This is a wonderful summary of much that is wrong with mental health care in Australia, and in particular, how two of our ‘key opinion leaders’ have hijacked government ears and funding; the current debate about mental health treatment; and the media in a self-serving, self-aggrandising way. Perhaps you are right, perhaps Prof. McGorry is sincere, however I remain unconvinced.

It is startling and shocking to see the difference between the rhetoric about mental health, and the reality of treatment within the current paradigm.

With much appreciation,
Catherine (A different Catherine from the one who posted above)

I am so relieved you are doing this critical job. I once had a promising career in medical/biochemical research which was brutally ended by smarmy shills including Hickie at UNSW. I was obviously asking the wrong questions back in the early 1990s so I was ruthlessly despatched from the entire field and university system in Sydney after complaining of serious privacy invasions and harassment. The claws of the industry reach deep especially in Sydney and my reputation was then expertly targetted and shredded. I endured criminal harassment both at work and at home as did my family. I was told by a friend doing medicine at the time, “they don’t call them the medical mafia for nothing”. The character assassination and white-anting continues today.

If you do some digging you’ll uncover many ‘dead bodies’ buried in Hickie’s past. I suspect it’s the same for McGorry. One day, I hope the profession will cleanup its act but I won’t hold my breath waiting.

If you’re ever in Sydney or Canberra, I’d love to have a chat.

All the best,

Catherine