Vol. 6, No. 1 - Psychiatric Survivor Archives of Toronto

.pnoenlx$2.50RISIOTHE VOICE OF THE PSYCHIA TRIZEDJune 1986Spring/SummerVol. 6, No.1Issue.\,PsychiatricBrainwashingin Canadau.Out of theAshes

phoenix Rising-INSIDEJune 1986

An anguishedquestionsDear Editorsfather'sIn the "Write On" section of yourDecember 1985 issue is thestatement that "a letters column is anappropriate place for a range ofview,s, including those that differ orare even critical." That encouragesme to hope that you will print thisletter, which challenges one of yourbasic positions - your opposition tothe medical model of mental illness,I am not trying to say that allmental disturbances constitute illnessin the medical sense; but I do say thatsome do. If I correctly understandmy reading of Phoenix Rising andthe statements of some of yourmembers, you disagree with that;you believe there is no such thing asbiochemically caused mental illness.To say that real, organic mentalillness does not exist is to say that thebrain, the most complex part of thebody, is the one part that nevermalfunctions. Why? What gives itthis invulnerability? The fact is that itdoes malfunction - unless youbelieve that Alzheimer's disease, forexample, is not an illness.Both dissection of dead brains andelectronic scans of living ones showabnormalities in the brains of somepatients diagnosed as mentally ill.Some have unusually large numbersof dopamine receptors; some haveenlarged ventricles. My son's brain,examined after his suicide, haddouble the normal number ofdopamine receptors.The hallucinations of the mentallyill - no quotations marks, please -cannot come from normallyfunctioning brains. You choose tocall them visions or spiritualexperiences (August 1985 PhoenixRising, page 34A) , I suggest that youask the people who suffer from themif they would use such bland terms todescribe them. Perhaps some would;many others would not.My son heard voices, and theyhounded him to his death. On theday he jumped off a bridge he left anote saying that the voices had toldhim they were going to kill him andwould not let him warn us. A womanI know had a son who kept hearingwhat he believed to be the voice ofGod, threatening to kill him. He putthe points of two knives against hiseyes and fell against them. Theypenetrated his brain and killed him.Other mental patients in Torontohave jumped in front of subwaytrains. Some "spiritual experiences!"If all the cases that psychiatrists callmental illness are nothing butreaction to the problems of life, whyshould young people without anyserious problems sink into apathyand withdrawal, or start hearingvoices, or think they are the victimsof a conspiracy? Time and again ithappens that happy, loving peoplechange out of all recognition, andthis for no apparent reason. Oftenthey have brothers and sisters, livingunder identical conditions, whoexperience no such change.I don't question that there areterrible abuses in psychiatry, and Irespect your fight against them. Butby denying that there is such a thingas mental illness you weaken yourcredibility. I suggest that yourstruggle should be for the reform ofpsychiatry, not for its abolition.Norman Houghton,Toronto, OntarioNo philosophy; no belief system; indeed,no point of view - however passionatelyheld or eloquently expressed - seems anadequate response to a personal tragedy ofoverwhelming emotional Impact, such asyou have experiencedson.In the loss of yourlt Is clear that your belief In at least partof the medical model of mentall1lness,and In psychiatry's capability to achieve acure, Is sincerely held and ferventlyexpressed. And It Is equally clear that ourown viewpoint, as you have pointed outrejects both the concept of mentall1lnessand the efficacy of psychiatry In helpingpeople who are troubled and tormented.Despite these polarities, however, we feelwe can offer a point of agreement thatseems to us more appropriate than adiscussion of our respective philosophicdifferences; this concurrence Is that thedeath of your son was shocking, saddening,and tragic. We deeply sympathize with yourpain, and we truly appreciate the franknessand thoughtfulness of your letter.IncriminatingDear Editor:Thoughts?Having just read p 39 (P. R.Vol. SINo. 4) "Landmark decisionon involuntary commital" (first itemunder 'Mad News') I found myself,not encouraged but discouraged, nothopeful but frightened.The item in question concerned aML A's appeal of his involuntaryPhoenix Rising 3

commital to court. How can JudgeLocke (the Judge presiding at thisappeal) say, generally, the burden ofproof for involuntary commitallieswith the phsyician Le. (proof ofdangerousness), and then rule in thisspecific instance that such evidenceexists, when it doesn't?The "evidence" that the judgeconsiders is that Mr. A hears voicestelling him to perpetr>ate violencetoward others. Locke says that thefact Mr. A doesn't obey this voiceisn't the point. The fact Mr. A doesn'tobey this voice IS the point. Whohasn't thought "I am going to killyou", etc., and especially underconditions where others aredepriving you arbitrarily of yourhuman rights, as in involuntarycommital? Even if it were decidedthat having such "violent thoughts"were a crime (which is ridiculous),what evidence is there that Mr. Ahad such thoughts? The onlyevidence for such violent thoughts isself-admission, which should beinadmissible on the grounds of selfincrimination.(Canadian Charter11 c.)Not only has Mr. A committed nocrime then, the supposed cause ofthe future crime he is predicted tocommit (his "violent thoughts") hasnot been established, either as a4 Phoenix Risinglegitimate cause or as a realityexisting inside Mr. A.I can only hope that District CourtJudge Locke's ruling can beappealed to a higher court and, mostespecially, that Mr. A's legal right torefuse "treatment" (torture) whileincarcerated is being respected.Sincerely,James Armstrong,Thessalon, OntarioMillbrook Censors Phoen'xDear Don:Was returned to Millbrook onJanuary 24, 1986. It was good to seeyou at the Board hearing. Didn'tknow if you would get my messageor not. The copy of Phoenix Risingyou gave me was not allowed mehere. I spoke with Administrator whosaid it would get looked into. It waslater denied me on the grounds thatit had not been mailed fromPublisher to me - the institution rulehere being that all magazines mustcome direct from Publisher. My issueof August 1985 is in my possessionbut has been thoroughly censored. Ijust began a very interesting article inissue you last got me, when I wasseparated from my property en routeto here. I would greatly appreciatehaving a copy of the latest issue -mailed to me from Publisher ...Thanks Don. For now, take care.Eldon Hardy,Millbrook, OntarioDear Eldon:Good to hear from you but wish youweren't In that place. Of course I'll see toIt the magazine Is sent - the 'proper'way. It's an outrage that the authoritiesthere hassle you so much over getting acopy of Phoenix. Makes you wonderwhat they're afraid of. We can't print yourwhole letter because we haven't enoughspace, but thanks for bringing anotherexample of Institutional stupidity - notto say Injustice - to our attention.Keep on writing and I hope to see yousoon.Don Weltz&: everybody at PhoenixFriends needed - not drugs!To Whom It May Concern:As you may not have heard of OnOur Own ... It's a group of expsychiatricpatients trying to dosomething with themselves. But a lotof people are so heavily medicatedthey just aren't able to think. Whycan't we start to take a look at thataspect huh? I'm spe"aking fromexperience. I've just about had it withour Mental Health System, 'cause Ilost a sister I really truly loved to yourso called medication and a lot offriends, who committed suicide fromlosing their power of mind. Why ofcourse you don't give a damn all youcare is just the almighty dollar! Why?!Oh yes sometimes people need just afriend to be there to confide in. Notalways your so-called psychiatricdrugs. Have you got a heart or whatfor people, cause if you did you'dstart to help On Our Ownmoneywise.Sincerely,Nathanof On Our OwnP.S. What it boils down to is peoplehelping each other.Thank you, readersDear Editors:My thanks for the article in theWinter issue penned by Jean Skov,"Recovering from psychiatry: How Igot myself back. "Recounting her experiences isindeed an expression of her angerthat will benefit others.More personal accounts please.Yours truly,A. Fewster, R.N.Sarnia, Ontario

.-t.III'I'IIII .•'I' ,allt ,f""Dear Editors:What a joy to see that PhoenixRising is going to continue to rise ...The December '85 issue is chockfull of interesting pieces. CedarChristie's skfi!tches and drawings (inparticular the drawing on page 36),are excellent. They add enormouslyto the magazine's content. TheBookworm Turns is my favourit"feature, and the Mad News is afiliihelpful resource. I especially like thefact that the editorial collectiveresponds to letters in Write On. Keepit up! It's always annoying when aLetter to the Editor asks a questionthat doesn't get answered, or makesan angry statement that doesn't get arebuttal.Glad Tidings,Sheila Morrison,Toronto, OntarioDear Don:Thank you very much for yourwonderful letter, and for sending methe winter issue of Phoenix Risingwhich I read immediately withfascination and quite a few "oh mygods" and "holy fucks" .I haven't decided what I will do toheal myself and put into action myanger after my six week outpatientstint at UBC's "Day House". If ittakes the form of writing I'll send youa copy.Natasha LyndonDear Editors:I want to congratulate you on yourexcellent work ...When I read your December issueI was furious and I cried because Ihave been in a mental institution andI was put through hell.A kind word, a smile, a hug, andtrying to understand each other'spain would certainly be a first step;then together to find ways to copewith the everyday problems. Andguidance. Things that are not taughtin mental institutions.I want to give Mrs. Skov a big hug.She's a magnificent person and she'sa survivor. All the best to her ...May God Bless you!Yvonne Savoie,Dartmouth, Nova ScotiaTHEMADMARKETisanon-profit store operated by On Our Own,a self-help group of Ex-psychiatric inmates.o We offer items for sale at some of the cheapest prices in town!o Donations of used goods are welcome.-20% Discount for members -Clothes, furniture, books,of On OurOwn and similar appliances, etc.organizations.We pick up and deliver_1860 Queen Street East, Toronto, Ontario 690-9807 Open Tuesday - SaturdayPhoenix Rising 5

Empty advertisingIt's a wonderful idea forOntario's Ministry ofCommunity and Social Servicesto launch an advertisingcampaign for its assistanceprogram for victims of assaultand battering. Educate thepublic about the seriousness ofthe problem: reach the manyindividuals who aren't awarethat such help exists; that sort ofthing.But an even better ideawould have been to spend themoney to open more hostels,hire more staff, and expand thevolunteer base. Instead,government funding for theseprograms has been cut and theexisting agencies are oftenunable to respond quickly tothose who most need help.An ad campaign thatpromises what it can't deliver isreferred to as misleading.Beryl rides again!If there are any of you folksout there sitting on yourrespective handicaps feelingyou can't do much to changethings, take a tip from BerylPotter. She and 150 otherstravelled to the House ofCommons to become a 'visible'minority protesting theConservative Government'sproposed Employment EquityLegislation.Black Monday Beryl cameclose to being thrown out of theVisitors' Gallery when shemade her feelings known byshouting at the EmploymentMinister, Flora MacDonald, thatshe had lied to the handicappedpeople. Further comments fromSheri Stein, legal counsel forthe coalition indicated the billhad 'no teeth.'Who says that a 62 year oldtriple amputee can't move themand shake them.DEAR MOM:HAPPY 75TH! THANKSFOR ALWAYS BEING THEREWITH ALL YOUR LOVE ANDSUPPORT OVER THEYEARS.LOVE FROM YOUR GIRLS:MAGGIE, OLLIE, GERTIEAND MABELGetting the record straightFinally, there's at least onepsychiatrist who realizes thereare problems with electroshock.It's too bad, however, that Dr.Sidney Barza of Montreal hasn'tyet got a handle on the realproblems.It seems that one of the gooddoctor's patients, suffering frommemory loss after receivingECT, forgot to take her birthcontrolpills and becamepregnant. Writing to theCanadian Journal ofPsychiatry, Barza said hispatient had greatly benefittedfrom ECT, and "recoveredrapidly" from an "endogenousdepression" - but he did allowthat the "short course oftreatment" had produced a sideeffect.The side effect in question?Not memory impairment; thatwould have been too obvious.No, as far as Barza wasconcerned, the woman'spregnancy was the problem,and he even went so far as tonote that "pregnancy may be aside-effect of ECT in a certaingroup of women during theirchild-bearing years."It seemed fairly ironic to methat a procreative capabilitywould be attributed to amachine normally associatedwith the destruction of the veryessence of life - brain cells. Butwhat do you expect from apsychiatrist?PSYCHIATRY KILLS(above our desks)NEVER LET IT BE SAID IHAVE NEVERPARTICIPATED IN ABEAUTY PAGEANT!Buttons and bumperstickers seen and lovedQUEEN STREET IS CRUELAND UNUSUAL(Although this is a group buttonreferring to Queen StreetMental Hospital, it is now acollector's item for the TorontoTransit Drivers who work theQueen Street run.)6 Phoenix Rising

