The patients were randomly assigned to a combination of sertraline, an anti-depressant, and either omega-3s or a corn oil placebo. After 10 weeks, there was “absolutely no difference” in depression remission rates between the 59 patients taking omega-3s and the 56 patients taking the placebo, said Robert M. Carney, lead author of the study, which appeared in the Oct. 21 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

“It was very disappointing,” he said.

The trial was launched because patients with heart disease are at greater risk of dying if they are depressed, Dr. Carney said. Depressed patients are known to have low levels of omega-3s, which are a risk factor for heart disease, as well.

Now, with any study, there are multitudinous caveats. It’s a small sample. They had lower levels of omega-3s to begin with. Perhaps there were other factors (i.e., physical illness) that superseded the treatment of depression, yadda yadda.

And there has been other research to suggest omega-3s are useful for depression. USA Today broke down a different study in 2007:

The omega-3 fatty acid in some fish may be a “brain food” that helps ward off depression because it increases gray matter in three areas that tend to be smaller in people who have serious depression, a study suggests today.
The increase could help explain why past studies have found that the omega-3 acid DHA reduces symptoms of depression. The richest sources of DHA are fatty fish and fish-oil capsules.

Researchers gave magnetic resonance imaging tests to 55 adults. Participants also reported everything they ate for 24 hours on two randomly selected days, says study leader Sarah Conklin, a neuroscientist at University of Pittsburgh Medical School. She’ll report her findings at the American Psychosomatic Society meeting in Budapest.

The more DHA a person consumed, the more gray matter there was in three areas of the brain linked to mood: the amygdala, the hippocampus and the cingulate, Conklin says. Seriously depressed people tend to have less gray matter in these areas, she says.

For every yes in research, there’s a no. It’s really frustrating for people looking for answers. That’s why it’s best to just go with your gut: Try what feels right and if it works for you, great. If it doesn’t work for you, move on to something else. But remember: There is no magic bullet — oily or otherwise.

As I’ve written and spoken about before, my sister suffers from a bipolar disorder and my nephew from schizoaffective disorder. There has, in fact, been a lot of depression and alcoholism in my family and, traditionally, no one ever spoke about it. It just wasn’t done. The stigma is toxic. And, like millions of others who live with mental illness in their families, I’ve seen what they endure: the struggle of just getting through the day, and the hurt caused every time someone casually describes someone as “crazy,” “nuts,” or “psycho”.

What’s remarkable is not her frankness about this personal history, but her motivation to act, which seems almost like a wholesale rethinking of her career and what it’s meant in popular culture. In Fatal Attraction, for example, she played a woman obsessed with Michael Douglas (those were the days, right Michael?). She loses control of the obsession and becomes terrifying. As Close writes, the movie was a great success, and audiences loved to hate her character.

Alex Forrest is considered by most people to be evil incarnate. People still come up to me saying how much she terrified them. Yet in my research into her behavior, I only ended up empathizing with her. She was a human being in great psychological pain who definitely needed meds. I consulted with several psychiatrists to better understand the “whys” of what she did and learned that she was far more dangerous to herself than to others.

The original ending of Fatal Attraction actually had Alex commit suicide. But that didn’t “test” well. Alex had terrified the audiences and they wanted her punished for it. A tortured and self-destructive Alex was too upsetting. She had to be blown away.

So, we went back and shot the now famous bathroom scene. A knife was put into Alex’s hand, making her a dangerous psychopath. When the wife shot her in self-defense, the audience was given catharsis through bloodshed — Alex’s blood. And everyone felt safe again.

The ending worked. It was thrilling and the movie was a big hit. But it sent a misleading message about the reality of mental illness.

This is a bold admission from a woman who derived so much success from this role, but there’s no escaping what she says. It has long bothered me — and, I suspect, other advocates — that the message there is one of terror and fear.

Not only does Close take on her role in that film, she assesses the entertainment industry as a whole:

Whether it is Norman Bates in Psycho, Jack Torrance in The Shining, or Kathy Bates’ portrayal of Annie Wilkes in Misery, scriptwriters invariably tell us that the mentally ill are dangerous threats who must be contained, if not destroyed. It makes for thrilling entertainment.

There are some notable exceptions, of course — Dustin Hoffman in Rainman, or Russell Crowe’s portrayal of John Nash in A Beautiful Mind. But more often than not, the movie or TV version of someone suffering from a mental disorder is a sociopath who must be stopped.

