Where behavioral science and humanism get out of the ivory tower, and into the world.

Friday, April 29, 2011

Major pharmacology companies cutting back on psychtropic research

According to the podcast from Science, a few of the larger drug companies are doing large cut backs on CNS drugs (which includes meds for mental health) siting that they cost the most to develop, take the longest, and are the least likely to get FDA approval. This is fairly significant as there's a fairly limited amount of ways currently to treat mental health problems chemically, and their efficacy varies greatly between people and particular challenges. What remains to be seen is how the gap between need, and supports available will be filled, as many insurance companies seem to want to keep their panels closed, the public clinic's are running over capacity and many in need cannot afford private pay (one of the main reasons I like working for myself, so I can do sliding scale so I can see people with need if I have appointments times open) .

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Alternative forms of thinking, education and adhd,

Most of the ideas in this video have been around for a long long time. The idea that the standard school's model of prepping people for factory work is very outdated, that intelligence as it's currently tested doesn't really measure much and that ADHD while existing in some cases (I worked with a kid who has so little ability to focus he got distracted from being sad about 15 seconds after another kid hurt him pretty badly) but that by and large it's a false epidemic. But he puts it all together very nicely in a very engaging package. Enjoy!

Friday, April 1, 2011

Because I'm quite nerdy

 
I love Bradbury, Asimov, Phillip K. Dick, and many others. I think this, in it's own way, captures the experience that many people I see have. Come feeling like the first part, leaving like the second. :-)