InstitutionalanguishEach time I correspond withan inmate at 'Penetang'(officiallyknown as thePenetanguishene MentalHealth Centre), there's astrange urge to writePenetANGUISHene. Funnyhow these things come overyou, isn't it?Adding insult to injuryWhat's in a medical chart?Well, just about anything, froma patient's political opinions toidle gossip from neighbours.".Take the example of a .Toronto woman wlitotold herdoctor she was opposed toextra-billingby Ontariophysicians, and later - inanother doctor's office ­noticed these entries on hermedical chart: "Has a chip onher shoulder. Antagonistic toneagainst doctors opting out.Wants to know what we areplanning to do toinconvenience our patients."What such remarks had to dowith treatment for the sorethroat and earache, shecouldn'tfathom; baffled, angry,and worried that the entrywould affect the quality of hermedical care in the future,Fiona Stewart cried foul, andtook her concerns to the press- with ample justification.But what about people whodon't get a chance to see theirrecords, or have to wait years tofind out that medicalinformation isn't always asconfidential as it's supposed tobe?A friend of mine, who wasrecently allowed to read therecords pertaining to abreakdown she suffered 25years ago, found out thatamong those who evaluatedand discussed her conditionwere neighbours, teachers ofher children, and other"interested groups."Presumably, she didn't evenhave to beg her doctor to showher the charts; she could justhave asked neighbours andother "interested groups" whatwas in her medical records!lOWE, I OWE - IT'S OFF TOWORK I GO (seen ona youngbass player's case at a bus stop)Chamberlin, Judi. "Women's oppressionand psychiatric oppression." In Womenlook at psychiatry, ed. by D. Smith andS. David. Vancouver: Press GangPublishers, 1975.Chesler, Phyllis. "Men drive womencrazy." Psychology Today 5(2), July1971.Chesler, Phyllis. Women and Madness.New York: Avon Books, 1973.Ehrenreich, Barbara and English,Dei~dre. Witches, midwives and nurses: ahistory of women healers. Old Westbury,New York: The Feminist Press/GlassMountain Pamphlet (No.1), 1973.Ehrenreich, Barbara, and English,Dierdre. For her own good; 50 years ofthe experts' advice to women. New York:Anchor Press/Doubleday, 1978.Fine, Paula. "Women and shocktreatment." Issues in Radical Therapy2(2) (1974): 9-11.Greenspan, Miriam. A New Approach toWomen and Therapy. New York:McGraw Hill 1983 .Hanisch, Carol. ''The personal ispolitical." In The radical therapist, ed. byJ. Agel. New York: Ballantine, 1971.Joyce, Barbara. "I'm not crazy after all."In Women look at psychiatry, ed. by D.Smith and S. David. Vancouver: PressGang Publishers, 1975.Martin, Del. Battered Wives. SanFrancisco: Glide Publications: GlidePublications, 1972.Millett,Kate. Sexual Politics. New York:Doubleday, 1970.Packard, Elizabeth P. Ware. "Madnessand marriage." In The age of madness:the history of involuntary mentalhospitalization presented in selectedtexts, ed. by T.S. Szasz. Garden City,New York: Doubleday/Anchor, 1973.Smith, Dorothy E. and David, Sara J.,eds. Women look at psychiatry.Vancouver: Press Gang, 1975."Women's Issue". RT: A Journal ofRadical Therapy 5(5), 1974."Women and Psychiatry". PhoenixRising Vol. 5, No.1, Feb., 1985.Wyckoff, Hogie. Solving Women'sProblems. New York: Grove Press,1977.Phoenix Rising 7

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were fully acquainted with theproblems and were carefullyselected to provide a balance ofscientific competence to thediscussions. (name deleted) inparticular, indicated a keenunderstanding of the "Bluebird"problem, and was obviouslyinterested in conducting researchprograms in connection with it.With the backing of ORB (namesof institutions deleted) shouldprovide a center of interest andactivity which will be of utmostvalue in the testing of varioushypotheses as to control of thehuman mind.'" U.S. interests can best beserved by channeling our contactthrough the DRB ... 3These notes make it clear thatCanada was to be a majorbrainwashing and mind-controlresearch centre for the CIA, and thatthe Canadian research was to becarried out under the cover of theCanadian military, specifically theORB or the Defence Department.To ensure secrecy, the CIA wouldset up two distinct but related mindcontrolprojects: "BLUEBIRD" (or"ARTICHOKE") and "MK-ULTRA."The need for such strict secrecy wasdiscussed at length, as well as thepossibility of cooperation with otherforeign intelligence agencies.Less than two months later, onJuly 23, 1951, another secretmeeting was held; names, as well asother identifying information, weredeleted or barely legible in the notes.But the goals and objectives of theprojects were beginning to come intofocus, including studies of "theavailability of the individual and thedetection of an amenable type," andthe "physiological and psychologicalreactions" to the "interrogation."Techniques - specifically, drugs andhypnosis - were also discussed.And the notes reiterate the1a Phoenix RisingCanadian commitment to CIAresearch and secrecy:There is no existing program inCanada at the present time.There will be one.We may expect inquiries from theCanadians as to our progress ...any connection with CIA is notrevealed.4Yet another secret meeting on"ARTICHOKE" was held on Dec. 3,1951. Again, all names and otheridentifying information were deleted,and it's doubtful that any Canadiansattended. However, the use ofelectroshock as a significanttechnique in brainwashing wasdiscussed extensively, and anunnamed shock expert - a"psychiatrist of considerable note ...a fully cleared Agency consultant" ­was mentioned:The writer asked whether or not inthe "groggy" condition following aconvulsion by the electro-shockmachine anyone had attempted toobtain hypnotic control over thepatients, since it could be a goodtime to obtain hypnotic control .(Doctor's name deleted) stated .it had never been done, but hecould make this attempt in thenear future at the (name ofinstitution deleted) and seewhether or not this could be done.It was (name deleted) opinion thatan individual could be graduallyreduced through the use ofelectro-shock treatment to thevegetable level amnesia couldbe guaranteed 5This insensitive hypothesis was soontested by Cameron and hispsychiatric colleagues who reducedmany psychiatric inmates to this"vegetable level" by usingelectroshock and other brainwashingtechniques.But first, let us turn our attention toHebb and his experiments at McGill.Hebb and the SensoryDeprivation ExperimentsShortly after he returned from theCIA meeting of June 1, 1951, Hebbsubmitted one of several grantapplications to the Department ofNational Defence; specifically, to theORB. Hebb's name did not appearon the first application; instead, theresearch project was simply assignedto McGill.The sensory deprivation researchhe undertook was always classifiedas "psychological warfare" and"Human Resources and MilitaryPsychology," but his 1951application to the ORB, innocentlytitled, "Conditions of AttitudeChange In Individuals," coveredwhat were the first brainwashingstudies conducted at McGill.In this application, Hebb requesteda one-year grant of $5,000 "todetermine the specific conditions oflimitation of subject's field ofperception and action which whencoupled with subsequent suggestionwill effect persistent changes inattitudes of some fundamentalimportance."also believedTo make sure the ORBthis research was "ofsome fundamental importance," hewrote, under the heading,"Requirement"A hostile power may attemptconversion of attitudes, togetherwith behaviour appropriate tothese, of our nationals who fallinto their hands. This may includethe use of psychological, asopposed to essentially physical,means. It is desirable to determinethe feasibility of such attempts,with a view to ascertaining whatdefensive action would be taken.6In this exploratory study, animalsand "paid human subjects" (McGillstudent volunteers) would besubjected to a prolonged,_ •••••w •••• ~.~~ ••••w •••~.~.~ --------

monotonous environment ­"comparable to "White Noise" - forup to three or four days at a time.The ORB quickly approved theapplication.In his December, 1952 progressreport to the ORB, Hebb reported onhis initial results:Experimentation to date has beenexploratory. Tolerance for theconditions of perceptual isolationvaries in subjects ... from 0-60hours. The motivationaldisturbance is great and theintellectual efficiency is impaired.Despite these disturbingpreliminary findings, the ORBapproved Hebb's request for anadditional $10,000 to continue hisresearch - and no questions wereasked.A year later, in his December,1953 progress report, Hebb reportedeven more disturbing results:One study demonstrated (i) theincapacity of college students totolerate a severe perceptuallimitation, and, as a result, theireagerness to listen to almost anyverbal material offered them, and(ii) that propaganda for an absurdpoint of view becomes significantlymore effective under thesecircumstances than for controlsubjects. Another effect was asignificant lowering of intellectualefficiency during and immediatelyafter the period of perceptualdeprivation, and that during thedeprivation period, the subjectdeveloped hallucinations. 8In short, the sensory deprivationexperiments were causing manyhealthy students to break down orhallucinate; under this stress, theywere becoming amenable to theresearchers' suggestions. Except forthe hallucinations - which interferedwith the process - the brainwashingwas proving effective.Over the following two years,Hebb was awarded $18,000 ingrants.By the time he submitted his finalreport, in December, 1955, Hebbhad completed two majorexperiments, which he described:... the experimental subjects showa deterioration in problemsolving ability both during the ...isolation, and for several hoursafter emergence ... when thetests actually were presented, thesubjects would frequently not tryvery hard to get the correctanswer, and complain abouthaving to do them. Again, aftera few days in isolation ... therewas some disturbance of normalmotivational patterns. 9After completing 48 to 72 hours ofisolation, five of the 65 students"A hostile power may attemptconversion of attitudes ... Thismay include the use ofpsychological, as opposed toessentially physical, means. It isdesirable to determine the"feasibility of such attempts.- Grant application to Defence Department by Professor Donald Hebb, Montreal. 1951.experienced "attacks of acuteanxiety." One became hysterical.One suffered an epileptic attack. Anda majority of these students, and theothers, described the experience as"a form of torture."l0Few of the young people. couldtolerate the isolation for more thanthree or four days, despite the factthat they were being paid $20 a day- a considerable sum in the mid­1950s.The details of these experimentswere first published in 1954 in ascientific report by threepsychologists working for Hebb inthe psychology department atMcGill. 11 A similar study, publishedin 1956, confirmed all the majorresults of the 1954 study. 12During the experiments, thestudents spent 24 hours a day aloneon a comfortable bed in a soundproofcubicle; meals and trips to thetoilet were the only respite. Theirvision, hearing and touch wereseverely restricted; for example, theywore goggles eliminating patternvision, and special gloves whichcovered their arms and hands. Aswell, they listened to a continuoushum, or "white noise," throughearphones imbedded in a pillow.And to increase their sense ofisolation, researchers rarely talkedwith them.In a 1961 summary of theseexperiments, psychologistWoodburn Heron reported thatalmost all 29 students in one studygroup suffered some serious sensory,emotional and intellectualdisturbances within the first two daysof isolation. 13 The disturbances weretemporary, but the experienceproved so overwhelming that withinthe first two days, a majority of thestudents experienced vivid visual,auditory and tactile hallucinations, aswell as difficulties in concentrationand problem-solving. During andimmediately after the isolation, manyof them also complained of dizziness,confusion, nausea, fatigue,headaches, and, because of theterrifying nature of thehallucinations, insomnia.A sub-study involving 12 of thesestudents also revealed a markedslowing in Alpha-wave activity - thebrain's arousal system - for as manyas three days after isolation. Thisneurological disturbance formed anideal base for brainwashing: since thePhoenix Rising 11

