New
drug for Schizophrenia
ncuis REVIEW Be successful
.
.
.
Speaking at a meeting of the Royal Society of Health in Bournemouth, Dr Alan C. Gibson, psychiatrist at the Herrison Hospital, Dorset, reported that top executives were less likely to suffer from mental illnesses than the junior executives beneath them who were struggling for promotion. He supported this statement by reference to figures supplied by the Registrar General.
Pharmaceuticals held a press conference at The Wig and Pen Club' in January to launch a new drug called Orap, chemical name pimozide. Orap is claimed to relieve two of the worst side-effects of existing drugs in the treatment of schizophrenia?autohypnotic and Janssen
extrapyramidal known
as
effects?commonly
drowsiness
and
the
Dr Gibson's own experience reinforced this theory. Only rarely had top executives come to him for psychiatric treatment. Usually they complained of 'failure of concentration' or that 'work was too much'. Depression of this sort would respond to drugs. On the other hand far
'shakes'. The new drug will cost 12Jp (2/6) for one daily dose of three tablets, compared with 7^p (1 /6) to 9p (1 /10) for daily doses up to 16 pills of drugs used at the moment. The manufacturers claim that schizophrenics would be relieved from self-conscious stresses the of taking pills in quantity at work or in public. So far however, tests have been
about frustrations job existed in the junior executives whom Dr Gibson saw
conducted on 2,000 patients (only are in this country) and it is unlikely for such tests to be
deeper
inadequacy
more
often.
200 of whom
accepted
as
conclusive at this stage.
broke
Fly high again A new form of
into
the
offices
smashing
equipment and removing
psychiatric
treatment
has been undergoing trials at the
Royal Edinburgh Hospital. It aims to restore confidence in RAF pilots who have lost their 'nerve'. In the past pilots have been banned from flying for psychiatric reasons; for instance when they suddenly found they could no longer face flying, became frightened of high altitudes, afraid of cloud or the dark. The treatment involves going into hospital for 6 weeks and undergoing 'fear' sessions in a sealed laboratory. After these sessions pilots are returned to the RAF's Central Flying School to re-learn their former training first in simulators, and then in the air with an instructor who is also
a doctor. Even if anxiety occurs this stage, patients usually find themselves able to control it. After about 12 sessions anxiety and fear
at
files This
which
were
they claimed
confidential later returned. to was draw
attention to their own organisation, and to the plight of the kids who they thought had been left high and dry by the demise of Release. in this critical However even Mr Harris time Miss Coon and managed to keep the essential services open. As they said, 'We were forced to keep open by the kids, by demand.' The service provided by Release, seeking out and providing practical professional advice for the problems of young people, is a vital one. It is to be hoped that the Establishment will quickly realise the importance of the work done by Release and that funds will be forthcoming. Donations may be sent to Caroline Coon, Release, c/o NAMH, 39 Queen Anne Street, London, W1 M OAJ.
public
should entirely disappear. So far 8 pilots and one navigator who had totally given up their able
to
them, and 6 more pilots undergoing this treatment.
are
flying
careers
resume now
have
been
Release We
were sad to hear of the closure of Release early in January owing to chronic lack of funds. Caroline Coon and Rufus Harris, co-founders of Release had hoped to recoup their financial position
with
gala charity premiere of Mick Jagger's new film 'Performance'. However instead of the anticipated ?4,000 ,in fact only ?400 was raised.
a
a
When Release was forced to close, rival organisation called Bust
There are 366 patients (not prisoners) at Carstairs, all detained under special security because of their capacities for dangerous or
criminal behaviour. Most come to Carstairs through the courts; 65 have faced murder charges. All the patients suffer from mental illnesses, and about one third are mentally defective. Treatment aims to be creative and educational. The patients have rooms of
their own which they can decorate to express their own personalities?although the doors are double locked. Occupational work-
shops include
a printing press, and full time teacher has already taken some patients through '0' levels. About 40 patients are discharged each year to mental hospitals outside prison gates. But about 4 out of 5 return for further treatment and 7^ years is the average stay at Carstairs. a
For better for
Twenty
years
on
For the first time in the last 20 years Scotland's State hospital at Carstairs has been opened to the reporters and cameras of press and TV. Defining the functions and aims of Carstairs, Professor A. K. M. Macrae, physician superintendent of the Professor of hospital and Psychiatry at Edinburgh University, said security was essential in the interests of the public. Patients were confined not merely on account of their crimes, but to prevent possible outbreaks of violent action. But within the limits set for security reasons the first aim was the treatment and cure of patients.
worse
The Church should recognise and bless 'marriage' between two men or two women, in the same way as it
sanctifies
a
conventional heterosexual
marriage. This was the essence of a sermon
preached at St. Margaret's Church, King's Lynn, Norfolk by Mr Michael De La Noy. Mr De La Noy is director of the Albany Trust and the Sexual Reform Law Society. He said: 'I am thinking of two homosexuals, men or women, who will be homosexual whether the Church likes it or not, who wish to establish a permanent, loving, relationship, who happen to be Christians, and who
want the Church's
relationship'.