I like to think that her speaking out will change this. As she so eloquently says, silence is the problem. Read more of her elegant prose here. It is well worth it. There you’ll find links to the initiative she’s promoting.

Thank you, Glenn, for speaking out against silence. You rock.

Take 5 Minutes: Call Your Senators and Rep Now!
Tell them You are Counting on Them to Deliver
All five Congressional committees of jurisdiction have passed a
healthcare reform bill. Several provisions of interest to community mental health and addiction providers have been included thus far but now, it’s crunch time: negotiations are in progress that have a direct impact on whether these provisions will remain in the bills to be voted on by the House and Senate.

Today is National Call-In Day for Health Care Reform. Take 5 minutes to call your Senators and Representative to tell them that you are counting on them to vote YES on health care reform and deliver a bill that includes comprehensive mental health and addiction benefits. Don’t postpone until later in the day: CALL NOW!

The deal with Maia is that, after years of erratic behavior, a new video of such behavior went viral in the beginning of September. And despite her mother’s work on mental health issues because of Maia’s illness, and despite former reports of Maia’s being in the hospital for the illness, the gossip media lay the whole thing at the feet of drug use. And not sympathetically, either. TheHollywoodGossip.com put it this way:

Remember Maia Campbell? Yeah, we didn’t either. But apparently years ago she was in Tyrese’s “Lately” and “Sweet Lady” videos, and starred on LL Cool J’s sitcom In The House. As one of the main characters! She was a solid C-lister! Maia Campbell was also featured in a regular role as Nicole in the short-lived FOX series South Central, playing Larenz Tate’s girlfriend, and was on Thea.

Then she just disappeared. Well, Maia Campbell is back today. Apparently as a foul-mouthed prostitute who will do anything for drugs. Crack in particular. … Whenever it was filmed, it certainly does not portray Maia in a very flattering light, as she appears to be under the influence of narcotics such as crack.

Interesting that the first assumption people make about her erratic behavior is that it’s related to crack. Is that because she’s African-American? I believe when Britney Spears started talking with a British accent and behaving strangely (and similarly), crack didn’t enter the picture as a hypothesis.

But I digress.

It’s unfortunate that the below video was leapt upon with such vitriol and assuredness of Maia’s situation, when no one really knew a thing about what was happening with her.

Okay, so you see the people laughing at her. Very nice. The comments on the video over at YouTube are awful. The attitude online on blogs and gossip sites was pretty nasty as well, at least at first. Andrew Belonsky from Defamer (of Gawker parentage) posted the video and other facts about her and said, “Shit, man: this girl’s spouting absolute nonsense. Even her companion’s stupefied” and then went on to chronicle her criminal record. Later, he wrote: “Meanwhile, earlier this year some fans saw her sleeping on a beach and smoking meth. They say she smelled like a bum. We would laugh and point fingers, but, c’mon, this is just sad.” Hmm. Why do I get the feeling he’s not that sad? Then again, can you expect empathy from someone who writes about a woman smelling like a bum? And: Do people even understand what it means when another human being has strong bodily odors? It means they haven’t had appropriate access to sanitation resources. Don’t take your white porcelain toilets and showers for granted; you know how quickly you’ll smell like a bum if you have to live without them? I give you about three, four days. And can you imagine the feeling of having urine run down your pants leg — the grave humiliation, the hopelessness of your situation — and then have people laugh at you: “Damn, she smells like a bum!”

But I digress.

After the hostility about her situation — as well as significant concern from some genuinely kind fans — Campbell’s father and grandmother wanted to clear all the confusion, and did so by posting this on Bebe Moore Campbell’s website:

As a family, we have been struggling with Maia in her illness for quite some time. We continue to hold fast to our faith and hope that some day she will realize that healing will begin when she decides to reach out and accept the help and treatment that have been offered to her. We all have challenges in life that we must face, but when compound problems such mental illness and substance abuse are prevalent, it can appear that there is no way out. However, our sustaining faith and trust in God compels us to believe differently. We strongly believe that Maia will be healed.

We also know that Maia”s mother, the late Bebe Moore Campbell, who devoted much of her later years in life to mental health awareness and education, along with her family members and friends would welcome your prayers and support for Maia”s sustained recovery. In addition, we urge your support for efforts to diagnose and treat mental illness in our community.