students' brains weren'l receivingenough sensory stimulation, theirfaculties of judgment were impaired,drastically raising their level ofsuggestibility. As a result, when theywere subjected to a series of 90­minute recorded messages aboutghosts, poltergeists, and other extrasensoryphenomena, their tendencyto blindly accept the data as fact wasmarkedly increased.Heron compared the effects ofprolonged isolation to those of braindamage: "a general disorganizationof brain function similar to thatproduced by anoxia, by large braintumors, or by ... certain drugs. "14Aswell, he concluded: "A changingsensory environment seems essentialfor human beings. Without it, thebrain ceases to function in anadequate way, and abnormalitiesdevelop."15The McGillstudents quicklydiscovered this painful truth. Many ofCameron's patients at the Allanwould also discover it. The ORB and12 Phoenix Risingthe CIA already knew it. Yet thefunding, for these and otherbrainwashing experiments,continued.The CameronExperimentsIsolationFrom 1950 to 1954, the federalDepartment of National Health andWelfare gave Cameron $17,875 tosupport his "BehaviouralLaboratory" in the Allan. This grantfunded several of his brainwashingstudies, including sensorydeprivation, psychic driving,electroshock, and the use of the malehormone testosterone on womenpatients.He was unable to find patientswho would agree to undergo theHebb/McGiII isolation procedure,but he did use a modified version of"the isolation technique of Dr.Hebb,,16on some patients, to lowertheir resistance to his psychic drivingexperiments.As early as 1952, there wasevidence - Hebb's report to theORB, for example - of the seriouspsychological effects of McGill'ssensory deprivation procedure. Andin 1956, two years after the firstpublication of the McGillsensorydeprivation studies, psychologistFern Cramer and Dr. Hassan Azima,a colleague of Cameron and apsychiatrist interested in"regression," published the results ofa study using the McGilltechniqueon several patients at the Allan. Twosimilar versions of the Azima-Cramerstudy were published simultaneouslyin 1956; one, abstractly titled,"Effects of the Decrease in SensoryVariabilityon Body Scheme," waspublished in the CanadianPsychiatric Association Journal,17and the other appeared in Diseasesofthe Nervous System. 18He failed to mention a maximumtime period for psychiCdriving; or, inhis words, an "optimum amount."But he did refer to his patients'"defences against psychic drivingitself"as "running away from thesituation" - bolting out of his officeor trying to escape from theinstitution.On Dec. 14, 1954, Dr. JeanGregoire, Deputy Minister of Healthfor Quebec, sent a copy ofCameron's final report to Dr.Gordon·E. Wride, Principal MedicalOfficerfor Health Insurance Studiesin the Health and Welfaredepartment. On Dec. 21, Wrideanswered, thanking Gregoire. Therewere apparently no other comments,either about the report or about theexperiments themselves.In 1956, Cameron published amajor article on psychic driving in theAmerican Journal of Psychiatry, theofficialpublication of the AmericanPsychiatric Association, of which hewas once president. In the article,based on his government-fundedresearch at the Allan, he describedhis technique as a new "therapeutic"method, claiming that "driving"patients with "verbal cues" wouldhelp "reorganize" their personalities.("Reorganization" was alsomentioned in the Azima-Cramerstudy.)As a footnote, Azima and Cramerexpressed their "deep gratitude toDr. D.E. Cameron for his guidanceand his continuous encouragementin this project. .."Most of the 15 patients who wereinvolved in the study were diagnosed"neurotic," and all but one werewomen in their 30sand 40s. TheAllan technique, almost identical tothe one used at McGill, consisted ofsevere restrictions of vision, hearingand touch. Talking was limited totwo brief interviews a day with theresearchers, and nurses wereordered not to talk to the patients.But unlike the McGillstudents, thepatients at the Allan were forciblyisolated, and for longer periods ­four, five, and as many as six days ina row.Within the first 48 hours ofisolation, most of the patientsbecame disturbed, or "regressed,"and more than half of them startedhallucinating and experiencingintense "depersonalization." Twobecame overtly "psychotic" and werethen subjected to electroshock toerase their "paranoid" or"obsessional" reactions.One patient, a 25-year-old man,began to panic on the fifth day ofisolation:I feel I am not here ... I am scared.I am in another world .. , I amafraid I am not going to comeback ... I feel like I am going outof this world ... I don't feel real.A 41-year-old wornan became soupset that she stopped the"treatment" on the fifth day;nevertheless, she was one of two

patients whom Azima and Cramerclaimed as proof of "lastingimprovement." (This so-calledpermanent improv,ement lasted fourdays.)In their summary, Azima andCramer made this telling - almostprophetic - statement:The imposition of some actiontendencies during thedisorganization state may lead toreorganization according toplanned patterns, and this maybe useful in clarifying the problemof 'brainwashing', etc. Furtherresearch along the lines describedhere seems warranted.This 1956 study gave Cameroneven more encouragement tocontinue using this isolationtechnique on many of his patients inhis psychic driving and depatterningexperiments, many of which werefunded by the CIA and Health andWelfare.Psychic DrivingIn his final report to Health andWelfare in 1954, Cameron describedhis psychic driving procedure:The dynamic implay may be setup either by autopsychic orheteropsychic driviQg.The firstconsists in the repeated playing ofa key statement by the patient.The second is the playing of astatement devised by the therapistfrom his knowledge of the patient'sdynamics. 19Cameron added that he usuallyplayed the patients' statements for 10to 30 minutes at a time and thetherapists' statements for as long as"ten consecutive days of 16 hourseach ifthe patiep.t is kept undermodified sleep treatment during thisperiod."Some of these cues, usuallyselected by Cameron during therapysessions, were arranged in a "loop,"which he played back to the patientsfor 10 to 15 hours a day, sometimesfor weeks od end. Through thistechnique, he speculated, thepatients would be forced to respondto hidden or repressed experiencestriggered by the psychic driving;some of the cues, he furtherhypothesized, would be imbedded intheir minds and eventually changetheir behaviour.In the article, Cameron alsodescribed the way he dealt withseven of his women patients whoPhoenix Rising 13

14 Phoenix Risingsuffered from depression or "feelingsof inadequacy" while being treated inthe Allan. They were all subjected tointense psychic driving, for hours,and without their consent. One"highly defensive" woman, forexample, became very upset aftershe was forced to hear her ownstatements repeated 30 to 45 times.Another woman, who felt"intensely rejected by her husband,"was forced to listen to this sequence:"I hate to hear that - it upsets me;look at me shaking." (19 repetitions)"It upsets me enough ... I can'tcount on my husband and mymother." (21 repetitions)At this point, Cameroncommented, "the patient becamered, restless and began to breatheheavily." Nevertheless, he continuedthe barrage ..."It makes me mad when I think ofmy past, when I was so lonely ... I amso lonely." (45 repetitions)At this point, Cameron said hestopped the psychic driving becausehis patient "continued to shake ... ")22Another woman was so upset bythe procedure, which triggeredpainful memories of incest with herfather, that she ran out of thebuilding; Cameron drily noted thathe later had her committed.And yet another woman wassubjected to 25 hours of psychicdriving, "part of it with her thinkingdisorganized under LSD-25."23In the same article, Cameronproposed using even more drasticmethods, including "prolongedsleep" with sodium amytal,combined with 10 to 15 days (10 to20 hours a day) of psychic driVing;the McGill"psychological isolation"procedure, and hypnosis under thedrug Desoxyn, an experimentalamphetamine later taken off themarket.The experiments Cameron carriedout in the 1950s were published inCanadian and American medicaljournals between 1958 and1961.24.27Nevertheless, Health andWelfare continued to support theresearch: from 1961 to 1964, asecond grant of $57,750 wasawarded for more research intopsychic driving.The final report of his project, "AStudy of Factors Which Promote orRetard Personality Change inIndividuals Exposed to ProlongedRepetition of Verbal Signals, "28wassubmitted in 1965, and officiallyreceived and signed by variousgovernment officials, includingWride and Dr. J.A. Dupont ofHealth and Welfare and DenisLazure, Assistant Deputy HealthMinister in Quebec.In the report, Cameron described61 tests on 50 patients at the Allan,and an "intensive study" of 18 ofthese patients during a two-yearfollow-up period. He claimedrecovery for as long as five years,including three years of"ambulatory" (outpatient' driving forthree to six hours a week.Several of these people, he wrote,broke down or "decompensated";his "treatment" for this reactionconsisted of more driving, drugs,electroshock, or a combination of allthree.cAOnce again, the vast majority ofhis human guinea pigs were"psychoneurotic" women31The results of this governmentfundedresearch were later publishedin 1956 in the Canadian PsychiatricAssociation Journal. The article,titled "The Effects of Long- TermRepetition of Verbal Signals," wasco-written by Cameron,Leonard Levy, Thomas Ban andLeonard Rubinstein, all staffmembers at the Allan or McGill.continued on p. 36

'J') l\- '~').'l.'l' •,'" ~\q " •••• ·1,,''' •......• ';,\1.,:;.1,;" ""'\'-', •..•).\:\ ""\"'~""\.'~\"" "l':'~~\"""'i~')~' l~···\·f\\""i-.l.·' (~~::-,"f'}t\'r'7}~~~":·t.\,\'\ 't'I '-~/":.} \'~""~:\:'\.;'-':\\"~J\" \'-\.\..... ,.~t) "I·G'\.;;';X ~~.")\.~f~S.f:~!;··~"·li\." J.ti;.\~~~t'll~):>~"~\.~~I.':.$~\~f~~>~1~'t;~'.f·~t~'l'~J :~'~I\\~~\(~~{1\\~:t~~~~~~~'n~~~~~~~''4J~NIGHT SOUNDS~~i~~'.~~J~~~~~~~~m~~«~~~~i~\~~·\.}~\'·~~)/~\~~:.~\:~~~~~;(t~~.~~d~1~~?1~h~~'f(~i.~~%~"~~~t~1»r~~~>.~~$}'~"~~~~~\~;~~~~~'~;1·4·t:iDYIX~~e,'~:~~)q~·i~~~~\\·~\)){~1~,\~' all around.:\\~~.\.'\lli(.,_ ~~~W'~~}~IB~~~~i~~~-(t\~~V~~~\\~~~'\!f~~~~~~~~~~J..~~~~~~W-~\~~l(~h~~.l{h\\:"'... ~~~~{~}~8}~;~\~t1~~~~~~ - w •• ~. ~~i. ,.,\''k4''~..' .\:..':,\~~I:\.,h'~,,'\.". Sperry16 Phoenix Rising:;;:~1~" •.~:x>~~''1but there is darkness

