David Oaks

Standing on a concrete island in downtown San Fancisco, David Oaks yells into a bullhorn the climactic line from the film "Network": "We're mad as hell and we're not going to take it anymore." The line would be a cliche if it weren't for one thing: Oaks means to be taken literally. On this sunny day, as thousands of mental-health professionals stream into the air-conditioned cool of the Moscone Center for the 156th annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Assn.

Thank you to David Davis for his thoughtful and thought-provoking article on the use of drugs to treat mental illness ("Losing the Mind," Oct. 26). The comments made by David Oaks, executive director of MindFreedom Support Coalition International, and author Robert Whitaker raise disturbing questions about our reliance on and, in some cases, almost missionary zeal to embrace pharmaceuticals. People who are labeled mentally ill and who object to treatment with psychotropic medication are dismissed as lacking insight.

In "How Patients' Rights Can Harm Treatment" (June 24), the columnist--a psychiatrist--confidently describes a client who has been found facing oncoming traffic. She concludes, "Mr. X needs to start medication, to stabilize and to be discharged to a setting where his compliance can be monitored." How brisk. How efficient. And how wrong. Though some individuals choose to take psychiatric drugs as prescribed, there are many valid reasons why others might prefer other approaches. Unfortunately, many psychiatrists today are primarily trained to only prescribe pills, and have little else to offer.

Standing on a concrete island in downtown San Fancisco, David Oaks yells into a bullhorn the climactic line from the film "Network": "We're mad as hell and we're not going to take it anymore." The line would be a cliche if it weren't for one thing: Oaks means to be taken literally. On this sunny day, as thousands of mental-health professionals stream into the air-conditioned cool of the Moscone Center for the 156th annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Assn.

Thank you to David Davis for his thoughtful and thought-provoking article on the use of drugs to treat mental illness ("Losing the Mind," Oct. 26). The comments made by David Oaks, executive director of MindFreedom Support Coalition International, and author Robert Whitaker raise disturbing questions about our reliance on and, in some cases, almost missionary zeal to embrace pharmaceuticals. People who are labeled mentally ill and who object to treatment with psychotropic medication are dismissed as lacking insight.

In an effort to avoid an accident, Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies had just backed off from a relatively low-speed chase when the suspect sped up, ran a red light and crashed into another car in Lakewood, killing a couple and their 2-year-old son, officials said Saturday.

Friday's top games Bellflower St. John Bosco (3-0) vs. Los Angeles Loyola (3-0) at L.A. Valley College, 7 p.m. — Two years ago, St. John Bosco and Loyola replaced their head coaches with Jason Negro and Mike Christensen, respectively, and now both square off hoping to convince the alumni that their programs are headed in the right direction. And they are. St. John Bosco is loaded with outstanding skill-position players, led by receivers Bryce Treggs and Dalis Bruce. Loyola has found a new running back in junior Wyatt Bradford, along with a stingy defense led by cornerbacks Chaz Anderson and Cameron Walker that has given up only 21 points in three games.

Pfizer Inc. became the latest drug company to broaden the uses for one of its mature-patent medicines Monday when it received Food and Drug Administration approval to market its anti-depression drug Zoloft as a treatment for a severe form of premenstrual syndrome known as PMDD. Pfizer's push to sell an antidepressant for premenstrual dysphoric disorder follows a similar successful effort last year by Eli Lilly & Co., which markets a variation of the antidepressant Prozac under the name Serafem.

Pernell Whitaker, knocked down twice and his rich payday against Oscar De La Hoya apparently slipping away, knocked out Diobelys Hurtado with a savage barrage to the head in the 11th round at Atlantic City, N.J., on Friday night. Whitaker, trailing on all three official cards, retained the World Boxing Council welterweight title and will fight De La Hoya in a big-money match April 12 at Las Vegas. "I knew I had to keep the pressure on.

For the first time in 30 years, two women, Heidi Zurbriggen of Switzerland and Isolde Kostner of Italy, shared victory Friday in a World Cup downhill ski race. The rarity occurred at Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, where another first-place tie had occurred in a women's super-giant slalom in 1994. Zurbriggen and Kostner each completed the Olimpia delle Tofane course in 1 minute 30.81 seconds. Olympic downhill champion Katja Seizinger of Germany was third, .02 of a second behind the winners.

In "How Patients' Rights Can Harm Treatment" (June 24), the columnist--a psychiatrist--confidently describes a client who has been found facing oncoming traffic. She concludes, "Mr. X needs to start medication, to stabilize and to be discharged to a setting where his compliance can be monitored." How brisk. How efficient. And how wrong. Though some individuals choose to take psychiatric drugs as prescribed, there are many valid reasons why others might prefer other approaches. Unfortunately, many psychiatrists today are primarily trained to only prescribe pills, and have little else to offer.

Regarding "Rewriting the Dictionary of Madness" (by Ann Japenga, June 5): As a psychiatrist, I must point out that there is a vast body of world literature on the biological elements of many mental disorders, including Alzheimer's Dementia, alcoholic encephalopathy and numerous organic brain syndromes, all included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, as well as schizophrenia and affective disorders. One wonders how anyone could possibly conclude that "a bunch of guys just made this stuff up."

The Pat Riley tampering soap opera ended Friday when the New York Knicks received $1 million and a first-round draft pick from the Miami Heat, who had pursued the hiring of Riley. The Knicks withdrew the tampering charges they had filed against the Heat on June 29 for comments by club executives interested in hiring Riley, who still had a year remaining on his five-year deal with New York. Miami said it was negotiating now with Riley and wouldn't comment further.