We ask that you not only pray for Maia”s wellness, but also commit to understanding this insidious disease, which is devastating our loved ones and community. Help erase the “stigma” of mental illness, which is a very serious barrier to treatment, so that we can help those with the disease to live wholesome lives. Call for more treatment options and prevention strategies, have compassion for those stricken with this illness, and help guide those who have been unable to find their way to appropriate treatment. Additionally, support those families who are struggling to cope with loved ones with the disease because mental illness affects the entire family.

Finally, we ask that you support Bebe Moore Campbell National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month, which was established by Congressional Resolution, H. Con. Res. 134, in April 2008 and is celebrated during the month of July each year. It was established to enhance public awareness of mental illness, especially within minority communities. Please join us in this effort to bring attention to this problem, to identify resources and to strengthen the focus on treatment along with research relative to minorities and mental illness. This is the work that we continue on behalf of Bebe Moore Campbell.

Pretty amazing, right? Very powerful message. Something good is coming from this, after all. And the best of all, at least for now, is from the Daily News‘ Dan Gross:

FINALLY, SOME good news in the ongoing saga of Maia Campbell, the long-troubled actress whose drug use and bipolar disorder have kept her off television and made her the subject of Internet ridicule.

Campbell, the daughter of late author Bebe Moore Campbell, has been placed in a treatment facility, according to an interview that her father, Ellis Gordon, Jr., and her grandmother Doris C. gave to Essence.com.

I hope this is the beginning of a new journey for her, but ridicule or no, the combined demons of drug addiction and mental illness can be incredibly hard to battle. For more truthful, solid information on what are called co-occurring disorders, try the below links:

Co-Occurring Disorders: Integrated Dual Disorders Treatment [SAMHSA]

Co-Occurring Disorders [about.com]

Diagnosis Dictionary: Co-Occurring Disorders [Psychology Today]

Still, I realize that when I start working again, I’ll be able to reduce the Seroquel again to 25 mg or maybe 0 mg without much of a problem. Once I’m in a routine, I tend to do quite well. So, as those of us in recovery say every day with increasing confidence: This. Too. Shall. Pass.

For instance, when I was growing up and my dad needed to spell our name to someone over the phone, he’d say, “S-as-in-Sam, P-as-in-Peter, I, K, O, L.” Thus when I grew up, and to the present day, I also say that, although it’s not like Peter is a super popular name anymore. My friend Laura, whose last name begins with P, says “P as in Paul,” which is also Biblical but more au courant, and it makes more personal sense for her because her father’s name is Paul. We don’t have any Peters in my family; pishers, yes.

I’m sitting in a cafe right now, and the guy next to me just said into the phone, “No, no, the name is Rigel — like Nigel with an R.” How many times has he said that? I really want to lean over and ask how his family developed that strategy. Is he the first-generation Nigel-referencer? Or did he get it from a parent? And wouldn’t Nigel work better in England? Maybe, but then again, what are his options?

Every time I meet someone or hear their name on the radio, I think: I wonder how they handle their last name? Especially if it’s a hyphenated mess coming from someone with an accent, as you often hear on NPR.

Why can’t I stop thinking about this????

“We’re seeing a lot more people now,” said Colleen McCarthy, a volunteer with Dorothy Day Catholic Worker, a nonprofit group that provides hot meals in McPherson Square every Thursday. “Many of them are the most mentally ill.”

The rise in the population may be due to the mayor’s reform agenda, which was supposed to help the homeless. In fact, he was planning to institute a Housing First program, but was unable to due to budget issues.

“If you come through here on Saturday or Sunday, it’s wall-to-wall homeless people,” said Marquietta Henley, an officer with the Downtown D.C. Business Improvement District, who was herself homeless until a few months ago.

… Councilman Jack Evans, D-Ward 2, who represents downtown Washington, defended the mayor’s approach.

“The program that the mayor has used is absolutely the right one — we should not be warehousing these people in these decrepit shelters. I’ve seen a real decrease of people out in the streets in the last two years,” he said. No matter what, Evans said, “you’re still going to have people out on the streets because they’re resistant to outside help.”

Many Washingtonians have become numb to homelessness and think little of picking their way through public parks over and around the homeless. That’s part of the problem, experts say.

“Really, homelessness has become part of the public and retail space environment, much like parking meters and vending boxes and alleyways,” Lynch said. “It’s just part of the landscape.”

Yeesh. People who are like parking meters? I’d say that’s a problem.

K Street corridor: Where homeless, business meet

Depression was associated with risk for mortality but not progression in patients with cancer, according to data from a meta-analysis. Mortality rates were up to 25% higher among patients demonstrating depressive symptoms and 39% higher in those diagnosed with major depression.