FOR ALL THE FLAILING BROKEN ONESI have walked your intricate halls:I know how you despise those tiny pills"rape your mother, awake feeling fine."You hate the fact that it's happened againthe mornings that come with old shiverings;the way fast friends only stop to stareand sad melodies are playing your thoughts.The evening and the last pale light:Be done with it now?for the rug has been burned from underneathand you lie for weeks, all splintered bones.Favourite poems can only be wordsa painting, an indulgence of colour;the only things that can infiltrate:sharp awareness of past imperfections.But the corridor ends in intensity:hurl your senses to the winds andrejoice, new anger seeping in;fight again each day like a wounded titanlet your tears mount up like vesuviusAnd explode them into spiralling poems:so alarming to the layman.- Megan Stuart MillsPhoenix Rising 17

didn't help, Self-Deliverance might, if I could get loose. I like the sound of it:deliverance. So much promise, it sounds religious. I could follow the directions andbring Grace down from heaven on to my bowed head, my stuck hands ... Psychiatristsought to treat their lab animals better than this, but who's going to make them? It'sdifficult to unionize such diverse elements as white mice and manic-depressives,monkeys and menopausal maniacs, kittens, dogs and paranoid schizophrenics,victims of incest and rabbits ... Enter Grace from above. Would she come if I called? .Why should she? Ms. Pfaff only comes one in four times when I call. She has so manyof us to check on in our humble circumstances.Ha. I love it. Rattle my case, Ms. Pfaff. What's your excuse, Grace? Why have youeluded me for so long? As soon as I get unstuck, I'm going to medicate. I hate all thisdirty white light blaring in the window. At least the stairs are silent. Until I really start tolisten. Mellaril Milpath Equanil Lithium Thorazine Valium all that stuff over all theseyears and why don't I get any better? Isn't it medicine? I keep taking my pills and thenoise gets louder and I have come to hate daylight. My hair falls out so I stop brushingit. My gums bleed. I stop cleaning my teeth. I still have tremors. I'm bloated and theseitchy pimples cover my skin wherever I look. They keep telling me to come in for mymedication and take the other pills at home and I follow their directions very carefully,but I don't get any better. Since they took me off lithium, I can read a little. Before, myhands shook so hard, my eyes couldn't pick words off the page for my brain to eat.Mostly my brain isn't that hungry anymore. I wonder what the television people aredoing now. They always have somewhere to go: important engagements, gorgeousclothes, people who love them and when they're sad and afraid or angry, some friendappears to listen and care. Why didn't I get a script like that? The only ones who talk tome are the ones who have something to sell. Once they start dancing and singing andinsisting, I want to go buy the stuff to see if something will make me feel like singingand dancing. My box is full of stuff I can't even eat. Everything has directions to follow,even the shampoo. "Repeat, if necessary." I like that. Maybe that's why I get so fewvisits, because they can trust me to follow directions. One tablet, three times daily, asdirected. If I turned on the television and they talked me into buying something, IPhoenix Rising 19

couldn't go out anyway because I'm stuck to the floor. Maybe that's the only safe wayfor me to watch it.Laurel used to say my big problem was organization. She was a librarian her wholelife until a gynecologist insisted she needed hormone treatments for her severemenopausal episodes. These episodes had something to do with why she had to retireand when her doctor told her that it was natural to feel unattractive, or useless or castaside at this time in her life, she told him there was nothing wrong with her having herjob back wouldn't cure. He kept trying to explain about menopause and she keptsaying "That's not fair. I never was attractive." Anyway she got shots and pills and Igot advice:"You can organize your life like an orderly library of times, places, things to do andwith whom ... keep your life tidy and nothing will come leaping out of the floor at youwith dead memories in its fangs, bloody memories."I told her I was going to write a book called: 'U-fuck-it, U fix-it,' but she told me notto say that word."What word? Fix? Is that a bad word in a hospital?""You do need a keeper, Sarah."Laurel's problem wasn't herself, like mine is. I mean one day she's looking at mefrom the next bed saying "my chest hurts" and the next day she has cancer? Then theytake her away to another hospital and when I could get out to visit her, she's got thisinfection in the scar tissue where they cut her breast off. She cannot raise her arm andher hair is falling out, so I helped her sit up to have a smoke."First they gave me estrogen and now they're giving me estrogen inhibitors. Isn't lifeodd, Sarah?'I can't agree. Then she is dead of a heart-attack. At least that's what the expertssaid, but I think she died of menopause the same way I nearly died of birth.If there was a book on self-induced menopause, I'd follow the directions verycarefully, pas de probleme. It would be better than taking these birth-control pills "justin case," as Ms. Pfaff said. "You never know what might happen." Happens I thoughtI'd done enough damage with the knitting needles. "You never know." I have to getunstuck and medicate. Maybe she thinks Tom-Tom will come back and do it again.You never know. The thing is am I really stuck? Meditation and Self-hypnosishandbooks have taught me how to trance out and cut loose from my moorings. Notthat I get out of this box, but I get out of me. Only it's been hard to concentrate like thatsince Laurel disappeared. When I read the book on how to cope with death, I f~)Undout that if you follow the directions carefully, you can begin to accept dying as anatural part of the cycle like the seasons and the murder of children or the shooting ofinnocent birds flying in the shot white light getting brighter until all else except thewhite warm light the flavor of its heat pours out of my eyes onto my hands as the tinybirds sizzle and pop in the healing light on my bleeding hands. Loose. My skin leavestracks in the hard resin, finger and palm, toe and heel ... what do you think walkedhere? Idiot moron feeb loonie cow dog whore orphan tell me what walked here and I'llgive you my disease. Gratis. Why is a psychiatrist like a whore? The more clients hesees, the richer he gets. When I left the hospital, the shrink and Ms. Pfaff told me to"get out and do things. Meet people. Take walks. But be careful." And if I can't cope, Ican move into a hostel. I don't know which is worse, living alone or with a bunch ofkindred spirits. I've tried both kinds of cages, and I still don't know. I wonder if theWhite Coats have to worry about how to meet people when they're all moving so fast.What walks do they take except down the overlit corridors to the parking lot wheretheir cars wait to whisk them away leaving us here in our rooms full of nightmareselectricity cannot exorcise."Take your medication. Get a hobby. Meet people."LITHIUM BLOATED MANIC DEPRESSIVE WISHES TO MEET NORMALPERSON FOR EXCHANGE OF VIEWS, MAYBE VOWS.Sure, I could put an ad in the paper, if I knew how. My hands are still bleeding, Isee, so I will take them to the sink and wash them in cold water. SON ANDDAUGHTER SAD TO ANNOUNCE ... that's where it was. Under the personals inthe newspaper. Laurel's funeral. They wouldn't let me visit. I called. She neveranswered. I wrote. She never answered. I hung around the nurses' station until theythre w me out. By then the long lost children had co-opted her corpse. She was more20 Phoenix Rising

like willow than laurel. Me, I'm hawthorne. When I put holes in me, all these strangers decidedthat was a crazy thing to do. So I said you oughta try getting pregnant right after he breaks yourwrists and ankles so you can't run away from him again.Who is he?She probably doesn't know who.She calls him Tom-Tom.We can't find.There were so many people talking, wanting to know history, readings, sticking things in myarms, and someone was saying I was "too young to know what I had done, but that later I wouldsuffer the tortures of the damned." At least one of them was right about something.Why should anything of Tom-Torn's get to live and be called innocent? Just because the poorfoetus isn't out here to get raped or broken? Nothing of his was going to live off me, thank youvery much. So I self-helped it away.If I was going with it, so what? ENRAGED EMBRYO EATS MOTHER ALIVE. GIVES BIRTHTO ITSELF, LIVING FOR WEEKS ON THE REMAINS OF HER DECAYING CORPSE.It is Ms. Pfaff's contention that Tom-Tom only exists in my head beating beating beating andthat I have made up all these stories because I have been victimised. Who am I to argue with her?She's older than me and has a lot more education and she might be right. Except his voice is in thecorridor and the ghost of his hideous foetus oozes out of a crack in the floor where I left myfingers. I could hear him screaming at me to stop, but all I knew was the poor bugger wouldn't geta chance out here for bad or worse, and when I woke up out of that dream, Laurel was next to mesaying how skinny I am and pale, and how she will alphabetise my life, for my own good. Iwanted to let her. Then a woman came who said she was Ms. Pfaff, my caseworker, andsuddenly I was a case, so when she said, "Name?", I answered "Aida Case." She filled manyboxes of forms that day. Later she found out Tom-Tom rented that apartment where they foundme, but since she couldn't find him, she still thinks I'm crazy. When she asked me how we "gotinvolved," I told her about me being orphaned, in a foster home with the Sibleys, which wasenough to make a person run away with the first chance that drove by. She asked me if I wantedto press charges. I wanted to press charges against my mother for raising me like a book and thenleaving me to the likes of Ma and Pa Sibley. She wrote it all down. After a while, they startedgiving me pills. When Laurel got taken away, I almost enjoyed talking to Ms. Pfaff. I should callher now that my hands have stopped bleeding. Maybe try to explain what's happening to me.Only I don't know exactly. I keep hearing Tom-Tom outside the door. Sometimes Laurel comesto talk to him and he goes away. Sometimes I just hear men's voices out there saying:"Let's do it. Who'd believe her anyway?"When I turn on the television or the tap, the voices go away."Ms. Pfaff, please.""Who's calling?""Aida Case.""One moment.""Hello."'There are men outside my box and I would like to know should I take the pills now?""Yes, I'll be there by four. Just like last week. Please open the door this time, Aida. Last time Ihad to call the Fire Department.""What time is it now?""Three.""They won't be here at four.""Read something. Listen to music. Don't get upset."My first visit I brought Laurel a walkman to wear in bed, but the nurses said it upset everyone."Come live with me," I told her, "I'll feed you soup and toast and tea and hold your cigarettes.""I wish I had time to help you, Sarah."Why is everything I do a disease? Don't they just try to get on with it, hoping no one will noticeand hurt them? Or is it easier for the Pfaff-people who are always overworked, "too much to do,not enough time in the day to do it," that's what she says. If it weren't for people like me, shewouldn't be so goddam busy. What would Ms. D. Pfaff be doing without me? Staying at home?Minding the children? Tranked out in her color-co-ordinated boredom? Would she be like me ifher doctor told her to follow his directions?Would I be her if I had her script? She tried to tell me the Sibley's "probably meant well" evenwhen I said all they talked about was what God wanted me to do which was usually somethingPhoenix Rising 21

