Showing posts with label Florida. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Florida. Show all posts

Wednesday

If You Seek a Bio-chemical Cause for Mental Health Disorders, You will become the “Little Train that Couldn’t”

If You Seek a Bio-chemical Cause for Mental Health Disorders, You will become the “Little Train that Couldn’t”

By Linda J. Gottlieb, LMFT, LCSW-r


If You Seek a Bio-chemical Cause for Mental Health Disorders, You will become the “Little Train that Couldn’t”

My opinion on the origin of mental illness is controversial to many in my profession. I maintain that emotional disturbances are situationally and not bio-chemically caused. But this position did not originate with me. It originated with my mentor, Salvador Minuchin, the world-renowned, highly respected child psychiatrist. Dr. Minuchin (as with his contemporaneous psychiatrists who founded the family therapy movement, such as Murray Bowen, Don Jackson, Jay Haley, Carl Whitaker, Nathan Ackerman, John Weakland, et al.) does not accept an intra-psychic or biochemical cause of mental disorders. Resulting from 65 years of practice, Dr. Minuchin affirms that traumatic situations; unhealthy relationships; and dysfunctional family dynamics, such as the PAS, cause mental health disorders. Diagnosis of mental health is not a science! There is no empirical evidence for any mental health disorder. You cannot inject the brain, withdraw serum, and have it analyzed. Any psychiatrist or mental health diagnostician worth his/her salt (and even those who are not worth their salt) must acknowledge that diagnosis of emotional disorders is based merely upon “impressions.” 

Mental health patients are guinea pigs when they are prescribed an array of psychotropic medications and subjected to a host of invasive procedures, such as ECT. At least Dr. Minuchin’s assessment for the cause of mental disorders offers optimism while remedy is benign and unintrusive: if you discard unhealthy relationships and situations, you will be symptom-free. A symptom free life is therefore possible without being subjected to invasive medications and procedures. Dr. Minuchin has recognized that he is a salmon swimming upstream when he articulates this; but think about it: if his analysis was to become the norm, then 90% of the psychiatric community would need to become educated about relationship therapy. And it would also be more costly for the health insurance industry, which would then have to incur the expenses of reimbursing for more protracted relationship therapy instead of for the quick fixes of drug therapy. No wonder there is such resistance to accepting this not so novel assessment of mental health diagnosis—-in spite of 60+ years of empirical evidence and scientific support for this perspective.

Although this may come as a shock to many readers, our current state of psychiatric diagnosis is NOT science. If it were, then psychotropic medications would not need to be persistently adjusted up or down in dosage, completely changed, and/or supplemented with other medications. The simple explanation for why medications so frequently fail to achieve a reduction in symptoms is because symptoms do not result from a chemical imbalance. Just compare the administration of medications for medical disorders: when, for example, an antibiotic is given for an infection, it is highly probable to be effective in resolving the symptoms. And if Dr. Minuchin was to be asked, he would likely explain that it is a patient’s history of having taken psychotropic medications that subsequently caused her/his chemical imbalance: in essence, such medications had upset a NORMAL chemical balance. Do not take my word for it: read the many books by Dr. Minuchin and the previously referred- to psychiatrists—-all of whose writings are listed in the reference at the conclusion of this article.

Dr. Minuchin’s opinion is supported by the recent research of Dr. Irving Kirsch, psychologist at Harvard University, who discovered that a placebo was equally as effective as were antidepressants in treating mild to moderately depressed patients. It was only the small percentage of highly depressed patients who responded better to antidepressants.


Thursday

Family Court - Source of the Corruption?



Unhappy with child-custody award, woman and parents plotted to murder her ex-husband and his mom - ABA Journal »
A former elementary school teacher and her father pleaded guilty Thursday to their admitted roles in a plot to murder her former husband because they were unhappy with a child-custody award in the couple’s divorce case.
Then, after onetime third-grade teacher Kathleen Dorsett was arrested in the 2010 slaying of Stephen Moore, her mother, Lesley Dorsett, met with the jailed woman to plot the slaying of the dead victim’s mother, according to theAsbury Park Press and the Associated Press.
“The goal was to kill (her) because we were afraid she was going to testify,” Lesley Dorsett told a New Jersey judge during a hearing in Freehold. The Dorsetts also were reportedly unhappy because Evlyn Moore was awarded custody of her young granddaughter after the murder of her son.
However, Evlyn Moore was not harmed and attended Thursday’s court hearing. “I’m as satisfied today as I will ever be,” she told reporters afterward. “I feel that Stephen has gotten justice today.”
Lesley Dorsett, a former member of the Ocean Township school board, pleaded guilty Thursday to conspiracy to commit murder. Her husband and daughter pleaded guilty to murder and other charges.
The plot unraveled after Lesley Dorsett handed over an envelope filled with cash to the hit man she thought she was hiring to kill Evlyn Moore. In fact, he was an undercover cop who had been tipped by Kathleen Dorsett’s cellmate, according to the newspaper articles.
Prosecutors are expected to recommended an eight-year prison term for Lesley Dorsett, and 58 years, with no parole for at least 51 years, for her 38-year-old daughter, when the two are sentenced in August along with Thomas Dorsett, 66. He faces a potential 50-year sentence, with no parole for 30 years.
See also:
Asbury Park Press: “Inmate can testify about talks with woman charged with killing ex-husband”


