Tag Archives: Patrick McGorry

Australia’s Reckless Experiment In Early Intervention

Early intervention to prevent psychosis requires first that there be an accurate tool to identify who will later become psychotic and who will not. Unfortunately, no such accurate tool exists. The false positive rate in selecting prepsychosis is at least about 60-70% in the very best of hands and may be as high as 90% in general practice. That’s right, folks, nine misidentified non patients for one accurately identified truly prepsychotic patient. Those are totally unacceptable odds.

Hickierie Dickory Doc – McGorry Turns Back the Clock

McGorry’s Delorean continues on it’s trip back to the future in Australia, it’s new passenger, Prof Ian Hickie.

I say new, Hickie has been around for years.

Judging by an article in today’s Australian Telegraph, there seems to be questions being asked regarding the number of Australian children being prescribed antidepressant medication.

Psychiatrist Patrick McGorry Ticked Off CCHR’s Busted Him Over Bogus “Early Intervention” Claims

It would appear that Australian psychiatrist Patrick McGorry [originally an Irish born lad] doesn’t like it when he is brought to task regarding his early intervention claims [He can predict if a child can get a mental disorder in later years you know]

The article, written by Brigid O’Connell, lays claim that McGorry has become the target by the Church of Scientology after he and other psychiatrists spoke out against them. I think you will find that it’s the other way around.

The Citizens Commission on Human Rights [CCHR] have, for a long time, been on McGorry’s back. Where McGorry gets confused [bless him] is that CCHR is not the Church of Scientology. Okay, CCHR was founded by the Church [and actually also a psychiatrist Thomas Szasz, who no doubt wouldn’t agree with your “early intervention” drugging kids fad either] but they are funded by Tom, Dick and Harry…that is, by anyone concerned enough about human rights.

CCHR have requested documents under the Freedom of Information Act. Documents that may or may not show McGorry’s links to the pharmaceutical industry. We are not talking about a free dinner here, we are talking millions of Aussie dollars.

Australian of the Year Psychiatrist Patrick McGorry. a.k.a. The Spin Doctor

McGorry and Mendoza are adept at capturing media attention, using emotive statistics and feel-good messages as powerful soundbites. However, few people seem to have critically examined their claims, which have been widely accepted at face value. We have examined several claims, and found them seriously problematic. Not only is there a high degree of spin in the rhetoric but also there is misrepresentation of evidence.