recession, More Need For Counseling But Harder To Afford

Clinical psychologist and marriage counselor Dr.Mark Aron

says the economic downturn has spurred more couples and

individuals to seek counseling, but it has also make it difficult

for some of them to afford it.

(BOB MACDONNELL / HARTFORD COURANT / February 4, 2009)

http://www.courant.com/business/hc-5questions0220.artfeb20,0,4968244.story

A-Rod Steroid Scandal: NYSPA Psychologist Dr.Marilyn Puder-York Quoted‏

There is a lot being written about steroid scandal-scarred baseball great Alex Rodriguez's Tuesday press conference. The news stories are now about his possible lies.

Wednesday's New York Daily News (2/18/09) quotes NYSPA member Marilyn Puder-York.

See story and her quote below.

Body Language Experts Say Alex Rodriguez was Orchestrated

by Corky Siemaszko

DAILY NEWS 2/18/09

LINK to story:

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/yankees/2009/02/17/2009-02-17_body_language_experts_say_alex_rodriguez.html

Below is Dr.Marilyn Puder-York's Quote:

"Psychologist Marilyn Puder-York, who works with another much-maligned group - Wall Streeters - said Rodriguez had the deck stacked against him before he began speaking.

"People are generally resentful of him because of the money he's paid
and his inability to help get the team to the World Series," Puder-York said.

So what he said doesn't really matter. "It's what he does now to merit the public's respect that matters," she said." # # #

7 Web Sites to Help You Cope with Mental Illness

Here is something you can save and pass on to your professional colleagues, patients, and future patients.

LINK to Full Story:
http://www.findingdulcinea.com/features/best-sites/7-Sites-to-Help-You-Cope-with-Mental-Illness.html

This is from the site called "finding Dulcinea:Librarian of the Internet."

Sources in this Story

The APA Help Center: A psychologist can help when you can't do it on your own

SAMSHA’s National Mental Health Information Center: Traditional Therapies

Find a Psychologist

National Institute of Mental Health: Medications

International Guide to the World of Mental Health

Mental Health America: Factsheet: Mental Illness and the Family: Is Hospitalization Necessary

NAMI: National Alliance on Mental Illness

Mental Earth Community

Memories recovered using suggestive therapy techniques often lead to fictitious recollections, according to Scottish psychologist Dr. Elke Geraerts

Link to Press Release:
http://media-newswire.com/release_1086421.html

Memories recovered using suggestive therapy techniques often lead to fictitious recollections, according to scientists.

Psychologist Elke Geraerts of the University of St Andrews (Scotland) has carried out a study of the difference between memories recalled by patients through suggestive therapies, compared with more natural recollections. The results lead to an important distinction between two different types of recovered memories and their underlying cognitive mechanisms.

Click on link for full story.
http://media-newswire.com/release_1086421.html

Dr. Geraerts's website:
http://www.personeel.unimaas.nl/e.geraerts/vita_elke_geraerts.htm