Monday, January 05, 2004

In Mental Health Research, a Clash Over Funding Priorities
December 24 Washington Post story - "A recent report criticizing the funding priorities of the federal government's National Institute of Mental Health has reignited controversy over the organization's direction and destiny -- with the top official at the institute echoing some of the criticism himself. The percentage of funds devoted to severe mental illnesses has shrunk even as the institute's budget has doubled, according to the report issued last month by psychiatrist E. Fuller Torrey's Treatment Advocacy Center, the Public Citizen Health Research Group and other mental health experts. ... The report has found more critics than friends. Many health groups accuse Torrey of using misleading statistics, and caricature instead of scientific criticism. Advocacy groups for illnesses not included on Torrey's list of serious conditions criticize the report for its lack of inclusiveness, while neuroscientists and psychologists who do basic research argue that the study of normal behavior and brain biology is essential to developing new treatments for disorders. " If you have trouble accessing the Post story, it's been reprinted, too, at the Contra Costa Times. See also the report at the Treatment Advocacy Center's web site.