Friday

Parental Alienation is Recognized as a Form of Child Abuse by American Psychological Association

CASE STUDIES OF PAS IN COURT

Compiled by DV LEAP, Joan Meier, Director, and Andrew Hudson (intern) for consideration by the Committee on the DSM-V

The following brief compilation includes cases that DV LEAP is aware of, either through its own litigation, that of colleagues, and/or press accounts. Where there are published appellate opinions, cases are cited instead in the accompanying memorandum overview of all published cases referencing PAS as of 2009. A very few cases are cited in both this memorandum and the accompanying one.

Wednesday

Happy Birthday Zoraya! We Love and Miss You So Much!!

Happy Birthday to You!

Thursday

When truth is buried underground it grows.


When truth is buried underground it grows, it chokes, it gathers such an explosive force than on the day it bursts out, it blows up everything with it.

Lying In Family Court by Bill Eddy, LCSW, Esq. 

When I became a family law attorney/mediator after a dozen years as a therapist, one of the biggest surprises was the extent of lying in Family Court: lies about income, assets and even complete fabrications of child abuse and domestic violence. Why would people lie so much, I wondered? How did they get away with it? The following is my psycho-social analysis of what I believe has become an epidemic: 

Men lie: It was a sad phone call from a relatively new client. He informed me his father had just died. He had quit his job and was moving back east to wrap up his father's affairs. He asked me to tell his wife's attorney that he would not be able to pay child support for their three young children for a long time. (There was no support order yet.)


The next day, his wife's attorney called me back and described how upset his wife was to learn of her father-in-law's death. So upset, that she had called his father -- and had a nice chat!


Women lie: A mother involved in a custody battle told the court in dramatic detail about physical abuse at the hands of her husband. She even submitted reports of visits to doctors and emergency rooms for her bruises.


However, a court-ordered psychological evaluation determined the allegations were false. The court agreed and awarded custody to the father. A few weeks later the mother picked up the children from school and disappeared for a year. She was caught, sent to jail for parental kidnapping, and the children returned to the father

Societal Increase in Lying


Surveys show that lying has increased over the past decade. In 1999 alone: the President was tried in Congress for perjury; a popular journalist in Boston was publicly fired for fabricating heart-rending stories; and a scientist was exposed for falsifying research on a high-profile safety issue.


Friday

Family Court Judge Stanford Blake Presented with Chief Justice Award for Judicial Excellence

Court News - 2016

Judge Stanford Blake, Eleventh Circuit, Presented with Chief Justice Award for Judicial Excellence

The Chief Justice Awards for Judicial Excellence, established in 2015, recognize one county court judge and one circuit court judge who demonstrate exceptional commitment to the judicial branch and who personify judicial excellence, embodying qualities such as strength of character, integrity, fairness, open-mindedness, knowledge of the law, sound judgment, professional ethics, intellectual courage, compassion, and decisiveness.  These prestigious awards are presented by the chief justice of the Florida Supreme Court at the annual education programs for each level of the trial court.  At this year’s Annual Education Program of the Florida Conference of Circuit Judges, Chief Justice Labarga presented the 2016 Chief Justice Award for Judicial Excellence to Judge Stanford Blake, Eleventh Circuit.  (Broward County Court Judge Robert W. Lee received the Award for Judicial Excellence at the Annual Education Program of the Conference of County Court Judges of Florida in July.)

Wednesday

Hey Family Court!! You are disabling me by the severity of your denial of contact with my child. Here's the medical evidence.

The Toxic Stress of Family Court

"A request for disability accommodation asking for the correction of this disability-causing problem would surpass reasonable into necessary.

"Court, you are disabling me by the severity of your removal of my children. Here's the medical evidence. Here's my request that you fix your proceedings/process and stop hurting our child/ren."

Understand that having your kids taken from you is not something the courts should be doing lightly. We all know that, but how does one push the issue before a court headed by entrenched child trafficking corruption?

My opinion is that no one should be bothering with that. Instead, it seems clear to mine eyes that "child separation anxiety" and subsequent "grief" are together "distinct mental disorder" clearly qualifying individual sufferers as "disabled".

The right of access to LEGITIMATE court services is discussed in Tennessee v. Lane. ~ 

"Title II (of the ADA) is aimed at the enforcement of a variety of basic rights, including the right of access to the courts at issue in this case, that call for a standard of judicial review at least as searching, and in some cases more searching, than the standard that applies to sexbased classifications."