It’s a review of the literature.

Meta-analysis: Depression independent risk factor for cancer mortality

Despite the Dept. of Justice’s [scathing] report on Ancora it maintains full Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations accreditation . The kick in the head is that JCAHO did its site inspection on January 9, 2009 and the DOJ did its inspection from January 12 to January 15, 2009. Apparently JCAHO perceived a completely different institution. Kings County Hospital’s Behavioral Health Department maintained full JCAHO accreditation despite the death of Esmin Green, its 2009 DOJ report, and a lawsuit filed in 2007 . Connecticut Valley Hospital similarly maintained full accreditation despite its August 2007 DOJ report .

Someday a reporter will consider what JCAHO accreditation means when it comes to mental hospitals and whose interests JCAHO is putting first, i.e. the hospitals who pay for the accreditation or the patients whose misfortune it is to be in these institutions.

The Cause of Ted Kennedy’s Life

Patrick, my condolences on your father’s passing. When your dad’s brothers died, he had to get himself together and stop being an irresponsible, drunken frat boy. He had to become a leader who espoused what they did: social justice, pacifism, equal rights, etc. You have a head start: You made mental health parity happen, and you’ve been engaged in fighting the good fight since the beginning. You’re my hero.

But I also know you’re flawed and troubled, like your dad was, like we all are. The politicians who pretend to be saints tend to fail us, so you just go on being imperfect. And if you need support in your time of grief, just think of us out here, rooting for you to do well. We support you because you’re our voice now. And because we know what it’s like to live with loss. We believe in you. Carry on.

Madigan: They didn’t flatter you with that lighting.

David Oaks: You’re looking so handsome! I had no idea. Your eyebrows are very sexy. (I’m completely sincere.)

“But critics worry …” That’s journalism-speak for “We don’t have any specific sources who say this, but we’ll generalize it so we have reason to focus on …”

… violence. That’s what they’re focusing on. Why am I not surprised?

So of all the things they could talk about related to Mad Pride — and related to mental health — this is what they’ve come up with: criminals and violent crime. Ugh. TV is so predictable and depressing.

Okay, so now we’re telling the story of a kid with hallucinations and delusions (the CIA, yadda yadda) who KILLS HIS MOTHER? Does the average American viewer understand how fucking rare this kind of thing is? That it’s not the necessary result of deciding not to take meds?

On to the withdrawal story: Clearly, the program wasn’t looking for a success story. This poor woman who decided to do the show so they could feed off her misery — I knew that’s what they wanted. Is she doing the withdrawal in conjunction with a doctor? Who the hell knows? The show doesn’t tell you. It hardly tells you her name. And …

Oh! There it is again: “Critics worry … ” (that she’s going to be “a time bomb” without her meds). Who are these critics worrying about this girl? Frank Rich? David Denby? I’d love to know.

“Violence is unpredictable with or without drugs.” Brilliant script.

Blurry homeless images. Madigan cello-ing. … This show is so bad, it’s like a joke. I guess it all goes back to what producer Ia Robinson told me, when we discussed my being on the show: She doesn’t have any friends or family who have mental problems, so the whole topic was like “walking on the moon.” Yes, that’s the phrase she used. The show should’ve been blasted out to Mars.

Except Joey P. He’s delightful and a voice of reason.

Of course, it’s not funny at all for people who are trapped there. The most recent news comes in a report on the psych hospital’s operations in 2008, and of course, it’s nothing we didn’t know already. It’s just depressing. From the Courier-Post Online:

Ancora Psychiatric Hospital remained a dangerous place in 2008, with patients there subject to “serious, frequent and recurrent harm,” according to details of a U.S. Department of Justice investigation released on Monday.

A letter to Gov. Jon S. Corzine from acting Assistant Attorney General Loretta King was sharply critical of practices at Ancora, the Winslow Township hospital that is the state’s largest psychiatric facility.

Staff at Ancora frequently used excessive restraint to control patients, failed to appropriately monitor patients who were engaged in aggressive or self-destructive behavior, and did not provide adequate mental health treatment for those hospitalized there, the letter states.

Click here for more. But not while you’re eating.

