TeenScreen - Front Group for Psycho-Pharmaceutical Industrial Complex

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[sSRI-Research] TeenScreen - Front Group for

Psycho-Pharmaceutical Industrial Complex

 

 

 

 

 

Independent Media TV

Under Reported

July 01, 2005

 

 

TeenScreen - Front Group for Psycho-Pharmaceutical Industrial Complex

 

http://www.independent-media.tv/itemprint.cfm?

fmedia_id=296 & fcategory_desc==Under%20Reported

By: Ken Kramer and Sue Weibert

Independent Media TV

 

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TeenScreen is a very controversial so-called 'diagnostic psychiatric

service' aka suicide survey; done on children who are then referred

to psychiatric treatment. The evidence suggests that the objective of

the psychiatrists who designed TeenScreen is to place children so

selected on psychotropic drugs.

'It's just a way to put more people on prescription drugs,' said

Marcia Angell, a medical ethics lecturer at Harvard Medical School

and author of 'The Truth About Drug Companies.' She said such

programs will boost the sale of antidepressants even after the FDA in

September ordered a 'black box' label warning that the pills might

spur suicidal thoughts or actions in minors.

 

Procedure on Young Children

 

Step One

 

TeenScreen lures kids as young as 9 years old into doing the suicide

survey by offering them free movie passes if they consent to the

procedure. TeenScreen also offers a 'passive consent' form which

requires no written parental approval. The passive consent form is

sent home to parents and if they don't return it TeenScreen considers

that the parents approve. TeenScreen officials favor passive consent

because they say it boosts their chances of screening kids to 95% as

opposed to the written parental consent technique. What if the child

forgets to bring the consent form home? What happens if the parent is

too busy to refuse in writing? They've consented in the eyes of

TeenScreen personnel. One tactic TeenScreen officials use is to sell

the child on the suicide survey first and after they have the child's

agreement, they later contact parents.

 

Step Two

 

The youngster is sat down and asked introverting questions such as:

 

1) Has there been a time when nothing was fun for you and you just

weren't interested in anything? 2) Has there been a time when you had

less energy than you usually do? 3) Has there been a time when you

felt you couldn't do anything well or that you weren't as good-

looking or as smart as other people? 4) How often did your parents

get annoyed or upset with you because of the way you were feeling or

acting? 5) Have you often felt nervous or uncomfortable when you have

been with a group of children or young people - say, like in the

lunchroom at school or at a party? 6) Have you often felt very

nervous when you've had to do things in front of people? 7) Have you

often worried a lot before you were going to play a sport or game or

do some other activity?

 

Step Three

 

Based on the answers the child gives to the above questions he is

then shuffled off to a 'clinician', who considers the label to use.

Depression? Social Phobia? Panic Disorder? Anxiety? Obsessive

Compulsive Disorder?

 

IMPORTANT NOTE TO PARENTS:

 

Parents are being mislead by a multi billion-dollar a year child

drugging industry that a diagnoses of " mental disorder " (ADHD, Bi-

Polar, Social Anxiety Disorder) are medical diseases or illnesses.

This is a fraud. No child has a brain scan, blood test, x- ray or any

evidence of physical abnormality to verify they are 'ill'

or 'diseased.'

 

Yet psychiatrists continue to pound the public with misleading and

fraudulent statements that these so called mental disorders are

biochemical or neurological conditions. That is false. They are

simply a list of behaviors that psychiatrists vote into existence and

insert into their billing bible, the Diagnostic and Statistical

Manual of Mental Disorders.

 

This has led to over 8 million children in the U.S. taking mind-

altering psychiatric drugs.

 

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders, 4th

Edition (DSM-IV), published by the American Psychiatric Association

(APA), is psychiatry's billing bible of 'disorders' from which

psychiatric screening, diagnoses and their treatment are derived. The

current edition lists 374 psychiatric conditions that have been

identified as mental disorders.

 

Yet, the disorders contained in the DSM-IV are arrived at by

consensus, not by scientific criteria. There are no blood tests,

brain scans, x-rays, MRIs or 'chemical imbalance' tests that can

scientifically validate any mental 'disorder' as a disease or

illness. Canadian psychologist Tana Dineen reports, 'Unlike medical

diagnoses that convey a probable cause, appropriate treatment and

likely prognosis, the disorders listed in DSM-IV are terms arrived at

through peer consensus'- literally, a vote by APA committee members.

 

Step Four

 

The 'clinician' summarizes his report and comes up with

an 'impairment score'.

