Adventures with Dr. Lady Cutie Troublemaker

So my internship ends on August 19th, and once it’s over, it’s all packing and moving and stuff. I’d like to have another Blogger Bash before I go. One idea I was tossing around was having it when my parents are here since they have posted so much on my blog and since my dad has been so active in writing letters related to Zach and LIA/R. Right now, it’s looking like my parents will be in town 7/29-7/31 (Friday through Sunday). I know we usually have these things during the week, but I figured if we had one just after work on Friday or Sunday night, I could still get people to come. What do you think, Oh Memphis Bloggers Thee?

… and it’s eloquent. AND there are lots of links to bloggers who are outraged.

So check out this article that was featured on MSN. No, I don’t read MSN, but I was trying to open my IM. No really! I wonder what inspired THAT?!

He sent this one to the Commercial Appeal. Maybe they will print this one. I mean, he mentions stupid ole Tom Cruise. What’s not to like?!

While the general outrage at Tom Cruise’s Scientology based attack on Psychiatry is certainly justified, there is a part of what he said that is pertinent to a contemporary Memphis issue.  In the past, some individuals were, in fact, committed to mental institutions by their families inappropriately.  There was abuse of the desparate treatments of the time – psychosurgery, insulin coma therapy, excessive electroconvulsive therapy.  Thereafter, Mental Health Codes were radially changed to protect people from being deprived of their civil liberties by some loophole of mental illness.  Facilities offering treatment of any kind had to be licensed, inspected, and had to have specific legal procedures to insure that treatment was consistent with the Bill of Rights – our Constitutional guarantees of Freedom.

The Love in Action facility is a program that offers treatment for "addictions,"  yet it is operating outside the regulation required for such places.  They have no process for guaranteeing "due process" for their clients.  Parents can apparently sign their children in for a long period of "treatment," even children sixteen years old.  The case of Zach brought this to the public’s awareness, but beyond the specific case, how can such a facility exist without licensure?  How can a self declared "treatment" center that holds children against their will be operating with no oversight from the State of Tennessee?  If legitimate treatment centers for the treatment of alcohol or drug addictions require licensure, how can a fringe group like Love in Action treat something they claim to be an addiction, namely Homosexuality, without any review by the State?

They were investigated and cleared by DFCS of "Child Abuse."  "Child Abuse" is hardly the point.  The point is that Love in Action is a Mental Hospital operating without a license!

While driving, I had a flash of inspiration. What if card-carrying members of the two APAs (and maybe even all the other opponents of Reparative Therapy) started a letter-writing campaign. My dad and I know plenty of members of both organizations. There is definite illegailty here. I was shocked at the response my Dad received from the Tennessee Department of Mental Health.

The Tennessee Department of Mental Health licenses mental health facilities that treat mental illnesses.  The group/program in question is not a mental health facility and we have no relationship, nor do we have first-hand knowledge of the group/program you reference.  The Tennessee Department of Mental Health is in compliance of all laws related to mental health issues and mental health facilities. However, the program/group in question is currently being investigated by the Tennessee Dept. of Childrens Services, which is the proper channel.

Whuh?! LIA/R is treating homosexuality as if it is a pathological mental illness, even though all of the major mental health associations say it isn’t. So all I have to do if I want to skirt the laws of the Tennessee Department of Mental Health is to say, "I’m not a mental health facility." Wow… so that’s easy. Good grief.

After driving, I read about this on EJ’s blog. It’s very good news. I think I’m going to continue to think through my idea of earlier this evening. See, I keep my online life and my work life separate… and for good reason. But just because I learned about this online doesn’t mean it isn’t highly relevant to my professional life. Enlisting the support of other APA member in Memphis may be just the ticket. I’m still considering it. 

My Dad’s resonse to the message he received from the TDMH was classic Abby’s Dad. I know you fans out there won’t be disappointed:

I appreciate your response, though I don’t agree with it.  Love in Action IS a mental health facility.  They claim to be treating an "addiction,"  They "hold" children based on their parent’s wishes.  If you read their application – it is written like a "mental health" application.  Their facility IS a treatment facility, hiding as a ministry.  If they were "treating" any of the more usual "addictions," you’d require a license.  Maybe it’s too delicate to want to take them on, but don’t kid yourself – it is a treatment facility skirting your laws.

This latest Blade article makes me wonder if maybe they read dad’s letter.

When it comes down to it, I probably wouldn’t be putting up this fight if it were only serving adults who signed up willigly. I’d heard in a Psych seminar at the beginning of this year that a place like this existed, and I thought LAME, but I didn’t get all activist about it, but this? Completely ridiculous, and it seems illegal.