To get a sense of what it’s going to be about, go here for the article, which offers an online video interview with Joe Pantoliano, who’s featured in the story. (Full disclosure: I was interviewed for the show, but I don’t think I’ll be mentioned.) On the page with Pantoliano’s story, there’s a poll: “Should people with mental illnesses be required to take medication?” Now, why the hell would that be the question related to this piece? Here are the potential answers:

No. It should be a patient’s choice whether or not to accept medication.
72%

Yes. When people refuse to take medications, it can be dangerous.
28%

I’m distressed that even 28 percent would agree to that fatuous statement. But then again, that’s a big focus of the piece that’s online right now: whether Mad Pride is “safe.” I’m not going to comment further until I see the TV show; maybe that false dichotomy — Mad Pride vs. taking meds — won’t be the setup. I hope not, because it’s really kind of stupid.

On Wednesday, the university finally released the documents that were “lost” after the shootings. They reveal a great consistent gap in the psychiatric system, and one that can’t easily be remedied. Though the documents attest that Cho was interviewed several times, he was lucid and able to say that he wasn’t a threat to himself or others. This is typically the standard that merits commitment, and if a person avers that he’s not a danger, we have to take that at face value. We can’t just go around virtually incarcerating people for being strange.

In the case of one incident, a roommate reported concerns of suicidal ideation on Cho’s part. But Cho voluntarily went to the counseling center to discuss it, and was clearly not psychotic or delusional. He was, to all appearances, under control. Much of what was done (physical tests, etc.) is standard and mandatory, and some might say detracts from really engaging. But on the other hand, if the person is suffering due to a physical problem, this must be discovered.

Here are two pages from that incident report (sorry for the formatting issues):

In this case, I don’t see particular misconduct. Which is the problem. It’s impossible to know a person’s state of mind with any surety. And maybe that’s good, in an existential way. But a later communication breakdown seems to have been a concern. From the New York Times:

A state panel convened by Gov. Tim Kaine faulted the campus center for failing to “connect the dots” related to the dangers of Mr. Cho’s mental condition.

Investigators from that panel concluded that campus officials were not aware of the judge’s order requiring that Mr. Cho receive treatment.

As for those missing documents, the director of the center who “inadvertently,” he said, took them home, was fired. No surprise there.

What’s sad about looking at the records is that it’s not clear what could have been done for this agonized young man. I know from my experience teaching and that of my friends in academia that students write bizarre shit, and you can’t assume that every one of them will kill people on your campus. You don’t know when to worry, and what about. And when does it stifle creativity?

Some of the documents indicate that Cho was seen with frequency, and that should’ve been a red flag. There was clearly knowledge that something was wrong. But again, what to do? Was a 302 (involuntary commitment) in order? That’s a slippery slope, to say the least.

This is not to say there weren’t major, major red flags, in these yellow pages (not all of which are downloaded here) in particular. Note the things that changed — that’s always a key question people in counseling take note of. When habits change, something is wrong, and Cho knew this, which is why he was seeking help. The designation of “Troubled” was ominous, and the deferral of filling out a form was a mistake, obviously — perhaps why the director of the center thought it best to accidentally take things home with him.

I’ll be interested to hear what you all have to say. Oh, and to those who might say that I’m giving too much space to a sensational, violent case — which of course represents a freak episode in the life of people with mental illnesses — I see your point. But this can’t go unremarked by me. The mainstream media has their say; I won’t be silent just because I don’t like the fact that this happened.

Cecilia Casals, 43, went to the Mall of the Americas in Miami, where her daughter worked, and set herself on fire. She was ablaze for about two and a half minutes, during which she reportedly walked slowly without making a sound. The flames were doused by firefighters and she was rushed to a hospital. But yesterday she died.

According to news reports, she had a criminal history, mental illness and had been desperately trying to get psychiatric help, to no avail.

The very sensitive NBCMiami.com features the headline: “‘Human Torch’ Dies After Mall Blaze.” Is that a class act or what?

The real class act is John Torres who, rather than breaking out his cell phone, injured himself trying to help her.

In a resolution adopted by the association’s governing council, and in an accompanying report, the association issued its most comprehensive repudiation of so-called reparative therapy, a concept espoused by a small but persistent group of therapists, often allied with religious conservatives, who maintain that gay men and lesbians can change.

No solid evidence exists that such change is likely, says the resolution, adopted by a 125-to-4 vote. The association said some research suggested that efforts to produce change could be harmful, inducing depression and suicidal tendencies.

Below is the full press release from the APA, which I would make into a jump, but I forget how.

TORONTO—The American Psychological Association adopted a resolution Wednesday stating that mental health professionals should avoid telling clients that they can change their sexual orientation through therapy or other treatments.

