I was connected to Darby by Robert Whitaker a few years ago, when I just started writing an article about my involuntary and traumatic psych hospitalizations. After that, I emailed her whenever I needed help learning about New York State’s mental health laws or finding a source inside the state’s mental health system. She was always quick to respond, and always helpful, connecting me with people (deep) inside the system who were equally as helpful. I also found her book about old asylums extremely illuminating. I was amazed that, after emailing back and forth with her for so long, that she had written such an incredible book (one endorsed by Oliver Sacks!). Rest in peace Darby.
Hey Ted, wonderful article. Could I talk to you about the issue of children being placed in psych hospitals? I’m working on a book about the mistreatment of people in hospitals but haven’t found much info on children being mistreated.
Hi rmales. Do you have a few minutes to chat with me about your experience on AOT in New York? My email is [email protected] and my phone number is 201-572-1030.
Hi all, the article’s author here again. Thank you for the continued debate about the survey – it shows that it struck a nerve. If you want to share your psych ward experiences, I’ve created a Reddit community for former patients.
My goal is to make it easier for patients who have been mistreated or abused in psychiatric wards or hospitals to share their unfiltered stories – since Reddit provides anonymity.
I conducted this survey and wrote the article. To clarify about the “unjustified abuse” confusion, we asked respondents two questions about punishment in the hospital:
1. Did you receive any of the following punishments in the psych ward?
2. IF you received any of the punishments listed above, was your punishment justified/fair?
43% of respondents indicated they received punishment in the psych wards. Of that 43%, 88% indicated the punishment they received in the psych ward was unjustified. A small portion indicated the punishment they received wasn’t physical.
In addition, we asked respondents if they were physically or sexually abused – and 21% indicated they were. We integrated that figure into the chart where respondents indicated if they were “unjustifiably” physically abused or punished.
Thus, by writing that 37% of patients experienced “unjustified” physical or sexual abuse or punishment, it does not mean that 63% of respondents experienced “justified” abuse or punishment. Rather, it means that a small portion of respondents experienced punishment they deemed “justified”.
I realize that’s a confusing explanation – happy to clarify further. You can contact me direct too – [email protected].
I’d also like to help with any efforts at helping psych ward patients get more legal rights. A “Miranda rights” for psychiatric and psych ward patients sounds like a great idea. When I started working on this survey, I wasn’t sure how widespread the issue of psych ward mistreatment was (despite my own poor experiences). Now I am certain it’s a major issue – and I’d like to help resolve it.
Beautifully written. I am writing an essay about my psychiatric ward experiences and this article gave me the exact data I was looking for. Thank you so much Jess.
Fascinating. Can you tell me how long the lancet’s study timeframe was? It sounds like it was only an 8 to 12 week study? Is that possible? It seems like 8 to 12 weeks is not long enough to study the impact of antidepressants. Thanks!
Wonderful story man. I’ve been in similar situations in psychiatric hospitals. I can certainly relate to the sentence about a legalized gang attacking you and jamming sedatives into your body. Keep up the good fight brother.
I’d love to help get your book published. I’m not in the publishing field, but I have a background in marketing, publicity and sales; I’ve worked with a couple of authors. You can email me at [email protected]. You can see my work at helloclickboost.com
I was connected to Darby by Robert Whitaker a few years ago, when I just started writing an article about my involuntary and traumatic psych hospitalizations. After that, I emailed her whenever I needed help learning about New York State’s mental health laws or finding a source inside the state’s mental health system. She was always quick to respond, and always helpful, connecting me with people (deep) inside the system who were equally as helpful. I also found her book about old asylums extremely illuminating. I was amazed that, after emailing back and forth with her for so long, that she had written such an incredible book (one endorsed by Oliver Sacks!). Rest in peace Darby.
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Sure. I’ll reach out to Bob. If you feel comfortable (and I understand if you don’t), you can call me at 201-572-1030 or email me at [email protected]
You can see the articles I’ve written for MIA here: https://www.madinamerica.com/author/michael_simonson/
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Hey Ted, wonderful article. Could I talk to you about the issue of children being placed in psych hospitals? I’m working on a book about the mistreatment of people in hospitals but haven’t found much info on children being mistreated.
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Hi rmales. Do you have a few minutes to chat with me about your experience on AOT in New York? My email is [email protected] and my phone number is 201-572-1030.
Report comment
Hi all, the article’s author here again. Thank you for the continued debate about the survey – it shows that it struck a nerve. If you want to share your psych ward experiences, I’ve created a Reddit community for former patients.
You can find the community here: https://www.reddit.com/r/psychwardsurvivors/
My goal is to make it easier for patients who have been mistreated or abused in psychiatric wards or hospitals to share their unfiltered stories – since Reddit provides anonymity.
Report comment
I conducted this survey and wrote the article. To clarify about the “unjustified abuse” confusion, we asked respondents two questions about punishment in the hospital:
1. Did you receive any of the following punishments in the psych ward?
2. IF you received any of the punishments listed above, was your punishment justified/fair?
43% of respondents indicated they received punishment in the psych wards. Of that 43%, 88% indicated the punishment they received in the psych ward was unjustified. A small portion indicated the punishment they received wasn’t physical.
In addition, we asked respondents if they were physically or sexually abused – and 21% indicated they were. We integrated that figure into the chart where respondents indicated if they were “unjustifiably” physically abused or punished.
Thus, by writing that 37% of patients experienced “unjustified” physical or sexual abuse or punishment, it does not mean that 63% of respondents experienced “justified” abuse or punishment. Rather, it means that a small portion of respondents experienced punishment they deemed “justified”.
I realize that’s a confusing explanation – happy to clarify further. You can contact me direct too – [email protected].
I’d also like to help with any efforts at helping psych ward patients get more legal rights. A “Miranda rights” for psychiatric and psych ward patients sounds like a great idea. When I started working on this survey, I wasn’t sure how widespread the issue of psych ward mistreatment was (despite my own poor experiences). Now I am certain it’s a major issue – and I’d like to help resolve it.
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Beautifully written. I am writing an essay about my psychiatric ward experiences and this article gave me the exact data I was looking for. Thank you so much Jess.
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This is so good. Really brilliant stuff. This should go viral. Every DFW fan needs to read this.
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Fascinating. Can you tell me how long the lancet’s study timeframe was? It sounds like it was only an 8 to 12 week study? Is that possible? It seems like 8 to 12 weeks is not long enough to study the impact of antidepressants. Thanks!
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Wonderful story man. I’ve been in similar situations in psychiatric hospitals. I can certainly relate to the sentence about a legalized gang attacking you and jamming sedatives into your body. Keep up the good fight brother.
Report comment
I’d love to help get your book published. I’m not in the publishing field, but I have a background in marketing, publicity and sales; I’ve worked with a couple of authors. You can email me at [email protected]. You can see my work at helloclickboost.com
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