Mental Health Inc

by Art Levine

  121 cognitive therapies for PTSD available: VA OIG, “Healthcare Inspection: Progress in Implementing the Veterans Health Administration’s Uniform Mental Health Services Handbook,” May 4, 2010, 33–40, https://www.va.gov/oig.

  121 repeatedly confirmed: See sample search at Sunlight Foundation’s Inspectors General portal for “evidence-based,” “PTSD” and “poor,” https://oversight.garden/reports.

  122 little improvement: Institute of Medicine, “Effectiveness of PTSD Treatment Provided by Defense Department and VA Unknown…,” news release, June 20, 2014, http://www8.nationalacademies.org.

  125 medical licensing board: Minnesota Board of Medical Practice, “In the Matter of the Medical License of Marlin Gustav Thomas Schauland,” September 12, 2009, online at http://psychsearch.net/psychs/mn/9122009.pdf.

  125 Suzie Q: Patricia Wen, “Psychiatric Drug Sought on Streets,” Boston Globe, July 13, 2009, http://archive.boston.com.

  125 without needing a DEA permit: Background interviews with state and federal officials, June 2015; correspondence with Huntington VAMC, DOJ/DEA, West Virginia pharmacy and osteopathic boards, June 2015– October 2016, online at https://www.scribd.com/document/343754066/HUNTINGTON-VA-Prescribing-Info.

  125 long exceeded: Benedict Carey, “Drugs Found Ineffective for Veterans’ Stress,” New York Times, August 2, 2011, http://www.nytimes.com.

  129 received roughly $30,000: See Lawrence B. Kelly or Lawrence Bennett Kelly, Charleston, at ProPublica Dollars for Docs, http://projects.propublica.org.

  129 up to 1,600 mg: Confidential medical records of Andrew White, notes by Dr. Lawrence B. Kelly, November 20, 2007.

  131 took the risky step: C. Heather Ashton, “Benzodiazepines: How They Work and How to Withdraw,” The Ashton Manual, online at http://www.benzo.org.uk/manual/; Shirley White, “Andrew Ryan White, January 1, 1985–February 12, 2008,” full text of testimony prepared for FDA hearing, April 2009.

  135 Corporal Nicholas Endicott: Julie Robinson, “Couple Continues Battle After Soldier Son’s PTSD Treatment-Related Death,”Charleston Gazette-Mail, May 28, 2012, http://www.wvgazettemail.com.

  136 amount of methadone alone: VA OIG, “Healthcare Inspection: Quality of Care of Two Deceased West Virginia Veterans,” August 14, 2008, https://www.va.gov; Søren Fanøe, “Risk of Arrhythmia Induced by Psychotropic Medications: A Proposal for Clinical Management,” European Heart Journal 35, no. 20 (2015): 1306–1315, https://academic.oup.com.

  136 sharply raises the blood plasma: C. Uehlinger et al., “Increased (R)-Methadone Plasma Concentrations by Quetiapine in Cytochrome P450s and ABCB1 Genotyped Patient,” Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology 27, no. 3 (June 2007): 273–278, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.

  136 revise the warning label: Wilson, “Heart Warning Added to Label on Popular Antipsychotic Drug,” New York Times, July 18, 2011.

  136 multiple prescriptions: Pauline Jelinek, “Military Eyeing Mysterious Deaths,” Associated Press, February 7, 2008, http://www.foxnews.com.

  136 over one hundred studies: See, for instance, Wayne A. Ray et al., “Atypical Antipsychotic Drugs and the Risk of Sudden Cardiac Death,” New England Journal of Medicine 360, no. 3 (January 15, 2009): 225–235, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov; and search “atypical antipsychotic” and “QT” at PubMed: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.

  Chapter 6: Stan White and the Veterans’ Search for Truth and Answers

  138 “That’s not supposed to happen”: Sara Gavin, “Military Men Mysteriously Dying,” WOWK (TV 13), March 12, 2008, online at http://www.disabilityrightsca.org.