 

Step Five

 

Based on how the child answered the 'suicide survey', and which label

the clinician conjured up and how the child did on his " impairment

score " the child is then sent off for treatment.

 

It is important to note that TeenScreen claims throughout their

literature that 'The TeenScreen Program makes no treatment

recommendations'. Now what do you think is in store for a student who

has been labeled with some imaginary 'disorder', has a

certain " impairment score " and then is referred to a psychiatrist?

 

You guessed it. Drugs. A survey of recently trained child

psychiatrists found the treatment for 9 out of 10 children consisted

of drugging. (Journal of the American Academy of Child Adolescent

Psychiatry 2002)

 

TeenScreen no evidence of workability As to studies on TeenScreen

itself, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (top U.S. Government

Research outfit) report of May of 2004 states:

 

A. There is no evidence that screening for suicide risk reduces

suicide attempts or mortality.

 

B. There is limited evidence on the accuracy of screening tools to

identify suicide risk.

 

C. There is insufficient evidence that treatment of those at high

risk reduces suicide attempts or mortality.

 

D. No studies were found that directly address the harms of screening

and treatment for suicide risk.

 

TeenScreen has no proof that their survey reduces suicide rates. The

co-director of TeenScreen Rob Caruano, says that suicides are so rare

that you'd have to screen the whole country to see a difference in

mortality between screened and unscreened students.

 

TeenScreen was established in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1997 . According to

a 2003 Tulsa World newspaper article, Mike Brose, executive director

of the Mental Health Association in Tulsa, stated: 'To the best of my

knowledge, this is the highest number of youth suicides we've ever

had during the school year -- a number we find very frightening.'

 

So much for the workability of TeenScreen.

 

The Visible Players

 

Origin of TeenScreen? A drug company paid psychiatrist! David Shaffer

 

TeenScreen was developed by psychiatrist David Shaffer of Columbia

University and New York State Psychiatric Institute's Division of

Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. Shaffer is a consultant and apologist

of pharmaceutical companies. Shaffer has served as an expert witness

for various drug companies and a consultant on various psychotropic

drugs.

 

The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention sent out a press

release on May 8, 2000, that said Shaffer was their president and

they had just released a national survey they had done on suicide.

The funder of the survey? A pharmaceutical company. Shaffer's

American Foundation for Suicide Prevention has also received

$1,250,000 from yet another drug company.

 

Shaffer attempted to block negative British findings

 

In December of 2003 British drug regulators recommended against the

use of antidepressants in the treatment of depressed children under

18 because some of the drugs had been linked to suicidal thoughts and

self-harm. According to a December 11, 2003, New York Times article,

Shaffer at the request of a maker of psychotropic drugs attempted to

block the British findings, sending a letter to the British drug

agency saying that there was insufficient data to restrict the use of

the drugs in adolescents.

 

On Feb 2, 2004, a scientific advisory panel urged the Food and Drug

Administration to issue stronger warnings to doctors about the

possible risks to children because of antidepressant drugs. Shaffer

told the advisory committee that he doesn't have a better explanation

for the drop in suicides than the growing use of antidepressants! But

he said, 'we don't know if they are related " .

 

TeenScreen's Director: Laurie Flynn

 

Laurie Flynn, TeenScreen's director, searches out teens who have

committed suicide and then writes letters to the editors throughout

the country, promoting TeenScreen as the 'solution'. Flynn is no

stranger to the pharmaceutical industry. She formally served as the

head of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill which received

millions of dollars from pharmaceutical companies. Flynn has a tough

time selling TeenScreen. TeenScreen has resorted to luring kids with

movie rental coupons and food and drink coupons, simply for the

return of a release form, whether or not the student agrees to be

screened.

 

Flynn perjured herself in a Capitol Hill Hearing on March 2, 2004, in

front of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee

on Bill H.R. 3063, when she testified: 'In partnership with the

University of South Florida we are piloting district wide mental

health screening of 9th graders in Hillsborough and Pinellas

counties'. But in fact, the day before Flynn's testimony, the

Hillsborough County School District said they were not partnering

with TeenScreen, did not feel comfortable with the information

provided by TeenScreen and had serious concerns about TeenScreen

including liability and risk issues. In Pinellas County, TeenScreen

was prohibited from doing their suicide survey because Board policy

protects the identity of students when surveys are done. In addition,

the Pinellas County School Board Superintendent, Dr. Clayton Wilcox,

has serious reservations about partnering with such an organization.

 

William J. Ruane Investment Advisor

 

Although the name TeenScreen was not mentioned, the New York Times,

reported, on December 17, 1998 that William J. Ruane, an investment

advisor put $8 million into the screening research of Shaffer, the

TeenScreen psychiatrist.

