August 29, 2003

The president of the American Psychiatric Assocation has met in Los Angeles with hunger strikers protesting against the "international domination of the biomedical model" in psychiatric practice.

The unprecedented "fast for freedom in mental health" has, seen more than 23 people stop eating for 11 days in protest against what they claim is a flawed medical model which psychiatry predominantly bases its practice on.

The protest has been organised under the umbrella of the US campaigning group MindFreedom.

Earlier this week, Marcia Kraft Goin, president of the American Psychiatric Association (APA), agreed to meet a delegation of hunger strikers in her Los Angeles office.

Discussions were said to have been wide-ranging.

David Gonzalez, a hunger striker from Brooklyn, New York, was said to have asked Dr Golin whether the APA would be willing to announce that the hunger strikers had legitimate concerns, and that the APA would state it would be willing to meet with the strikers to discuss concerns.

Dr Goin replied: "We'll be thinking about a meeting between representatives of the APA and MindFreedom either face to face, or by teleconference, but I can't promise anything."

Dr. Goin said an in-depth reply to Mind Freedom's concerns would require referral to the APA's division of research.

David Oaks, director of MindFreedom, attended the meeting and said afterwards: "We appreciate Dr. Goin's flexibility in talking with us under short notice, and her openness to hold a preliminary discussion."

See:
American Psychiatric Association - www.psych.org
mindfreedom.org
cinemaniastigma.com/pages/13/index.htm - protestors' message board

See also:
August 23: US newspaper reports on a hunger strike by former psychiatric patients protesting against drug firms' "stranglehold" on psychiatry - Research by Mary Boyle, head of the doctoral program in clinical psychology at the University of East London, is quoted in the article as supporting the strikers' view

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