[back] 

The victimisation of Lisa Blakemore-Brown

http://www.jabs.org.uk/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=573
Author    
John Stone
 

United Kingdom
179 Posts

Posted - 01/25/2007 :  12:01:17  
These are the links to Aubrey Blumsohn's blog, which will be updated. Lisa's hearing resumes next week. The British Psychological Society refused to reschedule the hearing despite the fact that Lisa is looking after her daughter who suffered a near fatal stroke on Christmas Eve after they had been forced to move for the fourth time.

http://scientific-misconduct.blogspot.com/search/label/lisa

http://scientific-misconduct.blogspot.com/2007/01/victimization-of-lisa-blakemore-brown.html

The victimization of Lisa Blakemore Brown

This blog is about the distortion of scientific debate, most particularly by powerful forces in medicine. It is about the way in which industry, professional bodies, government regulators and powerful individuals collude to prevent scientific debate and to victimize those asking difficult questions (www.nhsexposed.com). It is about the way those entrusted with authority behave.

I have been contacted by many individuals who have found themselves in difficulty. Some of these stories are urgent enough for me to want take a break from my most interesting correspondence with Dr Larry Games Vice President at Procter & Gamble Pharmaceuticals.

One such case is that of the psychologist Lisa Blakemore Brown, a specialist in Autism, ADHD & Aspergers [website] [Book]. Blakemore Brown has been involved on the "wrong side" of the debate about the psychiatric disorder Munchausen syndrome by proxy (MSbP), maintaining that many parents have been falsely accused of injuring their children. There have been high-profile releases from jail of women such as Angela Canning. MSbP is a disorder in which an adult invents or deliberately creates a child’s illness to draw attention to themselves. She has challenged prominent doctors such as Sir Roy Meadow and Professor David Southall who, in her view, have promulgated a wholly inappropriate approach to scientific evidence. She has irritated pharmaceutical companies. But instead of debate Lisa has encountered its very opposite. The abuse of science goes right into the heart of a prominent professional body. Her colleagues have stood by in silence.

I have no special knowledge of the science that underpins the debate surrounding autism, MSbP or vaccine side effects. But I do know that debate is important. It is the lifeblood of science. I will be discussing much more of this tragic case over the next few weeks. It is not only a tragedy for Blakemore Brown, but also part of the tragedy of medicine.

For now I simply place in the public domain a letter written this week by John Stone and myself to the British Psychological Society. It speaks for itself.

Ray Miller, President,
The British Psychological Society
St Andrews House
48 Princess Road East
Leicester LE1 7DR 14 January 2007

Re: Lisa Blakemore Brown

Dear Mr Miller,

We are writing to express our concern regarding the treatment of Lisa Blakemore-Brown (LBB) by the British Psychological Society. The actions of the Society are such as to cast serious doubts upon its motives as well as upon its plausibility as a professional regulatory body.

It is disturbing that the Society appears to be acting to suppress open debate about controversial theories. Our purpose here is not to get involved in this debate, nor do we necessarily agree with her views. Ms Blakemore-Brown's views are in fact irrelevant. She is entitled to hold any views and to express these, no matter how uncomfortable they are to yourselves. This is enshrined by Article 10 of the Human Rights Act 1998. It seems that the Society have developed an unhealthy obsession with preventing free speech through abuse of mental health diagnosis. Its actions may also be construed as a breach of the Harassment Act 1997.

It cannot be in the interests of society, human rights, patients and of the British Psychological Society to suppress open debate and academic freedom through such mechanisms. The society seems to have encouraged an endless series of unsupportable complaints against LBB, and then progressed them despite evidence that they were not sustainable. The society itself then generated an entirely different complaint (about her irritated response to these very complaints). This is not a proper example for resolving scientific or academic disputes. It appears to be more a method of silencing a critic.

Irritation with a professional body is not in any event an offence. Neither is annoying a professional body. Disagreement with the professional "view" is not a reason to refer an individual for psychiatric assessment except in a Stalinist state. This approach of the BPS is wholly anti-academic and unprofessional. To quote Kingsley Amis "If you can't annoy someone, there's little point in writing". It is also not a prime facie offence to perceive oneself to have been bullied, as the BPS seem to be suggesting.

Having read the case transcripts, we must confess that we find them most extraordinary. The transcript of the first three days of the Fitness to Practice hearing July 2006 reads like an encyclopaedia of legal and psychological abuse. If LBB has responded with irritation, this would seem to be understandable.