  139 psychiatric medication crisis: Robinson, “Cost of War.”

  140 “Sudden cardiac death”: Serge Sicouri and Charles Antzelevitch, “Sudden Cardiac Death Secondary to Antidepressant and Antipsychotic Drugs,” Expert Opinion on Drug Safety 7, no. 2 (March 2008): 181–194, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.

  140 issued a press release: Dr. Fred Baughman Jr., “A Cluster of Veterans Deaths,” PRNewswire, June 20, 2008, http://www.prnewswire.com.

  141 White and Layne deaths: VA OIG, “Healthcare Inspection: Quality of Care of Two Deceased West Virginia Veterans.”

  141 in nearly seventy medical studies: See search for “QT” [prolongation] and atypical antipsychotic at Pub Med, filtered by date: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.

  141 electrocardiograms be given: Wayne A. Ray et al., “Atypical Antipsychotic Drugs and the Risk of Sudden Cardiac Death,” New England Journal of Medicine 360, no. 3 (January 15, 2009): 225–235, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.

  142 “no association”: Alexander H. Glassman and J. Thomas Bigger, Jr., “Antipsychotic Drugs: Prolonged QT Interval, Torsades de Pointes, and Sudden Death,” American Journal of Psychiatry 158 (November 2001): 1774–1782, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.

  143 up to 1,200 mg of off-label Seroquel: Confidential medical records of Andrew White.

  143 maximum recommended dosage: A. Sparshatt, “Quetiapine: Dose–Response Relationship in Schizophrenia,” CNS Drugs 22, no. 1 (2008): 49– 68, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.

  143 sleep aid on the battlefield: Brewin, “Drug Policy Threatens Troops.”

  144 “our heroes we are mistreating”: Letter by Georgeann Underwood to House and Senate veterans’ committees on grandson Derek Johnson, April 2009, online at https://www.scribd.com-Johnson-1 and https://www.scribd.com-2; Julie Robinson, “Vets Taking PTSD Drugs Die in Sleep,” Charleston Gazette, May 24, 2008, online at http://www.gulfwarvets.com.

  Chapter 7: Mr. White Comes to Washington

  146 request from AstraZeneca: FDA, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, Psychopharmacologic Drugs Advisory Committee Hearing on April 8, 2009, transcript, 71–72, https://www.fda.gov.

  146 Jorge Armenteros: Miriam Hill, “Conflicts for FDA Committee Set to Weigh Risks of Seroquel,” Philadelphia Inquirer, April 4, 2009, online at http://psychrights.org.

  147 thoroughly discredited: Duff Wilson, “Drug Maker’s E-Mail Released in Seroquel Lawsuit,” New York Times, February 27, 2009, http://www.nytimes.com.

  147 alleged illegal marketing campaign: DOJ, “AstraZeneca settlement.”

  147 “cursed study”: Shanker Vedantam, “A Silenced Drug Study Creates an Uproar,” Washington Post, March, 18, 2009, http://www.washingtonpost.com.

  148 cardiac death: Wayne Ray et al., “Atpical Antipsychotic Drugs,” NEJM, January 15, 2009.

  148 reportedly misled: Waters, “Drug Report Barred by FDA,” San Francisco Chronicle, February 1, 2004.

  148 Laughren had a new chance: FDA, Psychopharmacologic Drugs Advisory Committee, Meeting Transcript, April 8, 2009, https://www.fda.gov.

  148 first-line “monotherapy”: FDA, AstraZeneca Briefing Document, Drugs Advisory Committee, April 8, 2009, https://www.fda.gov.

  149 nearly 10 percent of adult: NIMH, “Generalized Anxiety Disorder Among Adults,” https://www.nimh.nih.gov.

  149 Seroquel XR was then over $12,000: Ken O’ Day et al., “Long-Term Cost-Effectiveness of Atypical Antipsychotics in the Treatment of Adults With Schizophrenia in the US,” ClinicoEconomics and Outcomes Research 5 (September 12, 2013): 459–470, https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org.

