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Replica of website - http://www.speedupsitstill.com/ 

'Speed Up and Sit Still - the truth about ADHD and other mental health controversies from Australia'

published by Martin Whitely from 2010 to 2015

 

This page replicates the contents of the website http://www.speedupsitstill.com/ which was established by Martin Whitely in 2010 when he was a Member of the Western Australian State Parliament.  Martin retired from the WA Parliament in March 2013 and few entries were written after that. These blogs have been replicated here because many refer to ongoing issues, that sadly remain unresolved and in several cases have got worse.

Guruisation of Australian Mental Health - Originally available on October 5, 2012 at speedupsitstill.com as Whitely tells Parliament – It’s time to confront Patrick McGorry’s disease mongering and end the guru-isation of Australian mental health policy  This is the text and a video of a speech by Martin Whitely MLA, in the Parliament of Western Australia on 25 September 2012 (Hansard pages 6443-6448). It builds on the theme “Personalities, rhetoric and charisma are driving the direction of mental health rather than science and evidence.”

Related Media​ Sue Dunlevy, News Limited Sunday papers, 7 October 2012, Doubts cast on youth mental health program. Available at https://www.news.com.au/national/doubts-cast-on-youth-mental-health-program/news-story/5ef09fd3585103ea86be6e5f7aa9b47f

Orygen's prepsychosis training flawed - Originally available on September 5, 2012 at speedupsitstill.com as Patrick McGorry’s Orygen Youth Health ‘Ultra High Risk of Psychosis’ training video fails the common sense test - Watch and ask yourself: Is Nick Sick?

The two videos are sequential excerpts (total 20 minutes) from an Orygen Youth Health (established and headed up by Professor Patrick McGorry) training video on how to diagnose young people at 'Ultra High Risk of Psychosis".[1]  The excerpts show a mock interview between a psychiatrist and a 18 year old man Nick. Nick feels pressured by his father to complete an apprenticeship as an electrician and eventually take over the family business. At the end of the video the psychiatrist explains why Nick meets the diagnostic criteria for being at Ultra High Risk of Psychosis. Prominent Australian psychiatrist Professor of Psychiatry Jon Jureidini is highly critical of the training video writing, “Patrick McGorry’s Orygen Youth Health, CAARMS training video on how to diagnose ‘Attenuated Psychosis’ demonstrates how not to carry out a psychiatric interview and interact with young people”.

False Orygen cautious prescribing rhetoric - Originally posted on July 8, 2012 at speedupsitstill.com as Patrick McGorry’s cautious prescribing Rhetoric not matched by Reality An article in the Sunday Age (8 July 2012) available at http://www.theage.com.au/national/youth-mental-health-team-too-free-with-drugs-audit-20120707-21o29.html, highlighted the results of a prescribing audit of Orygen Youth Mental Health Service.  It found Orygen “prescribed medication to a majority of depressed 15 to 25-year-olds before they had received adequate counselling, despite international guidelines advising against the practice".

ABC uncritically promotes Psych Gurus - Originally posted on July 8, 2012 at speedupsitstill.com as ABC’s Promotion of Mental Health Gurus Leaves Big Questions Unasked  Encouraged by its Managing Director Mark Scott, the ABC has promoted Professors Patrick McGorry and Ian Hickie as independent mental health experts and unquestioningly backed their plans for reforming mental health. However both have significant ties to the pharmaceutical industry and there has been prominent international criticism of their methods which has been substantially ignored by the ABC.

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