blessing
on
their
Dr Micheal Balint
special research project
It is sad to record the death on December 31st, 1970 of Dr Michael British Balint, president of the
with marriage problems. He continued his research as consultant psychiatrist to the Tavistock Clinic, London. Even after his retirement he pursued this research and instruction techniques for general practitioners when he was appointed Clinical to Assistant University College Hospital, London. He leaves a wife and one son, who is also a professor of medicine.
into teaching methods for social workers dealing
Psycho-Analytical Society. Dr Balint was a profound and original mind in the field of psychoanalysis; he devoted much of his life to the training of medical students and general practitioners; and his important publications included in 1957
the
famous 'The
Doctor, his
patient and the illness'.
'training
analyst'
to
the
Budapest institute of psychoanalysis and began his widely influential seminars for
Eventually Balint was forced to Hungary for politico-religious reasons and in 1939 he emigrated to England. With his second wife, Eichholz
he
hospitals)
and
Dr
I.
M.
terms with the object of his phobia. For example one man unable to bear the thought or touch of balloons for the past 20 years, was surrounded by 90 balloons bursting around him for three quarters of an hour. A girl terrified of cats was first encouraged to re-live her experiences through a
tape recording technique described
big
'flooding in fantasy'. After two sessions of two hours each, she felt confident enough to face a real cat. So a black cat was placed in the room 6 feet away from the patient who
If you shudder with horror at the mere of spiders, birds, feathers,
experienced intense anxiety. Gradually this subsided and by
cats, thunder, or balloons, a new method of treatment may help you to overcome these common phobias.
stages the cat
embarked
on
Who's afraid of the bad spider ? thought
currently being carried out at the Bethlem Royal and Maudsley hospitals by Dr J. P. Dr R. Watson, senior registrar, Experiments
general practitioners.
leave
Enid
of
Marks, senior lecturer and consultant psychiatrist. The patient is forced to come to
as
Born in Budapest in 1896, he first his earned living as a research biochemist. He began his training in psycho-analysis first with Hans Sachs in Berlin and then under Ferenczi in Budapest. In 1926 he became
group
a
Gaind, and
are
honorary
consultant
research
worker
psychiatrist (Guy's
until
girl
by
was moved nearer, the end of the session the
was happily cradling the animal in her arms. There has been little time to evaluate the follow-up results but all 10 patients so far treated in this way feel themselves released from their phobias.
drug for Schizophrenia
ncuis REVIEW Be successful
.
.
.
Speaking at a meeting of the Royal Society of Health in Bournemouth, Dr Alan C. Gibson, psychiatrist at the Herrison Hospital, Dorset, reported that top executives were less likely to suffer from mental illnesses than the junior executives beneath them who were struggling for promotion. He supported this statement by reference to figures supplied by the Registrar General.
Pharmaceuticals held a press conference at The Wig and Pen Club' in January to launch a new drug called Orap, chemical name pimozide. Orap is claimed to relieve two of the worst side-effects of existing drugs in the treatment of schizophrenia?autohypnotic and Janssen
extrapyramidal known
as
effects?commonly
drowsiness
and
the
Dr Gibson's own experience reinforced this theory. Only rarely had top executives come to him for psychiatric treatment. Usually they complained of 'failure of concentration' or that 'work was too much'. Depression of this sort would respond to drugs. On the other hand far
'shakes'. The new drug will cost 12Jp (2/6) for one daily dose of three tablets, compared with 7^p (1 /6) to 9p (1 /10) for daily doses up to 16 pills of drugs used at the moment. The manufacturers claim that schizophrenics would be relieved from self-conscious stresses the of taking pills in quantity at work or in public. So far however, tests have been
about frustrations job existed in the junior executives whom Dr Gibson saw
conducted on 2,000 patients (only are in this country) and it is unlikely for such tests to be
deeper
inadequacy
more
often.
200 of whom
accepted
as
conclusive at this stage.
broke
Fly high again A new form of
into
the
offices
smashing
equipment and removing
psychiatric
treatment
has been undergoing trials at the
Royal Edinburgh Hospital. It aims to restore confidence in RAF pilots who have lost their 'nerve'. In the past pilots have been banned from flying for psychiatric reasons; for instance when they suddenly found they could no longer face flying, became frightened of high altitudes, afraid of cloud or the dark. The treatment involves going into hospital for 6 weeks and undergoing 'fear' sessions in a sealed laboratory. After these sessions pilots are returned to the RAF's Central Flying School to re-learn their former training first in simulators, and then in the air with an instructor who is also
a doctor. Even if anxiety occurs this stage, patients usually find themselves able to control it. After about 12 sessions anxiety and fear
at
files This
which
were
they claimed
confidential later returned. to was draw
attention to their own organisation, and to the plight of the kids who they thought had been left high and dry by the demise of Release. in this critical However even Mr Harris time Miss Coon and managed to keep the essential services open. As they said, 'We were forced to keep open by the kids, by demand.' The service provided by Release, seeking out and providing practical professional advice for the problems of young people, is a vital one. It is to be hoped that the Establishment will quickly realise the importance of the work done by Release and that funds will be forthcoming. Donations may be sent to Caroline Coon, Release, c/o NAMH, 39 Queen Anne Street, London, W1 M OAJ.
