‘Beyond a joke’
Gay and lesbian youth have again been ignored by Australia’s peak depression organisation, beyondblue.
The organisation’s new, 127-page draft guidelines for youth depression, Clinical Practice Guidelines on Depression in Adolescents and Young Adults, contains a single reference to GLBTI youth, under ‘Groups with low levels of help-seeking’.
Beyondblue board member and adolescent psychiatrist, associate professor Brett McDermott — who headed an expert panel to develop the guidelines — said the lack of inclusion was due to an absence of “high quality” research.
“We’re very disappointed about this as well,” McDermott told Sydney Star Observer.
“The process was about trawling the scientific literature for very high quality studies, for randomised control trials, or trials of a similar degree of scientific rigour.
“We only found one [study] that specifically included that group … so we’ve tried to flag that, and we’ve tried to say there’s an urgent future research agenda, there are some very important groups … we need some research on.”
But according to beyondblue’s own fact sheet, Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows homosexual and bisexual people have far higher levels of anxiety disorders than their heterosexual counterparts (31 percent compared with 14 percent); and more than triple the rate of depression and related disorders (19 percent compared with 6 percent).
Critics of the draft guidelines say beyondblue is falling well short of its committment to target depression in the GLBTI community after public assurances following its GLBT mental health roundtable last December.
Gay and Lesbian Health Victoria director Anne Mitchell told Sydney Star Observer it was “ridiculous” that research GLHV compiled specifically for beyondblue in December 2008 for their own literature review, Feeling queer and blue, was not taken into account.
“They have the data,” she said. “We put together the literature review for beyondblue with a fairly substantial amount of evidence, the best evidence available … even without randomised control trials, including that evidence would be good academic practice, I would have thought.”
Mitchell also hit out at the ethics of conducting randomised control trials with adolescents, saying it was not the sort of research she would want to put participants through.
“You don’t just get two random control samples of young people, then give some depression medication and watch to see how many people suicide.”
McDermott stressed the guidelines — which were withdrawn by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) in 2004 — were still in a draft format and said the information should be viewed as generalist.
He said beyondblue was pushing for a five-year review cycle and raised the potential for annual updates if more evidence is available.
info: The guidelines are open for public submissions until May 12.
Visit www.beyondblue.org.au
Beyondblue? what a ‘crocodile tears’ organization! jeff kennett laughing all the way to the bank! $60-$80 million tax payer dollars every couple of years handed over to ‘snake-oil’ remedies. depression will never be treated with anti-depressants-they are some of the most inhuman dangerous medications ever invented. depression has unfortunately become a generic ‘fad’ by the community, and a growing cult of the depression industry has arisen, all based on total misinformation, misdiagnosis, victimisation, people ending up in institutions, its all a big shame really.
Shame on them, for exploiting and manipulating the misinformed and ill-informed community with their mind-games and propaganda, tax payer funded lies.
Unfortunately nobody thinks critically. a full investigation on these so called ‘not-for-profit’ or whatever they are, massive marketing “give us money,give us money..direct mail,” how many suicides? how many confrontations with the police? how many families ruined? the cost to the community with their horrible endeavours?
oh yea, don’t forget kennett is an expert at hiding law suits, and is an injunction queen, stopping anything remotely truthful reaching the community.
got a school fete-beyondblue is there, got a big city marathon-beyondblue is there, some sucide on the news? you betcha beyond blue will pop up on the screen, the 7pm project its alter ego mouthpiece, the suburban papers run promotions on them…etc etc marketing bollocks, the so called pack of ‘professors’/politicians/actors sitting around a board table, the board table of ‘beyond a joke’.
When BeyondBlue nominated a known homophobic sports motivation speaker at Daylesford/Hepburn [a prominent gay region]a year or two ago, even the Bendigo Country Aids Network Director failed to act on protest [presumably afraid because of funding from Vic Health Dept]; only by subsequent representation to activists David Menadue and Anne Mitchell at LaTrobe University was a submission lodged after the event.Not good enough!