22 Phoenix Risingimpossible. They got to me so bad, I used to yell:"How the HELL do you know what God wants?"They were always at me about stuff I couldn't help anyway, like how my body was changingand how I would have to watch myself very carefully and not make God angry by letting mentouch me because I was nearing the age of temptation. Pa Sibley told me this story about aChristian Saint named Christomas or Crysotmus who lived thousands of years ago, how hetossed this beautiful woman over a high cliffto prove to the Lord he was beyond temptations ofthe flesh. When I said, "So was she and nobody sainted her," he beat me. He whipped me when Icame home late from school and told me not to hang around with those ungodly city kids becauseI was different, and that if he had his way I wouldn't go to school at all, but stay home and learnthe word of the Lord. He kept me home as much as he could, calling the Principal to say I wassick and Ma was taking good care of me. Everyone thought they were old-fashioned, god-fearingpeople, the kind of people everyone should be, but were too busy to try. To take in an orphan attheir age was seen as a miracle of generosity. What ever crazy thing Pa did, Ma just watched andsmiled. When she spoke to me it was: "Sit down, eat up, wash your hands, your teeth, the floor,the dishes, the laundry, time for bed, God loves hard work, and don't you forget it, Girl. Up atfour. None of that reading either. We got them library books and took them back, told thatwoman the only book you need to read is the Bible." Everyone said ifanyone could make a poorbereaved child feel at home, it would be the Sibleys.God and the Sibleys drove me into the front seat of Tom-Torn's car, and he drove me into theback. The only man who ever really smiled at me and meant it was that doctor on my mother'sbook. And I been thinking how I can't remember my mother's face or why she left me and what Iwant to know is why do I have to keep telling them over and over? Who are you and where didyou come from and who did this to you and do you have anything to declare. Does anyone everask them? All I really brought with me from back there is a doctor's smile, and how good I am atfollowing directions. I'm doing what Ms. Pfaff said to do. I'm waiting. I'm not getting upset. Itjusthappens I can see a woman-shaped chair in the corner. Her head and arms and legs are real skin,are aged, thin, stretched with brownish spots and her body from the boney shoulders down is acaptain's chair. Her lap is the polished wooden seat and there are two wooden legs attached toher behind. She nolds her arms rigid on her knees for arm rests ... An old chair you could find in akitchen or in a doctor's office waiting or placed by a friend's bed while she talks to you like she'salready dead. She talks to you with her eyes closed."Aida, let me in."Is that you, Laurel? Self-deliverance sounds so perfect, like birth without the baby. Not to havethem banging on my box anymore, talking out there, not to be laughed at, stared at or tested,punched with needles, not to have to wait, not to be medicated, questioned, left alone for days.AllI have to do is follow the simple instructions."Aida, come unlock the door."Compose yourself. I am. Have someone with you who understands your need for deliverance."Are you there, Laurel?""Please, Aida, open the door. Are you all right?"I used to go to the library branch and sit in the rows of ordered books, only another lady workswhere you used to, and she doesn't like me hanging around. She wants to get a book and getout, I can tell. I haven't been back and besides I got lost. My feet wandered me away into placeswhere nothing was familiar, everything was written in pictures until a cop took me back here and itwas only two blocks away, he said."Aida, Aida, I'm getting someone to open the door."This room is too tight for me, like a dress I grew out of only I can't afford a new one that fits so Ihave to wear it anyway and parts of me are protruding. You wouldn't know me after they gaveme Lithium, Laurel, everything bloated, blew up my breasts like balloons. What's it like whereyou are? If Ifollow the directions in this book, no one can stop me from seeing you, unless thesame people who die here go up there and stillget to be the experts."Aida, answer me, please. You called me. It's Daphne Pfaff, Aida, are you hurt?""Who's out there with you?""Thank God, Aida. No one. Only the building super to open the door.""Is Tom-Tom with you?""Can you open the door?"Is my mother there, Laurel? How about Dr. Spock? I'd feel better ifhe were there. They'rebanging so loud my box is breaking. Maybe the test is over and they've come for what they reallywanted all along. My brain. I could have been on the other side of that door if I'd got the rightdirections early enough. But that would mean some pitifultest animal named Daphne Pfaff wouldhave to be in here with me yowling out there and breaking into her case.~ What should I do, Laurel?Open the window, and get away.

on the violent ward at christmason the violent ward at christmasfestive lights frame shattered facesblue crayon decorationsfestoon the padded cellvoices wail at jesusparty hats are brandishedby orderlies'a carol! ingmother mary slyly winksorders up a round of drinkslate at night the places changeosmotic transfer (bend - arrange)and phantoms of the past appear(the nurses dance with richard speck)metamorphosis completethe inmates shamble to their feetand noting that the shift is donethey bid ad ieu to everyone- K.G. RushPhoenix Rising 23

'P "~ .•~••: "'''''~'l\~'\o~t :"01':).'I was down·li~'\\tt\'(·/~\~~~l~§~"\"~~(\'J.';\'\\'"1~'1~\A\\:' ~rooting in the world~.·t~~'~~~~'I;:1~;:M~~~',,~~ with some craziesJ1-~\~~'~k~~~~\~\~;I,~~~~~~%~~~1\~~Y;;~~~'~'~'~~~~~XM~«*;))~\trying to help themselvesand we stumbled, coming..·I~';':.'ll.~--)~~~"~')tI,

Poem 213 Ms. Anne Thrope and the LaundrySpecial Hours Mon. 7:00 to 9:00 C.O.T.An articulated omnibus survey in threeparts. Like the man said as he fell downthe laundry chute, "I'm really intolaundry."No, it wasn't darkit wasn't stormythe rain wasn't c~ming down on Terence,there was no storm, only drangon the night I took the laundry special.(It's much better than being taken fora ride on a train of thought.)Yes, I was down with the fretssitting on that doggasted sofain the Lost Duchess loungeit's named after a local legendI say she got lost trying to find herselfYes, I was sitting there underneath theswaggering lamp when this gentlemancame in with his luggageand sat down beside me."Mind if I join you?" By the way,could I sell you some luggage?"Are you for real?" I asked."No, actually I'm Sir Real. You wouldn'twant to buy some luggage?"I only buy luggage on Fridays at fouro'clock," I replied.The waitress came for our order."Could I have a cup of water?" the luggagesalesman asked."Sorry," the waitress said. "We onlyserve that during the cup of water hours.""All right," he said, "I'll have the laundryspecial.""The same for me," I cried.Meanwhile back in the apartment thedoor opened. It said, "This is a firedoor. Do not leave it open." Funny,I thought it was made of wood. And yes,this is the laundry special.And doing my laundry, I wondereddoes Neruda do his laundry and when?If Isaac Newton had been hit by a loadof laundry, not by an apple, wouldgravity have been discovered? How didNapoleon cope with his laundry? Whydo historians ignore laundry? Shakespearewrote 36 plays but he never hadto decide whether to use permanentpress, delicate, normal, or heavy duty.And what of the presoaker? And 300million years from now who will be doingtheir laundry on Mondays from seven tonine? Will they still be drinkinglaundry specials?Sorry Sir Real, it's nine o'clock.The laundry special is over. No, Iam not allowed to serve cups of water.- Josephine ToewsPhoenix Rising 25

It hurts so bad beingalone in this house.I've always wanted tolet somebody into it,but no one ever seemedto want to come in.When they came a little bitinside the doorthey always vandalizedthe very poor furnishings inside,so that I locked the door tightand I only gave out the thingsI was not afraid of losing.There isn't much in this housebut a lot of hurt and angerand fear,and some very shabby furnishings.I think that there isn't anybody leftthat even feels there is anythingworth stealing,only those who want to exchangetheir hurt for my hurt,because, like me, their pain has becomea constant companion to them.I don't want to add my hurt to theirs.I want to feel someone's presencein my house so complete thatwhen they leave,their strength and spirit stay with me.Or if they want to staythey will put some of theirbeautiful possessionsin my houseand make it a nicer placeto live in.-CaroleStubbs

The acrid, burnt fleshI could smellAs I pursued the roadto Hell;Nor did I hear anangel choirCry - save this soulfrom Satan's fire!There is no God - myGod is dead;I feel the deadnessgrip like lead;The world's a boxwithout a view;Oh! dear sweet Jesus ­where are You?I feel the fear, ,yet cannot fci~l;Then I'm down flat,my mind areel;A s'ringe is filled,I don't know why;A needle's stabbedinto my thigh!There is no changeuntil I rise;The room starts spinningas I cry;I have to pee butcannot walk;I try to shout, butcannot talk!I can't move backtowards my cot;My nose fills up withtears and snot;There is no help, nosecond chance;Then - I begin to soilmy pants!There is no God - myGod is dead;I feel the deadnessgrip like lead;The world's a boxwithout a view;Oh! dear sweet Jesus ­where are You?* * * *If I don't pace I'llnever move;My needle seems to'veslipped it's groove;The pacing means afighting heart;And if I stop, I'llnever start!* * * *Poor Edom's stopped,his mind has fled;And now he's strapped downto his bed;His eyes are closed,his fingers clenched;I see the sweat - hisshirt is drenched!Then, Edom's up and holl'ringloud;The rogue guard yanks himfrom that cloud;The floor comes upand Edom's struck;Poor Edom's just runout of luck!That rogue guard cock ­I'll break his head;Before I'm done, I'llstrike him dead!You cock! you slug! you'llhear from me;And you'll be myactivity!* * * *There is no God - myGod is dead;I feel the deadnessgrip like lead;The world's a boxwithout a view;Oh! dear sweet Jesus ­where are You?Jerry Fromstein

1~JThis book, long awaited by thepsychiatric inmates' liberationmovement, was well worth the wait.In his book, Lapon opens a chapterin the history of Nazi Germany thathas been closed for forty years: thesystematic slaughter of over 300,000mental patients in Germany andacross Europe, a tragedy that shouldbe indelibly etched in theconsciousness of humanity. Just asthe Jews spend Holocaust Day inspecial remembrance of six milliondead, so should we in the movementobserve a day of mourning for thisslaughter in the name of racial purity.Lapon shows how the massmurder of "mental patients" bypsychiatry in Nazi Germany and inthe United States was a harbinger oflater extermination of Jews and othervictims of Nazi persecution.The author also documents linksbetween the American eugenicsmovement and Nazi atrocities in the"treatment" of psychiatric inmates,the mentally handicapped and otherdisadvantaged groups. SocialDarwinism in the United Statesbespeaks the rotteness at the core ofthis so-called science.But the book is more than a historyof Nazi and American atrocities. It isan eclectic compilation of biography,political analysis, and history of theanti-psychiatry movement, includinga revealing description of .30 Phoenix Risingincarceration in a psychiatric ward,which shows how the "mentalhealth" system works.Both inmates and ex-inmates willbe interested in this book, whichalso covers the means used byGerman-trained psychiatrists topractice in the United States, achronolgy linking psychiatry andeugenics, and a history of the antipsychiatrymovement. There are alsosections which would particularlyinterest ex-inmates, including acritique of alternative therapies andan analysis of "mental health"workers.This book is a valuable addition tothe anti-psychiatry reading list.However, it remains to be seen ifpsychiatrists and "mental health"professionals are willing to have theireyes opened to this sorry chapter intheir history and their ongoingexistence.~:§'-'~-0 Q)'-'>0­J:>CDSTILL SANEPersimmon Blackbridgeand Sheila Gilhooly;photographs by KikuHawkesPress Gang Publishers,Vancouver, B.C., 1985, 101pp., paper ($12.95)by Lilith FinklerFrequently, individuals who"review," critically analyze andevaluate, do so under the guise ofOBJECTIVITY. They unconsciouslyinternalize the values and attitudes ofthe status quo, and do notacknowledge them publicly, as theycomment upon books, records,plays, et cetera. They presume nobias or personal involvement. I,however, do not pretend suchimpartiality. I am one of the "crazydykes" to whom the book "Stilll