Lisa had been coerced into "hearings" despite having left the society years before. The main charge was modified progressively until it bore no relation to the flawed original charge. The modified "charge" of supposed mental illness (so called "paranoia") was not revealed to Lisa for months after the process had been set in motion.
Evidence was assembled by the panel as if having been provided by Lisa herself, and presented to others in a jumbled order and without context to suggest mental incoherence in her correspondence with the BPS (a supposed offence).
In one instance it emerged that the material was forged. Despite that, the original complainants were not invited to be cross-examined, and no action was taken against them after the information was dropped.
An independent psychiatric report declaring LBB perfectly lucid, quite normal and fit to practice was rejected, and others were requested instead. This is a rather interesting approach for a "psychological society" towards the reliability of such reports. This interesting approach of the BPS appears to be on the basis of the findings of the reports themselves rather than upon the methodology used (since the panel seemed quite happy to consider an assessment based only on LBB's correspondence with the BPS complaining about her treatment, compiled without seeing "the patient" and without any relevance whatever to her clinical practice). More convincing evidence supporting justifiable paranoia and predetermination would be hard to find.
A psychiatrist declared Lisa to be unfit to practice with the diagnosis of "paranoia" without examining her, and on the basis of material constructively assembled by the committee. Having read the transcript relating to this material we find this "diagnosis" intriguing, and wonder whether a majority (or even any) other psychiatrists or members of the public would reach such a conclusion based on the same information if we were to provide it to them. In any event the material bears no apparent relation to her practice, only to her views about the suppression of scientific debate.
The society has acted callously over a sustained period seeking to undermine and silence Ms Blakemore Brown, despite her unfortunate family circumstances. It has used the practice of psychiatry and psychological assessment in a non-evidence-based way as a tool for destruction. It cannot improve the reputation of the society to be seen to act in such an arbitrary way using its own tools of trade.

The society must bring this charade to an end before any more damage is done, both to society itself and to the chances of proper public discourse in an atmosphere that is free from fear.


We would appreciate the views of the society before taking this matter forward in terms of public discussion.
We are unable to find any list of the psychological traits that would render an individual unfit to practice and would appreciate a copy of the same. If supposed "paranoia" or "irritation with the BPS" is on such a list, perhaps bullying should also be added.
In addition we would also request that the society provide what scientific evidence it has in relation to the, indications for psychiatric assessment in such cases, as well as the reproducibility and plausibility of such reports.
So bizarre are the case transcripts, we believe that open discussion is required. We intend to publish these in full, with appropriate commentary as part of a campaign to prevent such behaviour by professional regulatory bodies. If the society can see any reason such publication should not take place, we would appreciate it if you would let us know those reasons.
Yours sincerely,

Mr John Stone

Dr Aubrey Blumsohn






 
Janet
 

34 Posts

Posted - 01/25/2007 :  17:43:10  
How tragic and unfair, it's so easy to diagnose a victim of psychological bullying as paranoid.

Speaking from experience you are put through sheer hell, here's a few examples:- silent phone calls, blocked, ignored, false allegations and court action. All of this anti-social behaviour comes straight from the so called "Caring Profession"

Well done to John and Dr Aubrey Blumsolm of their support for this true professional lady, Lisa Blakemore Brown.
 
gren
 

United Kingdom
47 Posts

Posted - 01/25/2007 :  21:19:37  
So what exactly has this individual done to attract this attack upon her personage- she must have pissed on a few chips. Paranoia is a symptom I would have thought of some other underlying pathology. Marcia Angell a former New England Journal of Medicine Editor soon found out what happens when you spill the beans on big pharma and their drones..This is a rabid scientific dictatorship hell bent on suppressing opposition and if Tony Blair has his way you will be locked up under his new mental health laws without commiting a crime. Not too far now down the road when merely questioning your Government (or your professional ruling body) before you are sent to the gulag to rot..

oh yes and dont mention the jews...pooofffffff!!!!
 
gren
 

United Kingdom
47 Posts

Posted - 01/25/2007 :  23:00:42
here is a use of the word Paranoid.

'In The Constant Gardener, John Le Carre’s 2001 novel that has since become a major motion picture and box office hit starring Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz, John Le Carre put the drug companies in the position that the evil empire of the Soviet Union occupied in his Cold War novels.

Perfidious big pharma is revealed to be testing dangerous drugs on impoverished Africans, suppressing information about their lethal side-effects, and murdering whistleblowers. Le Carre tells a convoluted tale of violent intrigue on three continents which the cover blurb describes as ‘a magnificent exploration of the dark side of unbridled capitalism’.

It is remarkable that this preposterous depiction of the pharmaceutical industry, one of the most successful sectors of the world economy, and the British economy, in recent decades, should strike such a popular chord. Yet, while drug companies claim that they have made a major contribution to health and welfare with a range of new medications, they are widely believed to put profits before safety. Even if few will go all the way with Le Carre’s paranoid fantasy, many accept the depiction of big pharma as a ruthless and corrupt form of capitalist enterprise'.
http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php?/site/article/924/

--------------------------------

It goes on to say regarding Marcia Angell, and as of an interest,

'Unfortunately, her book is marred by excessive use of American brand names and by a woefully ill-informed account of the MMR-autism controversy'.

and finally ,

'On closer inspection big pharma is neither a great Satan poisoning and corrupting the world, nor a model of thrusting capitalist enterprise and altruistic commitment to public health. It turns out to be something of a paper tiger, a cautious and conservative industry relying on a small number of ‘blockbuster’ drugs and clinging to its restrictive practices and state subsidies. While it has benefited handsomely from the increasing medicalisation of society, it has also become a victim of the blame and compensation culture that has advanced in parallel with it'.
--------------------------

Oh poor Pharma a much maligned 'paper tiger'..Statin drugs only work because they reduce inflamation of the arterial walls, not that they will admit it. Magnesium will do that for you. Vitamin C will strengthen the collagen and prevent the plaque(sp.) from thickenining the walls, as in it's what's in the doughnut and not the ring'. The last bit is an americanism..talk about death by doctor.. geez...these people are stabling the four horses of the apocalypse..

notetoneself
that film sounds like it's worth watching..'testing drugs on impoverised Africans'..whatever next eh Bill...