News reports say he was seeing a psychiatrist but when you look her up at Healthgrade, it says she's physiatrist, a physical therapist! But.... UCompare says she's a psychiatrist. Maybe she's both! On the hospital's site it says she is.
Not to be a snob... okay I'll be a snob... but if I'm having paranoid delusions and hearing voices, I would not go to someone who can't make up her mind whether to specialize in the mind or the body. Sure, the mind lives in the body, but seriously....
And checking pubmed, she hasn't published anything in five years. In academia, for someone on a tenure track this is really really weak.
CNN is having trouble verifying her credentials, too. If she's been getting grant money to study schizophrenia, the granting agencies should demand a refund. She hasn't published anything on schizophrenia so where's the evidence she was really qualified to help this guy?
The sadder thing is that after he was no longer a student she probably could no longer see him. That should be the one big exception to insurance company plans. My brother had this problem too. He got fired due to his schizophrenia and then couldn't see his doctor any more. Of course he could have paid cash but... *sigh* When someone leaves work due to a broken leg they can see their doctor and come back when their leg is healed. When they get sick with a mental illness their entire support system goes *poof* due to the very thing they need support for.
You'd think grad schools would have wised up after the University of Iowa shooting. They need good mental health providers and support for people who are disappointed. Instead of having a psychiatrist on their staff who has many duties, they should pay for sick students to go to the best shrink in town. It's not just enlightened self-interest, it's the right thing to do.
7 comments:
Maybe he was crazy AND had back pain.
Good point!
Seeing any psychiatrist that was reared on Darwinism is a complete waste of time. They're in need of one, themselves! Actually, I'll wager Holmes' sense of reality was far greater than most of those people he killed, not needing some form of illegitimate form of vicarious release to get through a mediocre existence; e.g. living in modern secular society!
Also, anyone spending good money to watch some fool cavort in black tights needs some serious counseling, in my view.
It's sad, we really should have help available for everyone. I definitely benefited from the free therapy available at my university.
I kind of wonder if he shouldn't have been hospitalized. Considering his affinity for science you'd think he could have been talked into it. Very sad for all concerned.
I just stumbled upon your blog and was reading through all the old posts, so I'm sure this comment on this old post will go unnoticed, but a physiatrist is not a physical therapist, A physiatrist is a medical doctor specializing in Physical Medicine and Rehabilation. It requires 4 years of med school and 4 year of residency like any other specialty.
That was my point - this kid should have gone to a psychiatrist. Was the online info wrong or was she a quack? We'll never know.
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