Sane" is dedicated. I read it, rereadit, and comment upon it from thatperspective.Still Sane has been a series ofsculptures, a video, a slide show,and now, thanks to Press GangPublishers, it is a book. It is the storyof Sheila Gilhooly, a young womanincarcerated in a psychiatricinstitution. She was forcibly drugged,electroshocked, and sexuallyabused. Her crime consisted ofdaring to love another woman in asociety that reinforces heterosexualrelations. However, it is also anaccount of a woman's survival; herdetermination to escape the psych ­ward, and the development of herpride as a lesbian and as a madperson.While the narrative was written bySheila, the actual sculptures werelargely made by PersimmonBlackbridge, co-author of Still Sane.An informative transcription of aconversation, at the back of thebook, offers details of the twowomen's collaboration.Still Sane is presented in bookform in much the way as it appears inother media. The photographedsculptures (primarily in black andwhite) are on one side of the pageand the words are on the other. Dueto the excellent quality of KikuHawkes' photography, the art workhas retained much of its threedimensionalvalue, and one can wellimagine the individual pieces onpublic display.The story itself is eminentlyreadable. The words are simple,often presented in a conversationalstyle, which makes them readilyaccessible to the public.Unfortunately, the authors of thethree other essays, included near theend, occasionally maketheoretical and political jumpswithout providing the necessarylogical steps in their arguments. Forexample, Nym Hughes' explanationof how psychiatry reinforces racismpresumes an understanding ofeugenics. And terms such as "mentalillness workers" are unclear to theuninitiated activist in the madmovement.Nonetheless, these three essaysare an extremely importantcontribution to the book. They helpto place Sheila's experience within apolitical and social context. NoraRandall's story clearly illustrates thatwhat happened to Sheila Gilhoolyten years ago continues to happentoday. Lesbians are still not safe in,p~ clutches of psychiatry. Nymhughes explains how the psychiatricindustry oppresses other groups;including the poor and workingclasses, women, people of colour,and the physically anddevelopmentally disabled. DeedeeM. Hera's essay, "Still Mad," clearlyillustrates the tenets of both the expsychiatricinmate and the lesbianliberation movements. She offers abrilliant critique of feminist therapy,clearly locating it within the spectrumof psychiatric abuse.The list of resources at the back ishelpful, and will allow those readerswho are interested to explore theissues further. There are a fewproduction problems, unfortunately:pagination does not start until page74, and I also noted, with somechagrin, that after only a fewreadings, two pages had alreadyfallen out.While the paperback copy, pricedat $12.95, is not cheap, it iscertainly reasonable. The numerousphotographs undoubtedlycontributed to the high costs inproduction. As a working-classwoman, I was exceptionally pleasedto read a Press Gang fundraisingletter, released prior to publication,and requesting assistance in keepingthe price of the book within theeconomic reach of most women.This speaks well of Press Gang as afeminist press; many who claim thattitle display no such awareness ofpoor and working-classrealities.women'sIn conclusion, Still Sane is highlyrecommended. It is educational,informative, even inspirational. Thewomen who are responsible for itspublication functioned collectively inthe tradition of the women'smovement for social change. I thankthem all for their contribution.-This issue's Phoenix Pheather andTurkey Tail are both awarded forpolitical statements on the crucialissue of electroshock.To members of the Riverdale NewDemocratic Party RidingAssociation, a Pheather for acourageous decision to adopt aresolution to abolish electroshock inthis province.The resolution, officially adoptedby the association on March 25, asksthe Ontario NDP to consult with theOntario Coalition To StopElectroshock and other anti-shockadvocacy groups in preparing anamendment to the Ontario HealthAct, specifically prohibiting any useof electroshock in the province. Theproposed amendment, which theRiverdale NDP wants introduced inthe Legislature this fall, may be onthe agenda of the Ontario NDP at itsconvention in June.We applaud the Riverdale NDP forits politically daring stand.As for the Turkey Tail, a morewell-deserving recipient than A.J.Liston, PhD, would be difficult tofind. Liston, the Assistant DeputyMinister of Health and WelfareCanada, recently responded to ourquery about operating standards andtesting of machinery used toadminister electroshock in Canada.One would have thought that afederal bureaucrat would at leastattempt to suggest that standards areupheld and monitored; but no:Liston bluntly admitted that no suchmonitoring even exists. Here's partof what he said in his letter to us:"No performance andmaintenance standards exist forshock machines.The Bureau of Medical Deviceshas not tested E. C. T. machines sincethere have not been any reportedproblems from users.The Bureau has never inspectedshock machines."No reported problems from users,Dr. Liston? How about braindamage?We certainly hope you can find anappropriate portion of your anatomyon which to affix your Turkey Tail.Phoenix Rising 31

provincial election. In 1986, wecan expect more court caseschallenging laws denying thevote to inmates and prisoners asunconstitutional.As of January 1, any personinvoluntarily committed to anyof the province's ten psychiatricinstitutions and psychiatricwards in general hospitals mustbe promptly informed of thereason for their committal. Ifyou are involuntarily committedand have never talked to arights advisor, contact thenearest community legal clinicor Attorney-General Ian Scott,who is responsible for the rightsadvisors.If you are in a provincialpsychiatric hospital, first callyour Patient Advocate.On September 18, 1985,Attorney-General Ian Scott andHealth Minister Murray Elstonannounced that inmates willhave more access to legal aid,including more lawyers torespond to notices ofinvoluntary committal andrenewal certificates; and moreinformation for all inmates oftheir right to a lawyer, a reviewof their committal by aregional review board, anappeal of any review boarddecision to a District Court, andlegal representation at reviewboard hearings.As a result of an historic courtdecision in February, 1985,psychiatrists and hospitals mustnow prove that a person suffersfrom a "mental illness" and isdangerous to himself or herselfor others before locking up theperson. Lawyer Carla McKagueargued on behalf of her client,who remains in Queen StreetMental Health Centre, that thepsychiatrists never proved hewas "mentally ill" or dangerous,and that his involuntarycommittal violated the Charter.In his decision, District CourtJudge Hugh R. Locke assertedthat the burden of proof forinvoluntary committal "fallsupon the physician who signsthe specific forms ... and uponthe hospital. .. ," and that thestandard of proof should be "apreponderance of evidence."(See "Landmark Decision" invol. 5, no. 4, p. 39.)you do sue for wrongfuldetention, and a court agreesthat your doctor was wrong torefuse to release you, you couldbe awarded substantialdamages.PHOENIX COMMENTSMichael Berman is alawyer and patients' rightsadvocate in Toronto. Lastfall, he forced Queen StreetMental Health Centre torelease a womanincarcerated during the 5­day "assessment" period.Under Ontario's MentalHealth Act, any doctor canorder the incarceration of aperson (for five days) for thesame reasons as those forinvoluntary committals:"mental disorder" that willcause or threaten to cause"bodily harm" to yourselfor others, and/or "lack ofcompetence" to care foryourself. Under the Act, theinmate can appealinvoluntary commital, butthe Act says nothing aboutthe assessment. In thisarticle, Mr. Berman tells usthe legal steps to take tochallenge the assessment;we believe it's the first timethat this legal strategy hasbeen used in Ontario.CHALLENGING THE "5-DAY ASSESSMENT"HOW TO FIGHT FORCEDINCARCERATIONby Michael BermanThere is a procedure whichmay be followed in cases ofinvoluntary incarceration undera five-day, Form 1 Assessment.The challenge to the hospital'sor doctor's authority arisesunder the Mental Health Act inits requirements to validate aForm 1 Assessment.During the period betweenadmission to hospital and theexpiry of the five-day period,inmates or their representativescan follow these steps:• Complete a Form 14, whichgives consent to releasemedical records to anotherperson, such as a lawyer oradvocate.• Fill out a Form 16:"Application to the RegionalReview Board." (Copies ofboth Forms 14 and 16 areavailable on request at thenursing station on the ward.At the top of Form 16, crossout the phrase 4pplicationToRegional Review Boardand write in: Application ToThe Treating Physician.Also, cross out the phraseThe Chairman of the ReviewBoard and replace it withthe name of your treatingdoctor. Give the form toyour assessing doctor withinthe five-day period, and tellthe doctor that thisapplication is being madedirectly to him/her, becauseyou're challenging his/herauthority to detain you underthe Mental Health Act.• If your doctor refuses torelease you, advise him/herthat the requirements of theAct must be strictly compliedwith and if they are not,you may start a civil actionagainst the doctor forwrongful detention.The goal is to makepsychiatrists think very carefullyabout their decision toincarcerate you or anybody elsein a psychiatric institution. IfMINISTRYOF HEAL TH BACKS DOWNLAWYER OVERTURNS DRUGGINGORDER AGAINST TWO CLIENTSTwo psychiatric inmates haverecently won the right to refuseto submit to forced drugging atOntario ins:itutions in whichthey were incarcerated.In both cases, the inmates arewomen who were involuntarilycommitted and subjected,against their will, to dangerousneuroleptic drugs; in bothcases, lawyer and inmates'activist Michael Bermanlaunched appeals on theirbehalf, and in both cases, theOntario government withdrewfrom the appeal proceduresbefore any court actions couldbe heard.One of the women, Mrs. J.,who was in Queen StreetMental Health Centre last fallon a voluntary basis, refusedthe drugs ordered by herpsychiatrist, Dr. A. Pospisil. Thedoctor's response was to ask theCentral Regional Review Boardto change the 81-year-oldwidow's status to involuntary;the board concurred.But Mrs. J., with Berman's

help, fought back: on Jan. 3,she appealed the board'sdecision and applied to bereleased from Queen Street inorder to find her own home.Despite considerable evidencethat Mrs. J. was in no danger ofharming herself or others andthat she was not benefittingfrom the prescribed drugs, theboard upheld its ruling andordered her to be drugged forup to three months. However,after Berman's motion in theDistrictCourt in Toronto - heargued that Mrs. J.'s commitaland enforced drugging violatedthree sections of the CanadianCharter of Rights and Freedoms- the Ontario Ministry ofHealth abandoned its courtaction,andtheinstitutionagreed to an "unofficial understanding"that Mrs. J. is nottobe drugged while in QueenStreet, where she is stillincarcerated involuntarily.The second inmate, Mrs. S.,was firstadmitted to HamiltonPsychiatric Hospital lastDecember for a five-dayassessment - a form ofinvoluntary commital - andlater declared incompetent,forced to submit to drugging,and incarcerated on aninvoluntary basis. Mrs. S. wasdenied the right toDANGEROUS SIDE EFFECTSANTI-DEPRESSANTPHOENIX COMMENTSTAKEN OFF MARKETThe anti-depressant drugMeritalis being pulled off themarket in Canada after reportsof its many adverse side effects,including hemolytic anemia, asometimes fatal disease of thered blood cells.Merital, the trade name forthe drug nomifensine, has beenmarketed in Canada since 1983by Hoechst Canada Inc., whichsaid that reports have linked therepresentation at both her firstboard hearing and hersubsequent appeal, which wasrejected.In his motion filed in DistrictCourt in February, Bermanquestioned the validity of thecommital order and again citedthree sections of the Charter asarguments against the enforceddrugging of his client!Once again, the MinistryofHealth decided not to pursue acourt case; the board's druggingorder was allowed to expire andMrs. S.'s status was changedfrom involuntary to voluntary.Although both casesrepresented what Bermancalled "Indirect victories"- since neither was heardIn court, no precedentcould be set - we feel thedisposition of thesewomen's cases may causeOntario's Institutionalpsychiatrists and regionalreview boards to thinktwice before forcing drugson Inmates. We hopeadvocates such as Bermanwill continue to fight forpeople In psychiatricInstitutions - all the way tothe Supreme Court ofCanada, If necessary.drug to hemolytic anemia, inwhich antibodies are producedthat attack red blood cells. Thedrug has also been known toproduce hypersensitivityreactions with flu-likesymptoms.Federal health officials,whoare monitoring the recall, toldus in a letter that "very few"adverse reactions have beenreported in Canada - whereup to 50,000 people have usedthe drug - but that the numberhas been on the increase in theUnited Kingdom. As a result, thecompany has decided to extenditswithdrawal of the drug to itsworldwide market, includingthe United States and theUnited Kingdom.PHOENIX COMMENTSIt's chilling that acrossthe world, more than 14GOVERNMENTFILM ON INJECTIONAND CANADIANPHARMACEUTICAL ASSOCIATIONSHIRK RESPONSIBILITY TOCANADIANSmillion people have beensubjected to this dangerousdrug - a statistic theHoechst company boastedIn Its slick, glossyadvertising, while playingdown Its warning aboutserious reactions. Morechilling, still, to considerthe catch-phrase used bythe company In Its adcampaign: "Merltal - theanti-depressant you canfeel right about. "The government of Canada and the CanadianPharmaceutical Association (CPA) stillrefuse to inform patientsand the public about psychiatric drugs and their risks, includingTardive Dyskinesia (see our "Tardive Dyskinesia Epidemic,"Vol. 3, No.2, 1982). Instead, the government and the CPA aresimply leaving it to the "discretion" of doctors and pharmaciststo telltheir patients about these drugs.Since 1983, Health and Welfare Canada and the CPA havebeen sending littleslips of paper or "Supplementary InformationOn Medication" (SIMs) on various psychiatric drugs to doctorsand pharmacists - not to patients.The information on these SIMs is very skimpy when it comesto drug warnings and adverse effects. For example, in the blurbon the phenothiazines or neuroleptic drugs, there is absolutelyno information about tardive dyskinesia, the most serious andpermanent effect of these drugs. Further, doctors andpharmacists are not required to release this information to youwhen a psychiatric drug is prescribed.We believe our readers, and every Canadian, should havethe absolute right to detailed information about any psychiatricdrug which is prescribed. We should have the right to know thename, type, dosage, maximum safe dosage, major effects, and,especially, the many serious risks - including tardive dyskinesia- of these mind-disabling drugs.We urge you to write letters of protest to the Canadiangovernment and the CPA demanding that such detailedinformation be automatically given to you whenever apsychiatric drug is prescribed. Here are the addresses:Dr. A.J. Liston,Mr. Leroy Fevang,Assistant Deputy Minister, Executive Director,Health Protection Branch, Canadian PharmaceuticalHealth and Welfare Canada. AssociationTunney's Pasture,1815 Alta Vista DriveOttawa, Ont. KIA OL2 Ottawa, Ont. KIG 2Y6OF NEUROLEPTICSTHE LATEST TECHNIQUESOF CHEMICAL TORTUREThe following is quoteddirectlyfrom the October, 1985issue of Update, a quarterlypublished by the CommunityAdvisory Board of WhitbyPsychiatric Hospital. McNeill,the multinational drug companymentioned in the item,manufactures Haldol, one ofthe most powerful anddangerous neuroleptics which isusually forcibly administered to"schizophrenics. "Whitby Psychiatric HospitalAudio-Visual Departmentin cooperation with McNeill

