STRUCTURAL RACISM, BAD DIAGNOSTICS & ANTI-SOCIAL PERSONALITY DISORDER
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Val's Take
The first big caveat: the problems in the American Psychiatric Association are NOT just affecting people of color, but like a lot of things, those problems negatively impact people of color disproportionately. I have had numerous experiences with well-educated even Ivy League psychiatrists who when they are dealing with a difficult patient and they have run out of tools in their toolbox --- THE ANTI-SOCIAL PERSONALITY DISORDER DIAGNOSIS comes out. Further, these over-worked professionals often haven't taken a full history of the person or in many cases are ignorant of hospitalizations in the past or even SSI determinations on the basis of mental illness. Now, for people of color and poor people --- they may not have had access to treatment in the past. Well, what does that look in 2021: the Mental Health Profession has stagnated for several decades and a lot of the research in the last 7 to 10 years is breaking that --- but there is not an effective way of getting that to Clinicians in less than 20 years ---- In the meantime, the Mental Health Profession has set itself up as the Pro-Social Competency Experts. Well even your wildest, worst nightmare is probably not going to get to the reality of how this is playing out in Criminal Justice. This impacts a lot of people who are not psychotic but have significant executive functioning issues such as ADHD and/or Autism, most mental illness, brain injury and substance issues that were often acquired in a DIY attempt to deal with cognitive difference. Further, a lot of that Depression in males looks a lot more like Anger and Aggression. As all this is happening, we are re-evaluating the nature of intelligence --- "Traditional Intelligence" and "Emotional Intelligence" and the nature of "Mental Illness." I would submit that a lot of people with ADHD and Autism have very high traditional intelligence and that is not unrelated to the genetics, epigenetics and maternal immune activation that appears to be part of their make-up. On the other hand, those "immune" features may also be responsible for the executive functioning issues they also are often experiencing. At the end of the day -- my point is not that I am "RIGHT" (even though I think am) ---- it's more this is MORE COMPLICATED than we are treating it --- and we need a PUBLIC HEALTH APPROACH to Criminal Justice --- not in spite of BUT BECAUSE of the Complexity and Unanswered Questions of what we are facing. The American Psychiatric Association is starting to lead on these issues. Anti-Social Personality Disorder in the Criminal Justice System needs to be addressed sooner rather than later. Elise Lau: Epigenetics and Transgenerational Trauma
Men's Health Research: Anger and Aggression as a Depressive Symptom --- Professor & Researcher Marvin Westwood
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Dr. Ruth Shim of UC Davis whose courage prompted the recent statement of the American Psychiatric Association on Structural Racism in the profession
NIMH: 5 mental disorders share common genes and problems with calcium channels. (ADHD, Autism, Bipolar Disorder, Depression & Schizophrenia)
What is the significance of this video to us? ADHD and Autism are traditionally thought of as "Developmental Disorders" -- and Mental Illness as Different. There seem to be some strong "Developmental Aspects" of mental illness. Further, it "seems" like some of those aspects involve sensory and information processing. Anxiety and Sensory Processing Disorder - Which Comes First?
Virginia Spielmann, Associate Director at STAR Institute in Centennial, Colorado talks about Sensory Processing Disorder and anxiety from an Occupational Therapy perspective and whether anxiety is a secondary symptom. Our 2020 Report on --
Anti-Social Personality Disorder & the Criminal Justice System |