  149 the drug was safe: FDA, Drugs Advisory Committee, transcript, April 8, 2009 4–6.

  149 couldn’t kill you: FDA, Drugs Advisory Committee, transcript, 21–27.

  150 seven times: Advisory Committee, “4.4.6 Mortality From All Causes in Clinical Studies,” AstraZeneca briefing document, 90–92.

  150 170 percent higher risk: FDA, “Information for Healthcare Professionals: Conventional Antipsychotics,” June 16, 2008, https://www.fda.gov.

  150 adjunct treatment for depression: “Seroquel Gets the Abilify Treatment,” The Carlat Psychiatry Blog, April 14, 2009, http://carlatpsychiatry.blogspot.com.

  151 short trial of Seroquel: Mark Hamner, “Quetiapine Treatment In Patients With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: An Open Trial Of Adjunctive Therapy,” Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology 23, no. 1 (February 2003), 15–20,
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.

  151 broadening the use: Charles Schulz et al., “Broadening the Horizon of Atypical Antipsychotic Applications,” Medscape, June 15, 2004, http://www.medscape.org.

  151 two additional twelve-week studies: Mark Hamner, “A Placebo-Controlled Trial of Adjunctive Quetiapine for Refractory PTSD,” May 2009, https://clinicaltrials.gov; Hamner, “Quetiapine Treatment for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD),” December 2007, https://clinicaltrials.gov.

  151 half of all clinical trials: “What Does All Trials Registered and Reported Mean?” Alltrials.net, http://www.alltrials.net/find-out-more/all-trials/.

  152 stopped recommending: VA, “VA/DoD Clinical Practice Guidelines for Management of Post-Traumatic Stress,” 2010, https://www.healthquality.va.gov.

  152 finally co-authored: Gerardo Villareal, Mark B. Hamner et al., “Efficacy of Quetiapine Monotherapy in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial,” American Journal of Psychiatry 173, no. 12 (December 1, 2016): 1205–1212, https://www.researchgate.net.

  153 Pfizer visiting professor in 2011: Martha Rosenberg, Born With a Junk Food Deficiency: How Flaks, Quacks and Hacks Pimp the Public Health (Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, 2012), 96–97.

  153 damning 2011 study: Benedict Carey, “Drugs Found Ineffective for Veterans’ Stress,” New York Times, August 2, 2011, http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/03/health/research/03psych.html.

  153 $846 million for Seroquel: Bob Brewin, “Mental Illness Is the Leading Cause of Hospitalization for Active-Duty Troops,” Nextgov, May 17, 2012, http://www.nextgov.com.

  154 800,000 prescriptions for Seroquel: VA, Office of Public Affairs, “VA Data Spread Sheet, FY 2011–FY 2015, Atypicals,” 2015, https://www.scribd.com.

  154 over $1.5 billion: Bob Brewin, “Mental Illness Is the Leading Cause,” Nextgov; VA, “VA Data Spread Sheet, Atypicals,” 2015.

  154 boasted to a congressional hearing: Statement of Dr. Carolyn Clancy, Interim Under Secretary for Health, VA, House Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, , June 10, 2015, https://veterans.house.gov.

  154 any known mental illness: Allison Bond Kotru, “Many Vets Given Psychiatric Drugs Without Diagnosis,” Reuters, October 31, 2013, http://www.reuters.com.

  154 a new FDA-required warning: Duff Wilson, “Heart Warning Added to Label on Popular Antipsychotic Drug,” New York Times, July 18, 2011, http://www.nytimes.com.

  156 killing herself three times: Patricia Kime, “Sailor’s Suicide Triggers Lawsuit,” USA Today, December 7, 2012, http://www.usatoday.com; Deposition of Dr. William McDaniel, Darla Grese vs. United States of America, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Civil Action no. 4:12 cv-49, July 12, 2012, online at https://www.scribd.com.

  157 Sister Surrendered: Darla M. Grese, Sister Surrendered, Amazon Digital Services, April 2014. https://www.amazon.com.

  157 is 23 percent: Author’s correspondence with Huntington VA, June 2015.

