Trial By Error: The Psychosomatic Conference’s Pathetic Response (17 Oct 2018)

[Sasha]

Latest from David Tuller:

After I posted yesterday’s blog about Per Fink’s upcoming appearance at the fourth annual Columbia Psychosomatic Conference being held this weekend, I received the following e-mail from Columbia’s Alla Landa. She is an assistant professor of “clinical psychology in psychiatry”–whatever that means–and director of the conference.

I found her note unsatisfactory on multiple fronts, and responded accordingly. My e-mail to her follows below...​

http://www.virology.ws/2018/10/17/trial-by-error-the-psychosomatic-conferences-lame-response/

 

[Sasha]

Thank you, @dave30th for being willing to say it like it is:

For reasons known only to you and the other organizers, you have decided to invite to your gathering a man involved in what can only be called the kidnapping and torture of a vulnerable young Danish woman diagnosed with the illness you have just indicated is a serious organic disease. This kidnapping and torture, conducted with the full authority of the state, was considered justified based on the sorts of claims about functional somatic disorders being presented at Columbia this weekend.​

 

[Andy]

Hmm, her email talks a lot about CII. We probably won't ever know but I reckon some internal discussions may very well have taken place at Columbia about how Fink's invite may have been a mistake. Shame that they weren't sufficient to cancel his invite though.

 

[dave30th]

We probably won't ever know but I reckon some internal discussions may very well have taken place at Columbia about how Fink's invite may have been a mistake

Yes, I would think we can assume this is likely to have happened.

 

[Barry]

Hmm, her email talks a lot about CII. We probably won't ever know but I reckon some internal discussions may very well have taken place at Columbia about how Fink's invite may have been a mistake. Shame that they weren't sufficient to cancel his invite though.

Given that his invite is unlikely to be retracted, maybe we should push for some clarification (clear and unambiguous, not muddled "small print") to be announced at the conference, up-front before he speaks, along the lines in Alla Landa's email ...

I also want to share that the Organizing Committee of the 4th Psychosomatics Conference and the Columbia University Department of Psychiatry affirm our support for the ME/CFS community and state unequivocally that we agree that ME/CFS is a serious multi-system disease associated with neurological, immunological, and energy metabolism impairment. We also support our colleagues at Columbia University’s Center of Infection and Immunity who are using the latest precision-medicine approaches to study the underlying pathophysiology for ME/CFS, with the goal of developing new treatments.

Would that be a possibility do you think @dave30th?

 

[Sly Saint]

Maybe the attendees should be encouraged to watch Unrest?

In the interview with Per Fink:

"Interviewer : Fifteen years ago you were put here to find out what functional disorders are.
Have you found out whether it's a physical or mental disorder?

Per Fink: No, I absolutely haven't and it's a question which I find impossible to answer."

anyone in touch with Dr Stig Gerdes? @dave30th

 

[dave30th]

Would that be a possibility do you think @dave30th?

I really don't know. CME courses need to be approved in advance and so on. I don't know how one would deal with a situation like this.

 

[dreampop]

Nicely written, specifically about the core issues of inviting a human rights violator to a medical conference at Columbia, while also touching on the concept and application of psychosomatic "medicine" as a whole.

Always curious at how a mental illness manifests as a physical disorder and how it can be diagnosed (by exlcusion and the totally subjective decision of excess worry). So, I took a look at Landa's research, since as an expert, I'm sure she could shed light on this.

In 2012, it's "results showed that the unmet need for closeness with others was the main internal representation of relationships in 90% of the patients and in only 10% of controls; it was also the strongest predictor of somatization syndrome diagnosis." Now I couldn't find the whole study. But I'm willing to guess that 'relationships' interview was done AFTER the disabling symptoms. Hm. So, people in pain without a real diagnosis are lonelier. Let's retrospectively suspect that "has direct implications.... their etiology". So looks like there still figuring out how to do basic research, but I'm sure we'll get there.

Brian Fallon is a well knon post-lyme guy.

 

[Forbin]

Hmm, her email talks a lot about CII. We probably won't ever know but I reckon some internal discussions may very well have taken place at Columbia about how Fink's invite may have been a mistake.

I would hate to speculate about such a conversation, but...

"Hey, the University just got a $9.6 million grant from the NIH to search for the biological causes of ME/CFS. Thanks for inviting speakers here who probably think we should give it back. That's great publicity for us."

 

[Pechius]

@dave30th Sorry if this has alrrady been addressed, but is there any particular reason why you removed Disqus coment box? I kinda liked it. It was easier to respond and see the whole comment tree.