public
should entirely disappear. So far 8 pilots and one navigator who had totally given up their able
to
them, and 6 more pilots undergoing this treatment.
are
flying
careers
resume now
have
been
Release We
were sad to hear of the closure of Release early in January owing to chronic lack of funds. Caroline Coon and Rufus Harris, co-founders of Release had hoped to recoup their financial position
with
gala charity premiere of Mick Jagger's new film 'Performance'. However instead of the anticipated ?4,000 ,in fact only ?400 was raised.
a
a
When Release was forced to close, rival organisation called Bust
There are 366 patients (not prisoners) at Carstairs, all detained under special security because of their capacities for dangerous or
criminal behaviour. Most come to Carstairs through the courts; 65 have faced murder charges. All the patients suffer from mental illnesses, and about one third are mentally defective. Treatment aims to be creative and educational. The patients have rooms of
their own which they can decorate to express their own personalities?although the doors are double locked. Occupational work-
shops include
a printing press, and full time teacher has already taken some patients through '0' levels. About 40 patients are discharged each year to mental hospitals outside prison gates. But about 4 out of 5 return for further treatment and 7^ years is the average stay at Carstairs. a
For better for
Twenty
years
on
For the first time in the last 20 years Scotland's State hospital at Carstairs has been opened to the reporters and cameras of press and TV. Defining the functions and aims of Carstairs, Professor A. K. M. Macrae, physician superintendent of the Professor of hospital and Psychiatry at Edinburgh University, said security was essential in the interests of the public. Patients were confined not merely on account of their crimes, but to prevent possible outbreaks of violent action. But within the limits set for security reasons the first aim was the treatment and cure of patients.
worse
The Church should recognise and bless 'marriage' between two men or two women, in the same way as it
sanctifies
a
conventional heterosexual
marriage. This was the essence of a sermon
preached at St. Margaret's Church, King's Lynn, Norfolk by Mr Michael De La Noy. Mr De La Noy is director of the Albany Trust and the Sexual Reform Law Society. He said: 'I am thinking of two homosexuals, men or women, who will be homosexual whether the Church likes it or not, who wish to establish a permanent, loving, relationship, who happen to be Christians, and who
want the Church's
relationship'.
blessing
on
their
Dr Micheal Balint
special research project
It is sad to record the death on December 31st, 1970 of Dr Michael British Balint, president of the
with marriage problems. He continued his research as consultant psychiatrist to the Tavistock Clinic, London. Even after his retirement he pursued this research and instruction techniques for general practitioners when he was appointed Clinical to Assistant University College Hospital, London. He leaves a wife and one son, who is also a professor of medicine.
into teaching methods for social workers dealing
Psycho-Analytical Society. Dr Balint was a profound and original mind in the field of psychoanalysis; he devoted much of his life to the training of medical students and general practitioners; and his important publications included in 1957
the
famous 'The
Doctor, his
patient and the illness'.
'training
analyst'
to
the
Budapest institute of psychoanalysis and began his widely influential seminars for
Eventually Balint was forced to Hungary for politico-religious reasons and in 1939 he emigrated to England. With his second wife, Eichholz
he
hospitals)
and
Dr
I.
M.
terms with the object of his phobia. For example one man unable to bear the thought or touch of balloons for the past 20 years, was surrounded by 90 balloons bursting around him for three quarters of an hour. A girl terrified of cats was first encouraged to re-live her experiences through a
tape recording technique described
big
'flooding in fantasy'. After two sessions of two hours each, she felt confident enough to face a real cat. So a black cat was placed in the room 6 feet away from the patient who
If you shudder with horror at the mere of spiders, birds, feathers,
experienced intense anxiety. Gradually this subsided and by
cats, thunder, or balloons, a new method of treatment may help you to overcome these common phobias.
stages the cat
embarked
on
Who's afraid of the bad spider ? thought
currently being carried out at the Bethlem Royal and Maudsley hospitals by Dr J. P. Dr R. Watson, senior registrar, Experiments
general practitioners.
leave
Enid
of
Marks, senior lecturer and consultant psychiatrist. The patient is forced to come to
as
Born in Budapest in 1896, he first his earned living as a research biochemist. He began his training in psycho-analysis first with Hans Sachs in Berlin and then under Ferenczi in Budapest. In 1926 he became
group
a
Gaind, and
are
honorary
consultant
research
worker
psychiatrist (Guy's
until
girl
by
was moved nearer, the end of the session the
was happily cradling the animal in her arms. There has been little time to evaluate the follow-up results but all 10 patients so far treated in this way feel themselves released from their phobias.