  158 A 2012 JAMA: James Dao, “For Veterans With Post-Traumatic Stress, Pain Killers Carry Risks,” New York Times, March 7, 2012, https://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com.

  158 VA’s weren’t sharing data: VA Opioid Prescription Policy, Practice, and Procedures, U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs, March 26, 2015, https://www.gpo.gov, 20.

  159 120,000 opiate deaths: C. J. Arlotta, “Has Obama Neglected America’s Growing Opioid, Heroin Epidemic?” Forbes, August 26, 2015, https://www.forbes.com.

  159 personally honored in 2010: Huntington VA, “Huntington VA Medical Center Director Recognized by the President,” July 2010, http://www.huntington.va.gov/news/director.asp.

  Chapter 8: Drug-Free PTSD Recovery

  (The information in this chapter is based largely on personal interviews and observations by the author of an Operation Tohidu retreat, February 2015.)

  164 “Operation: Tohidu”: Carol Costello, “Are Medications an Effective PTSD Treatment?” CNN, July 25, 2015, https://www.youtube.com.

  164 Center for Advanced Warfighter Reintegration: “History,” Warfighter Advance, http://www.warfighteradvance.org/history.html.

  167 Navy Medicine: Mary Vieten et al., Navy Medicine 95, no. 5 (September– October, 2004): 14–16, https://ia801700.us.archive.org.

  168 rapport is a critical ingredient: John Norcross et al., “Psychotherapy Relationships That Work II,” Psychotherapy 48, no. 1 (March 2011): 4–8, https://www.researchgate.net.

  Chapter 9: How LA County’s Mental Health Officials Neglect Inmates and Ignore Violence

  170 severe mental illness: Unique Keyona Moore, case no. 2014-07600, Department of Coroner, County of Los Angeles, online at https://www.scribd.com; Levine, “Why Did L.A. County Inmate Unique Moore Die?” Huff-Post, February 28, 2016.

  170 lawsuit: Elaine Bridges and Jimmie Lee Moore v. County of Los Angeles et al., Sup. Ct., Co. of Los Angeles, South Central District, case no. TC028303, November 6, 2015, https://www.scribd.com/doc.

  170 nearly 700,000 adults: Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health (DMH), “Estimated Prevalence of SED & SMI Among Total Population By Age Group and Service Area 2015,” online at https://www.scribd.com.

  171 “decedent went into cardiac arrest”: Unique Keyona Moore report, Department of the Coroner.

  172 the once-powerful Baca: Celeste Fremon, “The Retrial of Lee Baca: How LA County’s Popular Sheriff Got Convicted,” Witness LA, March 17, 2017, http://witnessla.com.

  172 federally-appointed monitor: Cindy Chang and Joel Rosen, “After Years of Scandal, L.A. Jails Get Federal Oversight, Sweeping Reforms,” Los Angeles Times, August 5, 2015, http://www.latimes.com.

  172 class-action ACLU lawsuit: ACLU of Southern California, “Inmate Abuse Timeline,” https://www.aclusocal.org.

  172 commonplace violence: Human Rights Watch (HRW), “Callous and Cruel: Use of Force Against Inmates with Mental Disabilities in US Jails and Prisons,” May 2015, https://www.hrw.org.

  173 60 percent: Ram Subramanian et al., Incarceration’s Front Door: The Misuse of Jails in America, VERA Institute of Justice, Center on Sentencing and Corrections, February 2015, http://archive.vera.org.

  173 mentally ill inmate: Joel Rubin, “A Top L.A. Sheriff’s Recruit Was Just Days on the Job When He Says Deputies Beat an Unresisting Inmate,” Los Angeles Times, May 16, 2016, http://www.latimes.com.

  173 handcuffed nearly naked: HRW, “Callous and Cruel.”

  174 moved to strip: County of Los Angeles, Chief Executive Office, “Approval of Proposed Jail Health Services Structure,” June 9, 2015, http://file.lacounty.gov.

