NOV 13 'DRUGGING OUR DISTRESS' MT. HOLYOKE w/ Visitors from England

Drugging Our Distress?
A Broader Look At Medication and Mental Illness

Monday, November 13, 7:30 PM
Hooker Auditorium, Mount Holyoke College

Free and open to the public; wheelchair, public transit accessible.
Please contact us for interpreter or other access needs.

Download event flyer:
http://www.freedom-center.org/pdf/DruggingDistressPhilThomasRufusMayMtHolyokeNov13.pdf

Download and listen to event PSA .mp3:
http://www.freedom-Center.org/pdf/DruggingDistressMtHolyokePSA11-14PLEASEPLAY.mp3

Why are so many of us on psychiatric medication? Did you know that
the U.S. is one of only two countries in the world where drug companies
advertise directly to consumers? Interested in a critique of mental
health treatment from those inside the profession?

Join us for a provocative talk by two distinguished speakers from England:

Philip Thomas, M.D., a psychiatrist for more than 20 years in Britainʼs
National Health Service, now Professor of Philosophy, Diversity and
Mental Health at the University of Central Lancashire. He has published
more than 100 articles and three books on psychiatry and mental health.

Rufus May, D. Clin., a clinical psychologist in Bradford, England and
co-chair of Evolving Minds, a public forum on mental health issues. His
interest in humane approaches to distressing experiences began when he
himself was labeled with schizophrenia as an 18 year old. Dr. May has
published a dozen articles in scientific and popular journals, and has
been widely interviewed in the UK media.

Sponsored by: The Purington Fund, Dean of the College, and Department of
Psychology and Education, Mount Holyoke College;
Freedom Center, Northampton, MA;
and The Five College Program in Culture, Health and Science

For Info: Freedom Center: 413.582.9948, www.freedom-center.org,
info@freedom-center.org;

Mount Holyoke College Department of Psychology and Education: 413.538.2338

________________________________________________________________________________
PRESS RELEASE:

Experts to Discuss Medication and Mental Illness

Two leading British mental heath experts will give a provocative talk
titled "Drugging Our Distress: A Broader Look at Medication and Mental
Illness" Monday, November 13, at 7:30 pm. The talk will be held in
Hooker Auditorium in the Clapp Laboratory and is free, open to the
public, and accessible to all.

The event will explore why so many people use psychiatric medication and
why the United States is one of only two countries where drug companies
advertise directly to consumers. Addressing the issue will be two
experts on the industry. Philip Thomas, M.D., professor of philosophy,
diversity, and mental health at the University of Central Lancashire,
was a psychiatrist for more than 20 years in the British National Health
Service and has published more than 100 articles and three books on
psychiatry and mental health. Rufus May, a clinical psychologist from
Bradford, England, and cochair of Evolving Minds, a public forum on
mental health issues, became interested in humane approaches to
distressing experiences when he himself was labeled with schizophrenia
as an 18-year-old. He has published a dozen articles in scientific and
popular journals and has been widely interviewed in the British media.

"Most of what Americans know about psychiatric medication comes from the
drug companies, either directly in the form of advertisements or,
indirectly, in the form of research funded by the pharmaceutical
industry," said Gail A. Hornstein, professor of psychology and
coordinator of the November 13 event. "Twenty years from now, we will
likely regard this information the way we now regard claims about
smoking that come from the tobacco industry. Speakers like Philip Thomas
and Rufus May offer an independent perspective that is crucial to our
understanding of medication and mental illness."

The event is sponsored by the Purington Fund, the Dean of the College,
and the Department of Psychology and Education at Mount Holyoke College,
as well as the Freedom Center in Northampton and the Five College
Program in Culture, Health, and Science.

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