The “Resolution on Appropriate Affirmative Responses to Sexual Orientation Distress and Change Efforts” also advises that parents, guardians, young people and their families avoid sexual orientation treatments that portray homosexuality as a mental illness or developmental disorder and instead seek psychotherapy, social support and educational services “that provide accurate information on sexual orientation and sexuality, increase family and school support and reduce rejection of sexual minority youth.”

The approval, by APA’s governing Council of Representatives, came at APA’s annual convention, during which a task force presented a report that in part examined the efficacy of so-called “reparative therapy,” or sexual orientation change efforts (SOCE).

“Contrary to claims of sexual orientation change advocates and practitioners, there is insufficient evidence to support the use of psychological interventions to change sexual orientation,” said Judith M. Glassgold, PsyD, chair of the task force. “Scientifically rigorous older studies in this area found that sexual orientation was unlikely to change due to efforts designed for this purpose. Contrary to the claims of SOCE practitioners and advocates, recent research studies do not provide evidence of sexual orientation change as the research methods are inadequate to determine the effectiveness of these interventions.” Glassgold added: “At most, certain studies suggested that some individuals learned how to ignore or not act on their homosexual attractions. Yet, these studies did not indicate for whom this was possible, how long it lasted or its long-term mental health effects. Also, this result was much less likely to be true for people who started out only attracted to people of the same sex.”

Based on this review, the task force recommended that mental health professionals avoid misrepresenting the efficacy of sexual orientation change efforts when providing assistance to people distressed about their own or others’ sexual orientation.

APA appointed the six-member Task Force on Appropriate Therapeutic Responses to Sexual Orientation in 2007 to review and update APA’s 1997 resolution, “Appropriate Therapeutic Responses to Sexual Orientation,” and to generate a report. APA was concerned about ongoing efforts to promote the notion that sexual orientation can be changed through psychotherapy or approaches that mischaracterize homosexuality as a mental disorder.

The task force examined the peer-reviewed journal articles in English from 1960 to 2007, which included 83 studies. Most of the studies were conducted before 1978, and only a few had been conducted in the last 10 years. The group also reviewed the recent literature on the psychology of sexual orientation.

“Unfortunately, much of the research in the area of sexual orientation change contains serious design flaws,” Glassgold said. “Few studies could be considered methodologically sound and none systematically evaluated potential harms.”

As to the issue of possible harm, the task force was unable to reach any conclusion regarding the efficacy or safety of any of the recent studies of SOCE: “There are no methodologically sound studies of recent SOCE that would enable the task force to make a definitive statement about whether or not recent SOCE is safe or harmful and for whom,” according to the report.

“Without such information, psychologists cannot predict the impact of these treatments and need to be very cautious, given that some qualitative research suggests the potential for harm,” Glassgold said. “Practitioners can assist clients through therapies that do not attempt to change sexual orientation, but rather involve acceptance, support and identity exploration and development without imposing a specific identity outcome.”

As part of its report, the task force identified that some clients seeking to change their sexual orientation may be in distress because of a conflict between their sexual orientation and religious beliefs. The task force recommended that licensed mental health care providers treating such clients help them “explore possible life paths that address the reality of their sexual orientation, reduce the stigma associated with homosexuality, respect the client’s religious beliefs, and consider possibilities for a religiously and spiritually meaningful and rewarding life.”

“In other words,” Glassgold said, “we recommend that psychologists be completely honest about the likelihood of sexual orientation change, and that they help clients explore their assumptions and goals with respect to both religion and sexuality.”

I feel pretty good. Sleeping late(r) (since working at alt weeklies doesn’t exactly make you rise with the dawn) is nice, though I’ve been a little anxious. So there’s been a fair amount of Ativan consumption that will have my pharmacist givin’ me the fish eye next month.

Aside from the fact that Bob Novak is dead (about which I feel nothing; sorry) and unremorseful bag of shit Michael Vick is going to be an Eagle (about which I feel rage), the most interesting article I’ve read about mental health issues in my absence marries my passions. It was in the New York Times:

Mentally Ill Offenders Strain Juvenile System

It’s heartbreaking and a must-read, and again, I’ll make the assertion that tends to get me in hot water every time I say it: Prison is worse for people with severe mental illnesses than psychiatric hospitals — though the best solution, ideally, is community-supported intervention. It’s tragic to read about these kids who decompensate in prison and then, because that behavior is criminal in the system, not just pathological, get more time. That’s part of what makes it so much worse to be shuttled into the criminal justice system.

But don’t get me started. Just read the piece. Also:

Young, Mentally Ill and Behind Bars