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From OCMB: http://ocmb.xenu.net/ocmb/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=34799
APA Convention in Hawaii takes on Scientology
On the heels of the successful workshop delivered in Toronto in Sept at the CPA, Dr. Steve Wiseman has organized an international "all-star" panel workshop entitled:
The War: Understanding and Confronting Scientology's Efforts to Destroy Psychiatry
Bottom line is that again this is historical, the first time the American Psychiatric Association has hosted such a presentation on this important subject. It represents the next major level of interest and engagement on behalf of professional psychiatry to push back against the distortions and misinformation put out by Scientology for years.
The panel is:
Stephen Wiseman MD (Chair)
Psychiatrist
Stephen Kent PhD
Professor of Sociology, University of Alberta, Canada
Aruguably world's #1 academic expert on Scientology
Lynn Partridge MD
Psychiatrist, Colorado
Nancy Many
Author of "My Billion Year Contract"
The workshop is at the annual American Psychiatric Association convention, taking place in Honolulu Hawaii May 14-18, 2011. The workshop itself is scheduled for Monday May 16, in the morning.
http://www.psych.org/annualmeeting
2011 APA Annual Meeting syllabus book (pdf pages 398/399)
http://www.psych.org/MainMenu/Education ... px?FT=.pdf
[Reformatted for forum posting]
[Event day: May 16th 2011]
8:00 AM - 9:30AM
WORKSHOP 59
THE WAR: UNDERSTANDING AND CONFRONTING SCIENTOLOGY’S EFFORTS TO DESTROY PSYCHIATRY
Chairperson.: Stephen R Wiseman, M.D., Department of Psychiatry, St. Paul’s Hospital, 1081 Burrard Street, Vancouver, V6Z1Y6 Canada,
Presenter(s): Stephen Wiseman, M.D., Nancy Many, B.S., C Lynn Partridge, M.D., Stephen Kent, M.A., Ph.D.
EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES:
At the conclusion of this session, the participant should be able to:
1) Understand Scientology’s development and nature as a New Religion;
2) Appreciate the historical development of, and reasons for, Scientology’s opposition to the practice of psychiatry;
3) Identify some of Scientology’s current methods of opposing and stigmatizing psychiatric treatment; and
4) Appreciate the experience of mental illness and how it is handled from within Scientology.
SUMMARY:
L. Ron Hubbard published “Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health” in 1950, prior to then developing Scientology and registering it as a religion in 19534[sic]. During this time, he referred to psychiatry as a potential rival but not an enemy to be demonized and destroyed. This suddenly changed in 1955, however, and since this time, Scientology has been vociferously opposed to psychiatry to the degree of advocating for, and actively working towards, its entire destruction as a system of treatment. Today, both psychiatrists and the public alike are surprised by the degree of influence Scientology and its various affiliates have had, and continue to have, on antipsychiatry initiatives.
Utilizing sophisticated propaganda techniques to disseminate apparently legitimate criticisms of psychiatric practice, Scientology has supported and paved the way for more comprehensive and damaging attacks on the profession using legal and political methods. Any understanding of the ongoing stigma against psychiatry, its practice, and by extension those in need of psychiatric treatment, is entirely incomplete without an appreciation of the major role Scientology has played over the years in its perpetuation. This workshop explores the relationship between Scientology and psychiatry by commencing with an academically oriented discussion of the nature and internal mechanisms of new religions and cults in general and Scientology in specific. A detailed history of Scientology’s opposition to psychiatry, with specific ideas as to how and why this was triggered, is then presented.
Thirdly, Scientology’s current propaganda, legal, and political efforts to destroy psychiatry are reviewed, along with examples of how these have in fact had a stigmatizing influence. Finally, a personal testimony of Scientology’s teachings, and a struggle against mental illness from within the Church, is presented by a prominent exmember who has also published her story in the book “My Billion Year Contract”. This will be a controversial workshop, in that it will be the first presentation of its kind in North America to address this issue directly.
Traditionally, the concern of legal action or even personal retribution against those who would speak out against Scientology’s antipsychiatry practices has been enough to preclude any such workshop as this until now.
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