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My son is schizophrenic. The ‘reforms’ that I worked for have worsened his life.

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Re: My son is schizophrenic. The ‘reforms’ that I worked for have worsened his life.

#201

Post by mc32 »

jfrm wrote: post #185
mc32 wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the US, it was more or less unregulated till the 50s/60s. Also, your claim does not explain European countries' stand on it or that of African nations.

I believe trade agreements with the US prevent full legalization. Portugal decriminalization act was carefully drawn not to break any of this treaties.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but this was not the case when the laws were originally passed in those countries. I.e. the original passage in decades past were not due to these trade pressures.

Re: My son is schizophrenic. The ‘reforms’ that I worked for have worsened his life.

#202

Post by mcguire »

barry-cotter wrote: post #190
lostlogin wrote: post #180

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's rather narrow minded. If a country has a large prison population there are more people to blame than just those in the prison.

Your second sentence is true. What I said is also true; Most prisoners have low impulse control and are stupid.

"Most prisoners have low impulse control and are stupid."

Source?

Re: My son is schizophrenic. The ‘reforms’ that I worked for have worsened his life.

#203

Post by fusiongyro »

wooter wrote: post #79
fusiongyro wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This fatalistic attitude isn't wrong, but it is manifestly unhelpful and surprisingly expensive. Being homeless is not a zero-cost alternative to real treatment; in many cases, the cost of lavish treatment is far lower than the cost of ER visits and criminal proceedings that would otherwise be incurred. I believe Malcolm Gladwell wrote an article about chronic homelessness a few years ago, about Denver rolling out a…

pretty bold claim... source? below you said it was tried on "tens" of people. both ethics and finance differ quite a bit at any larger scale.

Aha, I found it: http://www.gladwell.com/2006/2006_02_13_a_murray.html

Re: My son is schizophrenic. The ‘reforms’ that I worked for have worsened his life.

#204

Post by dromidas »

mst wrote: post #143
cletus wrote: post #64

Things like this are easy to say: > If I were a legislator today, I’d mandate — and provide funding to ensure — that every teacher receive training in recognizing symptoms of mental illnesses. but teachers aren't psychiatrists or clinical psychologists and can't really be expected to be. I was recently watching a program talking about the somewhat controversial theory that schizophrenia (and other mental disorders) a…

> teachers aren't psychiatrists or clinical psychologists and can't really be expected to be. True. Equally: Programmers aren't operations staff. But we can damn well learn how to call them in when we need them.

Very good analogy.

Re: My son is schizophrenic. The ‘reforms’ that I worked for have worsened his life.

#205

Post by Daniel_Newby »

mcguire wrote: post #104
Daniel_Newby wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> ADHD or blindness are not even in the same room a schizophrenia. 25% of prisoners are there because of ADHD. In aggregate it probably causes much more harm than schizophrenia.

" 25% of prisoners are there because of ADHD " Source?

Russel Barkeley's books on ADHD. He is one of the foremost scientists who studies ADHD and has found it causes devastating problems for several percent of the population. For example, it is associated with a 10 point dificit of IQ, which is itself a major problem before you even consider poor impulse control.

Re: My son is schizophrenic. The ‘reforms’ that I worked for have worsened his life.

#206

Post by tankbot »

fusiongyro wrote: post #200
tankbot wrote: post #176

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's actually not a good point, see my reply above. Upvote for using the word 'promulgating' though. Good show :o)

Saying "that's a good point" has as much or more to do with social courtesy than "winning" the conversation. (Have you seen this? http://www.newyorker.com/humor/2012/09/03/120903sh_shouts_si... ) I say it's a good point because it may be worth making a distinction between early-mid 20th century institutional care in an asylum and early 21st century institutional care through a variety of assistance programs. You have…

That's true, the article really didn't explain much about the programs he would like to see. I could have done a better job of explaining myself but it was late.

These residential programs are providing the type of solid routines that allows a client to stabilize and are actually doing a better job than the large institutions (according to my data). Think of the difference between how well most students do in a large impersonal lecture hall vs. 1 on 1's with teachers who take a real interest in their education.

Re: My son is schizophrenic. The ‘reforms’ that I worked for have worsened his life.

#207

Post by tankbot »

guylhem wrote: post #193
tankbot wrote: post #177

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He made the right conclusions and these programs have already been implemented. (at least in my state) There are many community-based mental health providers. They are private-sector companies, usually nonprofits, that provide treatment paid for by state funding (medicaid, etc.).

No, it contradicts his own title and facts : When he was in jail, with its regular routines and meals, Tim usually stabilized. But when he was released (...) he destabilized right away The "humane reforms" may not have been just for the good. More details in http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4662700

The point I was trying to make is that these smaller community-based facilities do provide the stability that clients need to compensate. In fact they do a better job than a large impersonal institution.

Re: My son is schizophrenic. The ‘reforms’ that I worked for have worsened his life.

#208

Post by tankbot »

fusiongyro wrote: post #198
tankbot wrote: post #175

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> "supportive short-term and long-term community housing and treatment", which doesn't sound like institutional care But it is. The housing/treatment he is referring to covers a range of facilities from supported housing to crisis centers to residential and secure residential treatment facilities based in the community. The goal of these facilities is to provide the stability necessary for a person to compensate and,…

Just curious, which state are you in?

Oregon, specifically Multnomah County.

Part of my job includes tracking (arguably) quantifiable data on how clients respond to community-based residential treatment. I have not been in this space long, and I'm still learning about the underlying process/politics that our business model exploits. But I do have the data to show that residential treatment works, sorry I can't share.

Re: My son is schizophrenic. The ‘reforms’ that I worked for have worsened his life.

#209

Post by littlegiantcap »

stan_rogers wrote: post #184
littlegiantcap wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Alcohol abuse has actually been correlated with High IQ and is most commonly abused by this group because of the despair they see in the world due to their high IQ's. Essentially, because they tend to be more educated, and aware of global problems that makes them depressed.

The high IQ is a bit of a miss—it covers the spectrum, although it is certainly true that there was a tendency for high-functioning people from relatively affluent backgrounds to find their way into a recovery setting years ago. Self-selection was certainly part of it, but we have to keep in mind that more effort would generally be put into "salvaging" somebody who had displayed a lot of promise once than someone who…

I guess I hadn't considered that, although it makes sense that the people seeking treatment would skew the results.
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