Matthew – “Sorry, but i’ve got a few probems with the fact that someone responds from Victoria on a problem affecting New South Wales”
Beyondblue is nationwide and its funded by our tax dollars, so I don’t see why there is an issue with the fact she comes from Victoria.
Beyond Blue is a Right Wing Political Think Thank on Depression. Nothing more and nother less. It is not a clinical group, or an academic insitution.
It is funded by corporate sponsers and governments. It has a Political Agenda that does not include us due to the huge conflict of interest it has. Beyond Blue cannot produce ligitimate guideline on anything due to all this.
It is homophobic to exlcude our community in such an blatant way, but Beyond Blue cannot represent Depression in all its forms to the Hetrosexual Community either due to its conflict of interest having a Political Agenda instead of a Clincal one.
In short it does not seek to represent reality with clinical evidence and research, as it cannot due to the conflict of interest it has.
Associate Professor Brett McDermott may make the right sounds for PR (I have no doubt they consult with such companies), but it is just spin he is putting on what is ugly homophobia.
Get rid of Jeff and then you might get somewhere BeyondAJoke!
Sorry, but i’ve got a few probems with the fact that someone responds from Victoria on a problem affecting New South Wales. What the FcKu is going on here given the millions spent, donated or provided by the taxpayer in this state over the last thirty years?
This is a complete disgrace!
Concerned -“Suicide is not a natural progression of depression unless you factor in drugs that cause suicidal thinking in perfectly well test cases”
Wrong, Depression leads to suicide. I believe we need to look at what causes depression rather than attack drug companies, believe it or not – drugs do actually help some people. Generally you don’t know how the affects a certain drug is going to affect the person until after the person starts taking the drug which is the major problem with drugs.
What do you expect from an organisation that stands by Jeff Kennett, a @%#@ who has refused to retract his comments associating homosexuality with paedophilia?
I think it is a very good thing overall to be “left out” of these guidelines. Beyondblue is nothing more than a big marketing campaign that ultimately leads to more drugs. Look at who the bosses and major spokespeople of beyondblue get money from – big Pharma. The drugs prescribed for “depression” cause suicidal thoughts and worse. The best thing for someone depressed is to go and see a counsellor, not to get put on drugs. Sexual impotency, heart trouble amongst other things. You are not being left out, you are actually being saved from roped into the category. Suicide is not a natural progression of depression unless you factor in drugs that cause suicidal thinking in perfectly well test cases. Imagine what they do to someone who is depressed! In the US, multi-billion dollars fines have been paid out for drug companies covering up negative side effects such as addiction and suicidal thoughts. They prettied up their scientific evidence to leave out the negative effects and have been caught. It can send people over the edge. Talking therapies are by far superior and don’t mess with the chemical make up of the body. Depression is not a physical disease – it is a mental and spiritual one. Treat it as such as you will get better.
Well I guess Beyond Blue does not care about GLBT suicide.
I would like to add that my beloved is a medical doctor and has experience working on publication guidelines for Health Specialist as a Medical Editor for Therapeutic Guidelines. The head of the panel he used was a professor, and they all had to go through many studies to form the guidelines for another area, along with getting advice from experts.
When I told him what the Associate Professor said of Beyond Help, trying to justify the discrimination. He said “We have many peer reviewed studies in well published journals about the topic. They simply did not want to talk about us! ”, and he was surprised they did not use a Professor and questioned the capacity of Beyond Help to produce such publications in the first place. It looks to me like Beyond Help was not competent to put together such guidelines if it did not include the high risk groups.
I think all good GP’s should put the Guidelines Beyond Help produced into the bin where they belong or simply do not purchase them as they lack credability.
The Beyond Help Board is very week in my view. They should get rid of the CEO. To often they forget about us in publications.
When Beyond Help wants money from the Government, they promise all sorts of things. Now Kevin Rudd has promised more funding as we become further depressed about his Happy Clapper lunatic ravings, Beyond Help is only to willing to take money.
But when it really matters, we do not matter to Beyond Help, or the Happy Clapper Kevin Rudd. Both treat us as not worthy of much due to who we are.