 

As far back as 1995, Ruane already had a 'longstanding relationship'

with Shaffer. In June of 1995 the Ruanes funded a professorship of

Pediatric Psychopharmacology at Columbia University which 'supported

training and research into the effectiveness of psychopharmacological

agents in treating childhood psychiatric disorders'.

 

The Psychiatric Times reported in March of 1998 that Ruane and wife

Joy, gave 1.5 million to study the effects of psychiatric drugs in

children to the New York State Psychiatric Institute, Shaffer's home

base.

 

According to a New York Post article in 1999, the New York State

Psychiatric Institute conducted experiments on kids, some as young as

6, with a powerful mood-altering drug and failed to tell the children

or their parents about the most serious risks. While testing the drug

on 30 severely depressed patients ages 12 to 18, researcher's notes

indicated " Some patients have been reported to have an increase in

suicidal thoughts and/or violent behavior'. Records showed that at

least four experiments used this drug on young children including one

funded by a large pharmaceutical company.

 

Simple Math

 

TeenScreen's goal is to screen every kid in the United States.

 

Since 1991, the Columbia University Division of Child and Adolescent

Psychiatry has invested nearly $19 million in the " research " and

development of the Columbia TeenScreen program. Who will reap the

returns?

 

There are 47.7 million (47,700,000) public school students.

 

There are 5 million (5,000,000) private school students.

 

According to TeenScreen, 17% of kids screened (8,959,000) accept

counseling. 17% may be a low percentage, we're only taking numbers

supplied by TeenScreen.

 

9.9% of kids screened are drugged (5,217,300). TeenScreen says less

than ten percent are prescribed some type of drug. Note: This means

that a whopping 60% of kids who accept counseling as a result of the

suicide survey wind up on drugs. Keep in mind these are TeenScreen's

own numbers, actual figures may be much higher.

 

One example prescription for a common psychotropic drug is $15.56 per

day.

 

5,217,300 students (customers) x $15.56 per day == $81,181,188 per

day.

 

$81,181,188 x 365 days a year == $29,631,133,620 annually.

 

That's nearly 30 billion dollars per year in pharmaceutical sales

courtesy of the TeenScreen program.

 

Multiply that by a lifetime of addiction.

 

No wonder drug companies are tripping over themselves wanting to

sponsor 'Mental Health' Screenings. In Colorado over 350 youths were

suicide screened using TeenScreen's survey. They found that over 50%

were at risk of suicide and 71% screened positive for psychiatric

disorders at a youth homeless shelter. That's not science! That's a

dream come true for pharmaceutical company marketing types and bean

counters.

 

THE DOMINOS START TO FALL

 

Hillsborough County, Florida

 

School officials did not feel comfortable with the information

provided by TeenScreen to implement it anywhere in the district and

did not have all their questions answered by the organization. They

stated that TeenScreen continued to say to others that Hillsborough

County had 'partnered' with them when, in fact, they were only

exploring. Officials in Hillsborough County had serious concerns

about TeenScreen including confidentiality, the 'capacity' in the

community for follow up mental services for identified students, the

lack of information from other school districts, the lack of written

agreements with community mental health providers, 'ill defined "

levels of 'at risk' concerns as a result of the screenings, the lack

of a well defined " continuity of care' and liability for the school

district.

 

Pinellas County Florida

 

On January 25, 2005, the Pinellas County School Board decided in

front of many concerned citizens that TeenScreen should not be

implemented there. School Board member Jane Gallucci said that she

was angry that Laurie Flynn, of Columbia University, told a U.S.

Senate committee on health and education matters 10 months ago that

pilot TeenScreen programs were operating in Hillsborough and Pinellas

counties. Board Chairwoman Nancy Bostock called the program 'an

intrusion for our students.'' False labels could embarrass students

and cause turmoil at home. 'We could seriously do more harm than

good,' she said. Mishawaka, Indiana

 

Teresa and Michael Rhoades, parents in Osceola, Indiana became aware

that their daughter was 'suicide screened' without any parental

consent whatsoever. TeenScreen used what they call passive consent, a

skimpy form with no warnings. Parents who did not sign the form and

return it were considered to have given permission. The trouble is

Teresa and Michael did not receive the passive consent form. Teresa

Rhoades became active in informing citizens in her area that

TeenScreen had infiltrated their school system. Local TV and

newspaper covered Teresa's story. One newspaper reported about a half-

page ad that ran in the paper there against TeenScreen: 'The ad says

diagnosis of psychological problems is entirely subjective and there

is no evidence that screening for suicide risk reduces suicide

attempts.'