dPharmaceuticals haveproduced a programillustrating a technique forintramuscular injections oflong-acting neuroleptics.Marie-Claire Belander of theAllen Memorial Hospital,Montreal, Quebec teache

continued from p. 14DepatterningOn Jan. 21,1957, Cameronapplied to the New York-basedSociety for the Study of HumanEcology-{aknown CIA front) forfurther funding of his psychic drivingexperiments. The research projecthad an innocuous title: "To Studythe Effects Upon Human Behaviourof the Repetition of Verbal Signals."Cameron was eager to refine hisdepatterning procedure to ensurethat the "dynamic implant" wouldlead to permanent behaviouralchanges in his patients.In the application, he succinctlyoutlined a four-step brainwashingprocedure which he inflicted onapproximately 80 patients at theAllan:-The breaking down of ongoingpatterns of the patient's behaviourby ... particularly intensiveelectroshock (depatterning).-The intensive repetition (16 hoursa day for 6 or 7 days of theprearranged verbal signal.- During the period of intensiverepetition the patient is kept inpartial sensory isolation.- Repression of the driving periodis carried out by putting thepatient, after the conclusion ofthe period, into continuous sleepfor 7 - 10 days.Cameron also said he was stilllooking for more efficient ways toimmobilizeor inactivate his patientsduring psychic driving, includingsuch powerful drugs (used eithersingly or in combination) as Artane,36 Phoenix RisingAnectine, Bulbocapnine, Curare andLSD-25.From April, 1957 to June, 1960,the CIA (through its front) gaveCameron $59,475.54 to conduct hisdepatterning experiments on manypatients at the Allan - most of themwomen - and a further $4,775 tocontinue his psychic drivingresearch. The funding was officiallyapproved by Colonel James L.Monroe, a CIA employee or agent,who signed all grant approvals as"Executive Secretary" for the NewYork organization. The project wasalso approved by Dr. SidneyGottlieb, a psychologist and Chief ofthe CIA's Chemical Division ofTechnical Services Staff.34The firstpublished report of thedepatterning procedure appeared ina 1958 issue of the CanadianMedical Association Journal, underthe clinicallytitled heading,"Treatment of the Chronic ParanoidSchizophrenic Patient. "35In thearticle, Cameron and colleague S.K.Pande described their depatterningbrainwashingtechnique in chillingdetail:.. .frequently severe althoughtransient disturbance of the brainfunction is an important factor inthe favorable results. Thisdisturbance is shown in terms ofsevere recent memory deficit,disorientation and impairment ofjudgement. Similar changes canreadily be produced by acombination of sleep andelectroshock treatment.This time, Cameron's victims were26 "paranoid schizophrenic" patientsincarcerated in the Allan. Twentyonewere women. The basicprocedure of depatterning and brainwashing consisted of prolonged sleep(20 to 22 hours a day) under dailydoses of Thorazine and thebarbiturates Seconal, Nembutal andVeronal; and intensive electroshock,using the Page-Russell technique,which involved five to six shockswithin two to three minutes.36 Theobjective of this massiveelectroshock was "to produce incombination with sleep ... confusionwhich we term 'depatterning'''37 Eachpatient was subjected to at least 30shocks within one to two months,and some were shocked as many as60 to 65 times within two months ­to achieve "complete depatterning."After 30 shocks and five days,patients showed "severe memorydeficits... " Their "delusions" werestillpresent. Ten to 20 days later,they demonstrated serious temporalspatialdisorientation: "Who am I?"they asked. "How did I get here?"And all "delusions" were "brokenup."Wrote Cameron: "He lives in theimmediate present. All schizophrenicsymptoms have disappeared. Thereis complete amnesia for all events inhis life.38After 30 to 60 shocks, the typicalvictim was completely disoriented: asCameron expressed it, one patient"... does not recognize anyone, hasno idea where he is and is nottroubled by that fact .. , urinaryincontinence and has difficultyinperforming simple motor skills." Norwas there any remaining evidence of"schizophrenic" behaviour.Scientific documentationof the

ppermanent brain damage caused bythe depatterning procedure,particularly the electroshock, wasfinallyrevealed in 1967 - the yearCameron died, and three years afterthe Canadian government stoppedfunding his psychic drivingexperiments ..In a lO-year follow-up study of 79of Cameron's "depatterned"patients, psychologist A.E.Schwartzman and psychiatrist P.E.Termansen discovered that 63 percentof 27 shocked and depatternedpatients showed permanent memoryloss, and that in 60 percent of thesememory losses, anywhere from sixmonths to 10 years of experiencewas erased.39These researchers recommendedthat intensive electroshock bestopped.It wasn't.The Response of PsychiatryBefore his death in 1967, Dr. D.Ewen Cameron was President of theCanadian Psychiatric Association,the American PsychiatricAssociation, the Quebec PsychiatricAssociation and the WorldPsychiatric Association. He was alsothe founder and first director of theAllan Memorial. He received manyhonours and awards including theMental Hygiene Institute ofMontreal's '''Mental Health Award'for outstanding contributions to themental health of the Canadianpeople" in 1966.40 In 1965, theCanadian Psychiatric Associationmade him a lifetime HonoraryMember. In its citation to Dr.Cameron, the CPA expressed "itsprofound appreciation of (his)outstanding contribution made to thedevelopment of psychiatry inCanada ... " It also praised Dr.~Cameron for:contributing to "farreachingadvances in the fields oftreatment-education-research. "41A month after Dr. Cameron died,these editorial statements werepublished in the CanadianPsychiatric Association Journal:As a diligent seeker afterknowledge, a gifted author, arenowned administrator andinspiring teacher he brought ... awider and deeper understandingof the importance and significanceof the emotional lifeof man. 42Nineteen years later, thepsychiatric profession in Canada andthe United States is stillsilent, andstillrefuses to acknowledge that oneof its leaders planned and conductedsome of the most unethical,dehumanizing, and destructiveexperiments, which can only becompared to the medical torturecarried out in the concentrationcamps of Nazi Germany.PHOENIX COMMENTSIn its conspiracy of silence,psychiatry is joined by thegovernments of the UnitedStates, which refuses tocompensate nine of Cameron'sCanadian victims - one ofwhom has died since thevictims' $9 million lawsuit waslaunched against the CIAalmost six years ago.There are dozens ofunanswered questions - aboutthe identities of Canadianofficials or scientists involved inthe secret meetings with theCIA; about the decision tocontinue funding for Hebb's andCameron's experiments afterinnumerable reports showed theextent of their dangerourness;about the connection of thesetwo psychiatrists to the CIAbrainwashing projects.In future issues, we will probethese unknowns in an attemptto shed even more light on thestappalling acts of inhumanity ­and the massive cover-up stillbei ng perpetuated by thegovernments of Canada and theUnited States.Montreal writer Don Gillmor iscurrently researching a book onDr. Ewen Cameron and isinterested in talking to anyformer patients. Anonymity, ifdesired, can be guaranteed.838 Wiseman, No.2,Outremont, Quebec, H2V 3L1,(514) 274-2315.PhoenixRising

1. John Marks. The CIA and Mind Control:The Search for the "Manchurian Candidate".N.Y.: Times Books, 1979; also see paperbackedition, McGraw-Hill, 1980 - re Dr.Cameron's experiments, see pp. 131-141(paperback) .2. Report of Special Meeting, June 1. 1951.Matters relating to CIA project "Bluebird".Unpublished. Also see "Ottawa paid for '50sbrainwashing experiments, filesshow", TheToronto Star, April 14, 1986. The Star articlealso states that in addition to Drs. Hebb,Solandt, Morton and Tizzard, "officialsnamedHaskins, Dancey, Tyhurst and a CommanderWilliams"also attended this secret CIAmeeting. Dr. James S. Tyhurst is a Canadianpsychiatrist, and Sir Henry Tizzard (now dead)38 Phoenix Risingwas chairman of the British Defence ResearchPolicy Committee, and both Dr. Caryl Haskiasand Commander R.J. Williams were "the CIArepresentatives at the meeting."3. Ibid. Deleted name of scientist that of Dr.D.O. Hebb.4. Memorandum To The File: Notes onMeeting held on July 23,1951. Unpublished.5. File - Artichoke (A/B, 5,134/3).December 3, 1951. Unpublished.6. Department of National Defence. Researchand Development Project. Project Title,"Conditions of Attitude Change inIndividuals." Project No. D72-94-85-01, DRBContract X-38, September 1951.7. Ibid. Progress Report, Project No. D77-94­85-01, December 31, 1952.8. Ibid. Progress Report, December 31, 1953.9. Ibid. Progress Report, December 31, 1954.10. D.O. Hebb and Woodburn Heron. Effectsof Radical Isolation Upon Intellectual Functionand The Manipulation of Attitudes: TerminalReport to DRB on Contract X-38,"Conditions of Attitude Change inIndividuals." Report No. HR 63. Ottawa:Defence Research Board, Department of .National Defence, October 1955,p. 5. Hebb'sfinal report on the sensory deprivation/brainwashing experiments which the DRBkept secret and never published.11. W.H. Bexton, W. Heron, and T.H. Scott.Effectsof Decreased Variation in the SensoryEnvironment. Can. J. Psychol., 1954,8:2,70-76. First published report on McGill

