The royal society of medicine: medical stories and the public (with Stephen Fry & Simon Wessely)

I agree that Wessley will have made sure in advance that this isn't going to be an event where there could be an open discussion about ME. It won't be mentioned.

BUT I do think it's interesting that Stephen Fry tweeted about Unrest and I'm pretty sure that he tweeted about ME previously to that tweet too. It may have been on a previous ME awareness type day some years ago. As I recall he tweeted something like, 'ME is a real illness..'. I remember thinking when I read it, - he must have a friend with ME. Perhaps it was as result of that initial tweet that someone introduced him to Unrest? Of course, I've no idea when it was and there is a chance I've mis-remembered.

Just thinking though, that he has an enquiring mind and if he got curious, it could be useful. Of course, his passion and commitment lies with mental health as that's his experience but he seems like a compassionate and interested type of person.
 
Tia said:
I agree that Wessley will have made sure in advance that this isn't going to be an event where there could be an open discussion about ME. It won't be mentioned.

BUT I do think it's interesting that Stephen Fry tweeted about Unrest and I'm pretty sure that he tweeted about ME previously to that tweet too. It may have been on a previous ME awareness type day some years ago. As I recall he tweeted something like, 'ME is a real illness..'. I remember thinking when I read it, - he must have a friend with ME. Perhaps it was as result of that initial tweet that someone introduced him to Unrest? Of course, I've no idea when it was and there is a chance I've mis-remembered.

Just thinking though, that he has an enquiring mind and if he got curious, it could be useful. Of course, his passion and commitment lies with mental health as that's his experience but he seems like a compassionate and interested type of person.
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He’s also an Alzheimer’s champion and prostate cancer “victim “so probably has enough health “causes”
 
Trish said:
So it looks like Wessely interviews Fry, then Wessely and Fry interview Marsh and Clarke, then there's a panel discussion. No one is interviewing Wessely, so he'll just be there being the genial host. No chance for anyone to even raise the subject of ME, let alone Wessely's role in it. Why would they?
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You are absolutelty correct, Trish - ME is not relevant to this event, though the theme is medical narratives and the public. I guess it is just so galling for all of us that Wessely will once again be in the spotlight, presenting himself as a reasonable and affable scientist. Everyone present at the event will be seduced by his usual bullshit.
 
Barry said:
I cannot believe he would let such an opportunity pass him by, when he must be feeling the need to patch the holes in his sinking ship.
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Indeed. I will be gobsmacked if he doesn't make at least some generic comments about stigma and hostility to mental health, how difficult a job it can be for clinicians, a minority of bastard mental-illness denying patients making it difficult for all, etc.

We have heard it all before from him. This event just stinks of an organised propaganda exercise for exactly that purpose.

That said, I will be the first to apologise to and congratulate Fry if he doesn't uncritically swallow the Wessely line. Doesn't have to be much, just an acknowledgement of some kind that not everything currently classified as mental illness is actually so, that psychiatry sometimes makes very serious mistakes (and by sometimes, I mean, frequently).
 
large donner said:
Probably true, it would be nice though if this turned out to be another Mike Godwin own goal. That would just be amazing.
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I may have just given myself an idea accidentally. Why doesn't someone tweet both Godwin and Fry in one tweet with something thought provoking relating to Wessely and the fall out from that exchange with Godwin. Maybe @ it to Peter Tatchell too.

I'm pretty sure Fry will be intrigued by a dispute caused by Godwins law and Wessely. He loves twitter and other intellectuals and he will have probably quoted Godwins law on something like QI before.
 
I don’t want to overwhelm Stephen Fry about Wessely’s misdemeanours, he may end up feeling ‘ambushed’, and after all the theme of the talk is medical storytelling not ME itself, but I think is okay to put seed in his head of harms Wessely has caused. I added to @JaimeS tweet:

 
large donner said:
I may have just given myself an idea accidentally. Why doesn't someone tweet both Godwin and Fry in one tweet with something thought provoking relating to Wessely and the fall out from that exchange with Godwin. Maybe @ it to Peter Tatchell too.

I'm pretty sure Fry will be intrigued by a dispute caused by Godwins law and Wessely. He loves twitter and other intellectuals and he will have probably quoted Godwins law on something like QI before.
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x2
 
Cinders66 said:
Wesley and Hawkins, wessely and jo brand, wessely and Stephen fry, wessely and prince harry, wessely Regis professor, working for government and military on mental health, ex president of psychiatrists and every title going. He’s built an impressive don’t touch wall hasn’t he for a man with such a track record.
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Why did this post make me think of Jimmy Saville?
 
James Morris-Lent said:
Does Wesseley have any substantive contributions in the mental health field? I don't really know anything about him outside of the whole 'cognitive-behavioral model of CFS'.
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Military health, veterans too. He’s also currently doing a big mental health review for the government. I can’t think of any great achievement, breakthrough in understanding though, but perhaps psychiatrists aren’t expected too. He’s just pushed himself forward and ingratiated himself with lots of people on the way it seems.
 
Just realized that Sir Simon changed his presidency – from being President of the Royal College of Psychiatrists to being President of the Royal Society of Medicine.

(Or was he both presidents simultanously?)

The latter Royal Society perhaps was so overwhelmed by his new(?) President, that it let some typos slip into the last sentence of Sir Simon’s biography. The last sentence states:

“He has a keen interest in education and President of the Royal College of Psychiatrists (2014-2017)”
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instead of
“He has a keen interest in education and in being President of Royal Colleges and Societies”.
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https://www.rsm.ac.uk/about-us/governance/council/professor-sir-simon-wessely-bio.aspx
 
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