  174 ten times: Dr. E. Fuller Torrey et al., “More Mentally Ill Persons Are in Jails and Prisons Than Hospitals: A Survey of the States,” Treatment Advocacy Center, May 2010, http://www.treatmentadvocacycenter.org.

  175 court-ordered consent decree: Ian Lovett, “Los Angeles Agrees to Overhaul Jails to Care for Mentally Ill and Curb Abuse,” Los Angeles Times, August 5, 2015, https://www.nytimes.com.

  175 less than a month: Email from Lt. David Dolson, Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department (LASD), Homicide Bureau, November 4, 2015, online at https://www.scribd.com.

  176 80 percent are homeless: Los Angeles County Sheriff Jim McDonnell, Testimony Before the 21st Century Policing Task Force, February 24, 2015, https://cops.usdoj.gov.

  177 citizens commission: Lourdes Baird et al., Report of the Citizens’ Commission on Jail Violence, Los Angeles County, September 2012, http://www.lacounty.gov.

  177 convicted: Alene Tchekmedyian, “L.A. Sheriff’s Deputies Sentenced to Prison for Beating a Mentally Ill Inmate and Covering Up the Attack,” Los Angeles Times, November 28, 2016.

  178 eyewitness accounts: ACLU National Prison Project and the ACLU of Southern California, “Cruel and Usual Punishment: How a Savage Gang of Deputies Controls L.A. County Jails,” September 2011, https://www.aclu.org.

  179 “reign of terror”: Peter Eliasberg and Margaret Winter, “The Reign of Terror Ends at L.A. County Jails,”
ACLU of Southern California, December 16, 2014, https://www.aclusocal.org.

  179 40 percent: Citizen’s Commission on Jail Violence, LASD, Status of Recommendations, October 21, 2014, http://file.lacounty.gov.

  179 significant problems continue: LASD, “Force by Category,” 2015–2016, online at https://www.scribd.com.

  180 stinging report: DOJ, “Mental Health Care and Suicide Prevention Practices at Los Angeles County Jails,” DJ 168-12C-43, June 4, 2014, https://www.justice.gov.

  180 dumping mentally ill: Abby Sewell and Cindy Chang, “Ex-Inmates Want L.A. County to Stop Dumping Mentally Ill Inmates on Skid Row,” Los Angeles Times, September 28, 2015, http://www.latimes.com; Nationally, the lack of proper discharge services can increase suicides: Jennifer Gonnerman, “Kalief Browder Learned How to Commit Suicide on Rikers,” New Yorker, June 2, 2016, http://www.newyorker.com.

  180 used restraints: Office of Inspector General, County of Los Angeles, OIG, Overview and Policy Analysis of Tethering in Los Angeles County Jails, June 2016, 10, https://oig.lacounty.gov; Maya Lau, “After Four Recent Inmate Deaths, Protesters Call for Changes in L.A. County Jails,” Los Angeles Times, March 10, 2017, http://www.latimes.com.

  181 roughly 1,900: LASD, Custody Division Year-End Review 2015, updated June 16, 2016, http://www.la-sheriff.org; Carimah Townes, “The Tragedy of Being a Woman in Jail,” Think Progress, https://thinkprogress.org.

  181 degrading experiences: Alejandro Caceres-Monroy et al., Breaking the Silence: Civil and Human Rights Violations Resulting from Medical Neglect and Abuse of Women of Color in Los Angeles County Jails, Dignity and Power Now, August 4, 2015, http://dignityandpowernow.org.

  181 causing serious injury: For Ronnquist testimony, see Meeting Transcript of the Meeting of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, May 6, 2014, 140, http://file.lacounty.gov.

  181 leading cause of death: Victoria Bekiempis, “Suicide Rate in U.S. Jails Jumps,” August 4, 2015, http://www.newsweek.com.

  182 $1.6 million settlement: Cindy Chang, “L.A. County Settles Jail Suicide Case for $1.6 Million,” Los Angeles Times, September 1, 2015, http://www.latimes.com.