sensory deprivation experiments.12. W. Heron, B.K. Doane, and T.H. Scott.Visual Disturbances After Prolonged Perceptuallsolation.Can. J. Psychol. 1956, 10:1,13-18. In this experiment, the subjects werethe researchers themselves.13. W. Heron. "Cognitive and PhysiologicalEffects of Perceptual Isolation" (Introductionby D.O. Hebb) , in P. Solomon, ed., SensoryDeprivation. Cambridge, Mass.: HarvardUniversity Press, 1961, pp. 6-33.14. Ibid. p. 27.15. Woodburn Heron. The Pathology ofBoredom. Scientific American, vol. 196, No.I, 1957 (Jan.), 52-56.16. Progress Report on the BehaviouralLaboratory, Dept. Psychiatry, McGillU.,.January to December 1953. (received byNational Health and Welfare on January 20,1953).17. H. Azima and Fern J. Cramer-Azima.Effects of the Decrease in Sensory Variabilityon Body Scheme. Can. Psychiat. Ass. J. vol.I, no. 2,1956 (Apr.), 59-72.18. H. Azima, and Fern J. Cramer. Effects ofPartial Isolation in Mentally 111 DisabledIndividuals. Dis. Nerv. Sys. vol. 17, no. I,1956 (Apr.), 117-122.19. Final Report on the BehaviouralLaboratory, December 2, 1954. Submitted byDr. D.E. Cameron to Department of NationalHealth and Welfare.20:Letterfrom Dr. Jean Gregoire to Dr. G.E .Wride re Project 604-5-14, December 14,1954.21. Letterfrom Dr. G.E. Wride, PrincipalMedical Officer, Department of NationalHealth and Welfare, to Dr. Jean Gregoire,December 21, 1954.22. D. Ewen Cameron. Psychic Driving. Am.J. Psychiat. v. 112, 1956 (Jan.), 502-509.23. Ibid. p. 506.24. D.E. Cameron and Robert B. Malmo.Effect of Repeated Verbal Stimulation Upon aFlexor-Extensor Relationship. Can. Psychiat.Ass. J. vol. 3, no. 2, 1958. (Apr.), 81-86. Dr.Malmo was a research psychologist at theAllan Memorial Institute and McGillUniversity. This study demonstrated howpsychic driving could influence physicalbehaviour.25. D. Ewen Cameron, Leonard Levy, L.Rubenstein and R.B. Malmo. Repetition ofVerbal Signals: Behavioural and PhysiologicalChanges. Am. J. Psychiat. vol. 115, 1959(May),985-991.26. D. Ewen Cameron, Leonard Levy, andLeonard Rubenstein. Effects of Repetition ofVerbal Signals Upon the Behaviour of ChronicPsychoneurotic Patients. J. Ment. Sci. (nowtitIedBrit. J. Psychiat.), v. 106, 1960 (Apr.),742-754.27. D. Ewen Cameron, Leonard Levy,Thomas Ban, and Leonard Rubenstein. AFurther Report on the Effects of Repetition ofVerbal Signals Upon Human Behaviour. Can.Psychiat. Ass. J. vol. 6, no. 4, 1961 (Aug.),210-221.28. D. Ewen Cameron. Final Report onDominion-Provincial Health Grant No. 604-5­432. 'Study of Factors Which Promote orRetard Personality Changes in IndividualsExposed to Prolonged Repetition of VerbalSignals.' Ending March 31, 1964. McGillAccount No. 290-23. February 1965.29. Letter from Drs. J.A. Dupont and GordonE. Wride, Department of National Health andWelfare, to Dr. Jacques Gelinas, DeputyTake Care of Yourself1I~~1!Jl~DSlJ:i1Taking care means more than a yearly pap smear,It means knowing what questions to ask;what treatment to question.It means being aware of women's health issues;making an issue of them.Healthsharing deals only with health issues as they affect women. Reproductive health,nutrition, sexuality, drug abuse, occupational health hazards, mental health, and more.Regular features are: news, letters, resources and reviews..-------------------------------IIHelp us help you take care - Subscribe to HealthsharinName:Address'City: Postal Code _.Mail cheque to: Healthsharing, 101 Niagara St., Suite 200A,Toronto, Ontario M5V 1C3I 0 Individual$8.00 0 Inst. or Library $15.00 Outside Canada add $1LMinisterof Health for Quebec, March 15,1965.30. Letter from Dr. Denis Lazure, AssistantDirector, Ministry of Health for Quebec,Psychiatric Services, to Dr. Gordon E. Wride,Principal Medical Officer, Mental HealthDivision, Department of National Health andWelfare. February I, 1965.31. Op cit. Dr. Cameron, Final Report,Project 604-5-432, p. 2.32. L. Levy, D.E. Cameron, T. Ban, and L.Rubenstein. The Effects of Long-TermRepetition of Verbal Signals. Can. Psychiat.Ass. J. v. 10, no. 4, 1965 (Aug.), 265-270.33. Department of Psychiatry, Allan MemorialInstitute. Application For Grant To Study TheEffectsUpon Human Behaviour Of TheRepetition Of Verbal Signals. January 21,1957. The names of Dr. Cameron and Dr.Robert B. Malmo appear on p. 70fthisapplication for funding to the CIA (Society forthe Study of Human Ecology).34. CIA "Memorandum For The Record",March, 1957. In a copy of this memorandum,it is clear that Dr. Cameron's application wasfunded under the CIA's "MK-ULTRASubproject 68;'. Part of this memorandumstates that this research "willbe under thedirection of Dr. D. Ewen Cameron, thatpsychic driving and powerful experimentaldrugs includingLSD willbe used to break downand inactivate the person." The CIA initially_approved a 2-year grant of $38,180 to Dr..Cameron, which was approved 'and signed b~Dr. Sidney Gottlieb, Chief of the CIA'sChemical Division of the Technical ServicesStaff, and Colonel James L. Munroe,"Executive Secretary," who monitored Dr.Cameron's research for the Society for theStudy of Human Ecology. Further fundingwas approved.35. D.E. Cameron and S.K. Pande.Treatment of the Chronic ParanoidSchizophrenic Patient. Can. Med. Ass. J. Jar15, 1958, vol. 78, 92-95.36. D. Ewen Cameron, J.G. Lohrenz, andK.A. Handcock. The Depatterning Treatmenof Schizophrenia. Compr. Psychiat. vol. 3,no. 2, 1%2 (Apr.), p. 168.37. op. cil. Cameron and Pande, p. 92.38. D. Ewen Cameron. Production ofDifferentialAmnesia as a Factor in theTreatment of Schizophrenia. Compr.Psychiat. vol. I, no. I, 1%0 (Feb.), p. 27.39. A.E. Schwartzman, and P.E. TermansenIntensive Electroconvulsive Therapy: AFollow-Up Study. Can. Psychiat. Ass. J. vol.12,no.2,1967,217-218.40. In Memoriam. Donald Ewen Cameron ­1901-1967. Can. Psychiat. Ass. J., v. 12,1967 (Oct.), p. 475.41. Honorary Member 1965. Can. Psychiat.Ass. J. vol. 10, 1965 (Dec.), p. 459.42. op. cit. In Memoriam.Phoenix Rising

psychiatry's to blome,not the CIA.By O.G. PampLately a great deal of dissemblingrhetoric and deliberatemisinformationhave been uttered andwritten about the Canadian victims ofso-called CIA brainwashingexperiments. The media has,through countless articles, columns,editorials and TV news programs,incessantly restated the prevailing, iftotally false, presumption that thesewere "CIA experiments" initiated,planned and controlled by CIAagents. The perception, especiallypopular among the political left, isthat Dr. Cameron (and Dr. Hebb)were unwitting dupes of a sinisterCIA conspiracy. Nothing could befurther from the truth.The irrefutable fact is that it was apsychiatrist, Dr. D. Ewen Cameron,who solely conceived, directed,controlled and performed theexperiments in his theoretical questto find a "cure" for the metaphoricalmoral or thought "disease" calledschizophrenia. It was Dr. Cameron'stheories, not the CIA's, which weretested at the Allan Memorial between1957 and 1961. It was Dr.Cameron, not the CIA, who brutallyand arrogantly exploited involuntarypatients as guinea pigs for his"medical research." Dr. Cameron'stheory was to "depattern" the humanmind of morally and socially"deviant" (non-conformist) thoughtand/ or behaviour by literally wipingthe slate clean with "psychic driving"so the psychiatrist could then imprinton the tabula rasa the morally andsociallycorrect ("mentally healthy")dogmas or values. That in essencewas the sole motive for Dr.Cameron's experiments. It must beremembered that he had developedand refined his research long beforethe CIA funding began and wouldhave conducted them precisely thesame way regardless of the CIA'sexistence. The same goes for Dr.Hebb's research. To suggest, as themedia has, that these esteemedprofessionals needed CIA agents tohelp plan their research is not onlyutter nonsense but a misleadingattempt to shift the focus ofculpabilityfrom Dr. Cameron andpsychiatry to the CIA. The latter is amore easily demonized target.However, Dr. Cameron wasneither a CIA operative nor amadman scientist. He was one of theworld's most eminent psychiatrists,recognized as the founder ofCanadian psychiatry, who served aspresident of both the Canadian andAmerican Psychiatric Associations inaddition to being the first head of theWorld Psychiatric Association. Hadhe lived, he would have undoubtedlyfollowed in the footsteps of anotherfamed psychiatrist-neurologist, EgasMoniz, who in 1955 received theNobel Prize for Medicine formutilating the brains (lobotomies)involuntary "patients" in order to"cure" them of their non-conformistthinking and/or behaviour.Dr. Cameron was only the latest ofa long, infamous line of world ­celebrated psychiatrists who havetortured their victims in thehumanitarian name of "treating"them. In fact, the whole history ofpsychiatry is an appalling litany oftorture, mutilations and oppressions.It is the history of the straitjacket, thesack, the confining belt and chair,Cox's swing, Autenrieth mask andchamber, the pear, the box, lacing,lobotomy, infibulation, castration,etc....This is not medicine. This is moralmedicine. Psychiatry has supersededthe Church as society's chief moralguardian. The rhetoricalmetaphoricalexercise of brandingsocial, sexual, moral and (as in theSoviet Union) political differences"mental diseases" is as patently shamas their alleged biological origins. Itconfuses brain and mind, nerves withnervousness, medicine withmorality, description withprescription, treatment withpunishment, and cure with control.For centuries, man believed thatdisease was caused by sin. Now hebelieves that sin is caused by disease.Stillthe pervasive myth persiststhat the institutional psychiatrist is ahumane and compassionate healerrather than a procrustean moral andpolitical agent of the State. Forexample, the truth has long beencarefully concealed that German(Nazi)psychiatrists were more thanwillingcollaborators in the systematicextermination of some 300,000"mentally ill," "retarded" and"useless eaters" - leading up to theFinal Solution's gas chambers. Theirpatented justification was that theywere only acting out of humanemotivation. This excuse has alwaysbeen trotted out by psychiatrists torationalize the most execrable actsever performed on man in thespurious name of medical science.That's the excuse given by Sovietpsychiatrists when they inject painfuldrugs into the veins of politicaldissenters suffering from "sluggishschizophrenia." That's the excuse ofNorth American psychiatrists whenthey do exactly the same thing tomoral (sexual) and social dissenterssuffering from "paranoidschizophrenia. "No wonder the immenselypowerful psychiatric establishmenthas remained damningly silent aboutDr. Cameron's experiments. For itand others to demand "justice" fromthe CIA is to conceal the truth. Theonly true justice for all past andfuture victims of psychiatric"treatment" is to unblinkingly exposethe incriminating truth that ultimateresponsibility and blame must rest onDr. Cameron and the "scientific"methods of psychiatry. The nineCanadians were victims ofpsychiatry, not CIA skullduggery.O.G. Pamp is a critic of thepsychiatric system and a tirelessletter-writer. He is currently writinga book on Ezra Pound.40 Phoenix Rising

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