 

On February 28th, 2005, the Superintendent recommended in front of

concerned parents that TeenScreen be suspended pending a thorough

study and also recommended that 'passive consent' be abolished.

 

On June 9, 2005, the South Bend Tribune reported that Teresa and

Michael filed papers to sue the Madison Center and also Penn- Harris-

Madison School Corporation. They claim their daughter took the test,

was improperly diagnosed with obsessive compulsive disorder and

social anxiety disorder. The family intends to seek the 'maximum

amount of damages.'

 

SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT

 

1. Does the Columbia University TeenScreen Program endorse mental

health screening for all teens? TeenScreen states that their goal is

to screen every child in the United States by the time they're out of

high school.

 

2. Does TeenScreen recommend treatment?

 

TeenScreen materials say they make no treatment recommendations.

However, let's pose this question: If you have a child who's been

asked a battery of potentially upsetting questions, has been labeled

with a bogus 'mental disorder', has been assigned a

certain 'impairment score' and then referred to a psychiatrist, what

do you think the treatment will be? When TeenScreen says they do not

recommend treatment it's like the gallows builder saying he didn't

hang that man!

 

3. Is TeenScreen free?

 

TeenScreen's promotional materials claim their suicide survey is

free. Nothing is free. TeenScreen isn't making it broadly known but

they've sold their 10 minute computer administered suicide survey to

Multi-Health Systems, Inc., a Canadian company, which " publishes

numerous psychological assessments " . Starting in January 2006

TeenScreen sites will have to pay a fee.

 

What if the teen doesn't have insurance or Medicaid? Pull out your

wallet school districts! TeenScreen recommends that you apply for

grants or secure funds to cover the 'services' needed by the teens.

According to a June 5, 2003 Weekly Planet article, Gwen Luney,

assistant superintendent for supportive services and federal programs

at Hillsborough County (Florida) Schools, says TeenScreen would cost

the school district roughly $200,000 a year -- $200K they don't

have. 'We're hesitant to commit to a new program if there's a strong

possibility we'll be seeing some [money] shortfalls. Also, are we

going to find a place for this [diagnosed] child to go? If so, what

if the child doesn't have insurance? Who picks up the cost? Does it

get passed on to the county? It can't be passed on to the school

district. And the liability factor is greater now that you've

identified [the at- risk student].'

 

4. Where are all the TeenScreen Sites?

 

It's all a big secret. TeenScreen refuses to divulge their locations

and has a canned e-mail message they send out: 'We get a lot of

requests from people who are interested in locating and speaking

directly with local TeenScreen sites and this can become a burden on

them. We are not authorized to give out our sites contact information

unless we have requested their permission to do so. "

 

5. What is 'passive consent'? What does this really mean?

 

Passive Consent is way to get around written parental consent and an

effective method to get more children screened. Passive consent

requires parents to return a form only if they do not want their

child to participate in the screening.

 

According to an e-mail sent by a school official concerning

implementation of TeenSceen, 'The interest would be to screen as many

as possible, beginning in 9th grade. The Passive acceptance style was

mostly discussed to increase the numbers from 50% for Consent to near

95% for Passive'

 

This means if a parent does not open the mail or was too busy to

study the form and return it or if a child as young as 9 years old

loses the form on the way home, then TeenScreen will accept that

as 'parental consent'.

 

A federal law known as the Protection of Pupil Rights Act, requires

written parental consent before a child undergoes a survey, analysis

or evaluation. A TeenScreen newsletter discusses making screening a

matter of the schools curriculum as a method to bypass this law and

use passive consent instead.

 

According to TeenScreen, 15% of their programs use passive consent.

TeenScreen says they screened 39,080 kids in 2004. Based on the

numbers they provided, 5,862 children were screened in 2004 without

written parental consent.

 

6. What can I do?

 

E-mail your school district superintendent and ask if TeenScreen has

been implemented or if there are any plans to implement it. Keep

things in writing. If the answer is yes, alert other parents and

voice your opposition. File a 'parental informed consent notice' with

your child's school, which is a letter that serves to require prior

written notification from the school concerning any intent to provide

physical, mental health, or social services/counseling to your child.

 

Researchers Ken Kramer records and Sue Weibert

info are collaborating on this ongoing TeenScreen

investigation. You can find the documented facts at

www.psychsearch.net/teenscreen.html

 

 

 

 

 

Original Link: http://www.independent-media.tv

 

 

 

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