Year Two:

News:

Tom Cruise May Know More Than We Think

For Immediate Release: 9 July, 2005 -- by Safe Harbor

Summary: "I have been astonished by the media’s bashing of Tom Cruise for daring to express his opinion that non-drug options are preferable to psychiatric drugs."

Plenty of Americans, like Cruise, don’t want a chemically altered brain. And they think it is prudent to avoid that scenario if at all possible.

As the founder of the world’s largest nonprofit web site for non-drug mental health education, this is something I know a little about. The FDA does too, as they issued a warning on July 1 that modern anti-depressants should include a suicide warning for adults. (These drugs already have a black box suicide warning for children.)

Mr. Cruise said that “vitamins, exercise, and other things” are viable alternative mental health treatments. He’s dead right. Medical and psychiatric journals are filled with studies showing that fish oil and other nutrients are as effective as or better than drugs in treating depression, bipolar disorder, and other mental problems. Duke University and other research centers have proven conclusively that exercise is as effective as or better than drugs in treating depression. And numerous “other things,” such as herbs, acupuncture, hormonal treatments, diet changes, allergy remedies, etc. have been used to successfully treat serious mental health issues. A few years ago Harvard hosted a conference on “Natural Treatments in Psychiatry.”

Our website lists over 300 practitioners who treat mental disorders with minimal or no drugs and there are thousands of other alternative physicians, acupuncturists, holistic psychiatrists, nutritional psychologists, nutritionists, chiropractors, herbalists, and other healers in the U.S. and elsewhere who do the same. You can find them in any Yellow Pages. Yet the major media would have us believe that these people - and their successfully-treated patients - don’t exist.

Instead we hear the views of the mega-funded AMA and American Psychiatric Association and their friends from the pharmaceutical cartels, who use their big bucks to continually shove their message that drugs and more drugs are the solution to all our problems.

While psychiatric drugs can certainly be helpful to alleviate acute suffering, it is common knowledge that they are handed out like candy by American physicians. And they are not all that effective. A 2003 review in King County, Washington - home of Seattle - found that of the 9100 patients in the mental health system, where drugs are the primary treatment, only five recovered. Yes, five.

My organization hears from people all the time who have recovered or improved from serious mental disorders without drugs. Or they could not stand the effects of the drugs they were on and found alternative treatments to replace them. I have spoken to countless poor souls who have been told by psychiatrists that they will never get any better without drugs, yet on their own, they struggled successfully to do so. Yet the psychiatric experts we are hearing from in the media insist this is all impossible. Who are the ignorant ones here?

It’s nice to see one standing up for those who don’t want a medicated mind and for daring to propose the old-fashioned notion that the road to mental health is not necessarily paved with drugs.

For more details: Dan Stradford President and founder Safe Harbor
SafeHarborProj@aol.comSafeHarborProj@aol.com
www.AlternativeMentalHealth.com

To view Tom Cruise's complete interview (non edited by the press to make him look insane) click here: http://movies.crooksandliars.com/Countdown_Cruise_Lauer.mov (if this link does not work, cut and paste in your browser)
To read the text: http://www.drudgereport.com/flash3tc.htm

Research:

FDA Changes Label Rules on ADHD Stimulants

Recently the Wall Street Journal Online printed a remarkable article by Jennifer Corbett Dooren titled "FDA Wants Label Changes For Some ADHD Drugs."

In the article, Dooren notes that the FDA is requiring new labeling changes for stimulant drugs used to treat ADHD. Most, it appears, are variations on methylphenidate (Ritalin, Concerta, etc.). The drugs have produced side-effects including, according to the FDA, events "such as visual hallucinations, suicidal ideation, psychotic behavior, as well as aggression or violent behavior."

The article adds: "Meanwhile, the FDA is seeking the panel's advice on what information it should provide to the public about the ADHD drugs that are widely used in children while it's collecting information on the number of types of psychiatric events possibly associated with ADHD drugs along with possible cardiovascular risks.

"The agency is concerned with possible cardiovascular events in people using the drugs. Earlier this year Health Canada ordered Adderall off the market after reports of sudden death in 20 patients, including 12 reports of stroke."

While these drugs clearly help some severely afflicted individuals, they also are increasingly being found to have adverse effects. At the same time some are being implicated as possible causes for liver cancer, scientists report that incidents of liver cancer in children have roughly doubled over the past two decades.

The URL for the entire article is http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB111998399463271852,00.html?mod=home_whats_news_us (Subscribers only article).

One of our newest ICPA Diplomate modules is addressing the rising ADHD issue with hands on solutions:
Neurosensory Integration- Monika Buerger. This new module in our Year One program is a must take for the doctor of chiropractic looking to meet the challenging needs of children diagnosed with ADHD. Learn how to integrate chiropractic care and neurosensory integration techniques and offer a unique service to these needy children.

Education: Public Outreach:

Pathways

Our spring Pathways is almost sold out and our summer Pathways is in the mail. We are pleased to announce that our subscription circulation is now at 10,000!! The goal is to reach 200,000 which is the circulation of some of national magazines we are now advertising in!

Here is how we can do it:

We have 2,000 members. If each office ordered 100 copies per quarter, we would be there!!

Where to distribute Pathways

If you are not sure where to distribute these magazines here are some suggestions:

1- every patient who comes into your office!! (What a nice intro to family care!)
2- natural foods stores
3- midwifery/birth centers
4- yoga/ karate centers
5- kids dance/ music studios
6- coffee shops
7- pre-schools

How to personalize Pathways

In addition to your office stamp on the front, insert a flier about your office.

Insert a custom flier that includes your office info and a message about your office, your upcoming events and workshops or an invite for a complimentary consultation.

Bulk Subscriptions

If you are looking for ways of getting the chiropractic message to the parents in your community in a professional, attractive way, Pathways is meeting the need. Order your bulk issues now. http://www.icpa4kids.com/chiropractic_newsletter_fax_order.htm

Individual Subscriptions

Pathways can now be ordered for the public subscriber. Individual, annual subscriptions are $25 in the US and our doctors are ordering issues as Baby Arrival Gifts for the mothers in their practices. Additionally, our doctors are subscribing their local midwifery offices, lactation consultants and family wellness providers in their communities with individual subscriptions to Pathways.

Subscribe someone to Pathways today: http://www.icpa4kids.org/research/participate.htm

Display a sign in your office for practice members to read: http://www.icpa4kids.org/research/icpa%20public%20membership.pdf
Print out multiple copies for your practice members to sign up for subscriptions: http://www.icpa4kids.org/research/icpa%20public%20membership%20form.pdf

 

National Advertising:

I am once again asking all of you to step up to the plate and invest in our National Advertising campaign. In order for us to continue to expand our advertising efforts into more national publications, we need your financial commitment.

In addition to our current advertising in Mothering Magazine, Midwifery Today and Wellness Bound, the ICPA has just signed contracts with two national magazines: E-pregnancy and Pregnancy. We will be soon launching into Children's magazines as well.
View our current ad here: http://www.icpa4kids.com/mothering_ad_spring.htm

We know from past experiences that these ads are very successful in bringing visitors to our membership on-line referral directory. For you, this means new patients coming to your office for the right reasons!

To meet our contracted budget, we need each of you to choose a level of contribution TODAY!!

Please visit this link and make your investment now: https://secure.icpa4kids.com/investment_form.html Each and every one of us is responsible for the future of chiropractic and now is the time to become active.