Shrink-ing paychecks
Mental health professionals are making less money than they need to, says the New York Times—in part because their rates haven’t increased. My psychiatrist has charged me the same amount for the past couple years: $125 per session. I appreciate the fact that he hasn’t increased the fee, but $125 is a lot of money. I pay him $500 a month—more than I pay for rent.
I sympathize with social workers and counselors who are severely underpaid, but I’m less teary-eyed about psychiatrists in private practice. Is that unfair? Maybe I’m just jealous that I don’t make $125 per hour. I suppose fixing comma splices isn’t quite as important as fixing the brain.
Mental Health Therapists Face Financial Stress as Fees Stagnate [NY Times]
liz | 2:10 PM | Uncategorized
Hero of the day: Sen. Robert A. Antonioni
The Democratic state senator from Massachusetts has come out of the closet about his almost 10-year battle with depression. I’m really blown away by this kind of bravery, particularly from a politician.
Nothing to hide [Lowell Sun]
liz | 12:50 PM | Uncategorized
Contest results
By 4 p.m. today. Guaranteed.
liz | 12:28 PM | Uncategorized
A return to Boring But Important (BBI)
Wow. We haven’t done this for a while. (I’m still looking for a new BBI mascot, BTW.) I realize everyone is kind of sick of the disaster that Medicare Part D engendered, but there is news on that front, and I’m going to reprint the entire release from NAMI.
Medicare Drug Benefit Update: Extended Transition Period Set to Expire on March 31; Prior Authorization and Step Therapy Will Begin on Some Medications
Initial transition rules for the Medicare Part D drug benefit will expire on March 31, allowing Prescription Drug Plans (PDPs) to begin imposing restrictions on access to some medications on their preferred drug lists (also known as formularies). The transition rules set forth by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have required PDPs to cover any and all medications that were prescribed to an enrollee as of January 1, 2006. Specifically, if a beneficiary was prescribed a medication (including a psychotropic medication) upon enrollment, they were presumed to be stable on that medication and their drug plan was required to cover any refill.
This transition requirement was supposed to have expired at the end of January. However, in response to a difficult initial transition period, CMS extended the transition policy requirement through March 31. More information on the CMS transition policy is available online, including a news alert and a physician Q&A.
liz | 11:26 AM | Uncategorized
Octopussy, of a kind
Here’s the other dream I had last night, which merits a separate entry.
The PW editorial staff was directed to go to “floor E” for a caption-writing contest. We each got a photo and had to write a caption in five minutes or less. The caption had to begin with a pun, and be followed up with content related to the pun.
My photo was from last week’s PW. It was of octopus served at the restaurant Ansill.
My caption read: “Octopussy bond: Ansill serves stick-to-your-ribs seafood.”
I thought that was so clever, marrying a James Bond reference to the seafood dish. But no one in the room had seen the movie, nor heard of it. I was chagrined, and even more so when I realized I was wearing my pajamas.
liz | 11:32 AM | Uncategorized
Dream: Milk Jugs Magazine
Last night I dreamt my boyfriend, Vince, was sitting in our living room, and we had guests over. We were talking about literary things, and he said, “Has anyone read Milk Jugs Magazine?”
Everyone froze. Milk Jugs? The magazine about boobs?
He laughed and said, “I’m serious. It’s got really great articles.” And I said: “Yeah, just like Playboy. I really like Playboy’s writing.”
The crowd, now convinced that we were both into porn, was silent. And I thought, “Maybe Vince is talking about Milk Jugs, the dairy magazine. In which case I just admitted I liked Playboy for no reason.”
liz | 10:41 AM | Uncategorized
File under: Let’s drug our rowdy children till they sleep through their childhoods
Panel: drug shouldn’t be used for ADHD yet [Miami Herald]
liz | 3:59 PM | Uncategorized
Song of the day: It’s back!
Someone recently asked me what happened to Song of the Day. Until she mentioned it, I’d completely forgotten it existed. My depression has been so debilitating, I forgot my own feature!
When I’m depressed my memory gets worse. (NB: Cognitive impairment during depression is the rationale lots of ECT-industry hos give for the high incidence of memory loss from the treatments. They claim you can’t tell what’s from the shock and what’s from the depression, so all those people claiming serious memory loss are just confused. Ridiculous.)
My memory is terrible to begin with (yes, from the shock treatments), but when I’m depressed an extra blanket is piled onto the bed and I’m almost smothered by a lack of comprehension of even simple things. I guess that’s what happened with Song of the Day.
But now it’s back. Did you miss it? One person did, anyway.
Today’s song is from the soundtrack to Dave Chappelle’s Block Party. The CD is very Philly (it features Jill Scott, aka Jilly From Philly, and the Roots and was co-produced by ?uestlove). The whole thing is pretty dope (heh—I said “dope”) but I guess I’d pick Mos Def’s performance of his powerful song “Umi Says” as my favorite. But then again, I’m kind of blown away by “You Got Me” featuring the Roots, Erykah Badu and Jill Scott. So Led Zeppelin/Grace Slick!
I can’t wait to see the movie.
liz | 2:26 PM | Uncategorized
Here’s a little tip
Go to Furious Seasons for a thorough analysis of the depression/medication report released by the NIMH. Seasons’ Philip Dawdy and I don’t always see eye to eye on these issues, but he certainly does his homework, and is far less lazy/glib than I am. Check it out:
If This Is Hope, Then I’ll Take Despair
liz | 1:20 PM | Uncategorized
If you can’t stand the heat…
Chefs have it rough. The pressure can be intense in a working kitchen. The hours are long, and top chefs can be bullies. These, a new study says, are the reasons so many chefs commit suicide.
The study is the first to group suicides by profession in Scotland, where suicide is high overall.
From the Times Online:
“The statistics have emerged in the wake of the high-profile suicide three years ago of Bernard Loiseau [pictured], one of France’s leading chefs. Loiseau shot himself after his restaurant, La Côte d’Or in Burgundy, lost two marks in the highly regarded Gault Millau guide. It was claimed that rumours that the establishment might lose a Michelin star pushed him over the edge.”
Georges Perrier, make that therapy appointment now—before it’s too late.
liz | 11:38 AM | Uncategorized