Thursday

How can we celebrate Freedom with a chain around our ankle?

The 4th of July Celebrates Freedom
Right?

Independence or In-Dependence Day?
Freedom is a word we throw around about the United States. We're free to drive from state to state without inspections.  We're free to go to the church or school we want.  We're even free to marry whoever we want.  And that's where the freedom ends.  Once you are married, the state has a firm grip on your future.  50% of marriages end in divorce.  People change. Depending on the reasonableness of each spouse, the divorce will either be amicable or horrible.  Family law attorneys prefer horrible.  There's much more money to be made! 

So what do we do about it?  Since 2011 we have been working to update Florida's antiquated family laws.  In 2013 and 2016 Gov. Scott vetoed bills that were overwhelmingly supported by the Florida House and Senate.  In 2015 the Florida House did not finish their session and went home early, leaving many good bills to die, including alimony reform.  What is to keep Gov. Scott from vetoing another bill?  Two things.


First, we will support alimony reform and/or child sharing as separate bills, unless we have specific knowledge that the Gov will sign a bill that somehow combines both. We will do our best to check with the governor to see what he will sign and what he won't sign.  Rep. Workman told us last year that Gov. Scott would veto any bill that had child sharing attached to it. And the governor did just that.  Working backwards, we'll help craft a bill that Gov. Scott will sign.


Second, we need a public outcry!  Last year having 10,000 people asking Gov. Scott to sign the bill wasn't enough.  We need 100,000 Floridians to stand up for our families and demand that the Family Court System helps to end a failed marriage without ripping the family completely apart!  The destruction of Florida families is largely due to the existing laws that many Family Law Attorneys use to divide the family and conquer the bank accounts.  Conflict creates great income opportunities for Family Law Attorneys. A mediated outcome without opposing attorneys usually will get the best long term result for the entire family at a fraction of the cost. Most family law attorneys appear to be against this straightforward solution. Wonder why?

So when you see the fireworks, listen to the music, enjoy the hamburgers, hotdogs, potato chips and drinks, enjoy the freedoms we have, but stand up and fight for the freedoms our state took away from us.  If you don't pay alimony to your ex-spouse who is capable but refuses to work, you go to jail. That Is Not Freedom!!!! You have broken no laws, but still go to jail.  Think about it!!

Then get involved! It will be great to celebrate July 4th and be totally FREE! No more ball & chain. The sooner you get involved, the sooner we will all celebrate! 

POINT OF VIEW: Craft reasonable legislation to reform alimony system 


Wednesday

ParentalRights.org's New Vice President Shaun Alexander NFL MVP

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ParentalRights.org Announces New Vice-President

-- June 7, 2016

ParentalRights.org is excited to announce this week the election of our new Vice-President, former NFL running back and 2005 league MVP Shaun Alexander.

Raised in Kentucky, Shaun became a star at the University of Alabama, setting several school records during his years there. Then he was drafted nineteenth overall by the Seattle Seahawks in the 2000 draft of the National Football League.

As a Seahawk in 2005, Shaun led the league in rushing yards, rushing touchdowns, points scored, and Pro Bowl votes. He also led his team to Super Bowl XL, the team’s first–ever Super Bowl appearance.

Having retired from football after the 2008 season, today Shaun focuses on his family and on encouraging families and fatherhood through a variety of programs. He recently launched his "Finish the Game" podcast series in which he challenges especially fathers to be present in the lives of their children. He has also taken on the role of vice-president of ParentalRights.org with the hope of becoming the face of the organization.

We know many of you have been thinking the same thing we have over the last several years: Americans agree on parental rights, but they don’t know our organization exists. Many don’t know the state of parental rights has deteriorated so far, and very few are aware of our effort to fix it.

If we could just get the word out, nearly all of America would be on board.

It is our hope that Shaun can get us in front of a whole new audience, to draw attention to the plight of parental rights today.
“I believe parents with a clear focus can train up their children to impact the world,” Shaun recently wrote. “I want to inform, encourage, and help allow parents to be that great trainer to their children.” With us, he believes the Parental Rights Amendment is a necessary protection for that to happen.

You will be hearing more from and about Shaun over the next couple of weeks, to say nothing of the months ahead. He will be posting interviews, writing letters, and hosting events to draw attention to the parental rights cause.

We are grateful to add his passion, enthusiasm, and desire to win to our board and to our effort. Together, we can secure the liberty of loving parents to make decisions for their children through the Parental Rights Amendment. And with Shaun on our team, we believe we are one big step closer to seeing that goal fulfilled.
Sincerely

Michael Ramey
Director of Communications & Research.
You can help restore #parentalrights4pra.us/sign4pra.us/give

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