4. DR MYRNA WEISSMAN (TEENSCREEN)

December 11, 2006

http://www.ahrp.org/cms/content/view/97/29/

Marriage of Convenience: Mental Screening--Eli Lilly check $500k

Sunday, 05 March 2006

Mental Screening ties to drug companies exposed. Screening for

Mental Health (Harvard affiliated) received $500K from Eli Lillly.

See: http://ahrp.org/children/mentalscreen/LillyCheck.jpg

TeenScreen hired high powered PR firms whose business is to create

promotional campaigns to increase drug sales for its clients.

Screening for Mental Health, Inc, a " non-profit " corporation

affiliated with Harvard University--McLean Hospital claims to screen

for " Signs of Suicide " -- A photograph from the Belmont Citizen-Herald

provides " smoking gun " evidence that the mental screening campaigns

are bankrolled by drug manufacturers. It shows SMH officials

accepting an Eli Lilly check for $500,000--a small investment for the

billions the company stands to gain from mental screening leading to

increased prescriptions. See the photo at:

http://ahrp.org/children/mentalscreen/LillyCheck.jpg

Below are listed SMH board of directors and their affiliations.

Harvard's Screening for Mental Health has competition from Columbia

University's TeenScreen--which promises to " catch them before they

fall. "

Both are obvious pharmaceutical market expansion gimmicks. They

pretend to be " life saving " suicide prevention tools, but their

tactics are as loathsome as --as valid as commercially motivated as

snake oil sales pitches of yesteryear. In fact, there is no evidence

of any valid suicide prevention tool. See:

http://www.ahrp.org/children/teenscreen/debateNAS0206.ppt

The sophisticated promotional campaign for TeenScreen is orchestrated

and managed by powerful PR firms--Rabin Strategic Partners with

Communications, and Widmeyer Communications. Their clients--

you guessed it--are Big Pharma companies. See below.

Widmeyer Communication: " Marketing to young people has always been a

sensitive topic. But as an audience of 40 million with annual buying

power of $364 billion, teens and " tweens " are important customers in

the marketplace of products and ideas. For " social marketers " -

namely organizations and government agencies striving to change

behavior - three recent and ongoing campaigns demonstrate the

powerful impact of sound research and strategic partnerships in

achieving success. "

As Dr. Gosden and Dr. Sharon Beder report, " The development

of political agenda-setting through the use of sophisticated public

relations techniques is threatening to undermine the delicate balance

of representative democracy. " (The two authors are highly respected

Australian authors and academics who have written numerous books and

peer reviewed articles)

See: 'Pharmaceutical Industry Agenda Setting in Mental Health

Policies', Ethical Human Sciences and Services, Fall/Winter 2001, 3

(3):147-159. http://homepage.mac.com/herinst/sbeder/pharm-agenda.html.

SCREENING FOR MENTAL HEALTH Board of Directors

http://www.mentalhealthscreening.org/about/board.aspx

Ross Baldessarini, M.D.

Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School

Senior Consulting Psychiatrist, Massachusetts General Hospital

Director at McLean Hospital of:

Bipolar & Psychotic Disorders Program

International Consortium for Bipolar Disorder Research

Laboratories for Psychiatric Research

Psychopharmacology Program McLean Hospital Belmont, MA

Leonard Freedberg, M.D.

Newton-Wellesley Psychia

Alan Weinstein

Vice President, Fixed Income Division, Fidelity Investments

Wellesley, MA

Myrna Weissman, Ph.D.

Professor of Epidemiology & Psychiatry, College of Physicians &

Surgeons of Columbia University New York, NY

TeenScreen PR Firms and their client list:

Rabin Strategic Partners http://www.rabinpartners.com

Steve Rabin, head of TeenScreen's PR firm, is an expert on the art of

forming advocacy partnerships. More recently, Rabin has been applying

his skills in partnership formation with the giant PR conglomerate

Communications Worldwide.

Dr. Gosden and Sharon Beder, wrote: " The public relations

industry often refers to front groups euphemistically as " partners " .

Steve Rabin, a former executive vice president/general manager of

Porter/Novelli, is an expert on the art of forming advocacy

partnerships. According to Rabin Rabin has been applying his skills

in partnership formation with the giant PR conglomerate

Communications Worldwide. 's client list includes Abbott

Laboratories, AstraZeneca, Bayer, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly,

Glaxo Wellcombe, Hoffman-La Roche, Janssen-Cilag,, Lundbeck,

Novartis, Pfizer, Kline Beecham, Wyeth-Ayerst International,

together with the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI).

( Communications Worldwide, 2001).

Rabin's Services Include: Global monitoring of governments, the

media, the marketplace, the web, advocacy groups, and internal

audiences to identify trends and seize opportunities. They have

provided strategic partner services for:

· Columbia University

· Janssen Pharmaceutica

· &

· & /Merck

· McNeil Consumer & Specialty Pharmaceuticals

" Beyond the Boardroom: Applying Proven Business Practices to Public

Health Communication Monday, April 25, 2005 4:30PM – 6:30PM Emory

University. The inaugural lecture, " Can Health Really Be Marketed

Like Toothpaste? " will be presented by Steve Rabin, president of

Rabin Strategic Partners. Rabin's lecture will include an insightful,

provocative, critical, and inspiring discussion about the

similarities and differences between consumer marketing and public

health communications. Not just for communication professionals,

Rabin's presentation will help all public health practitioners better

understand such foreign topics as marketing, issues management,

public affairs, and enterprise-wide communications.

See: http://www.sph.emory.edu/healthcomm/boardroom/

Case Study: DIRECT-TO-PATIENT ADVERTISING: Stopping a Bad Bill in Its

Tracks

" Our client, one of the nation's largest publishers of free, consumer

health information, faced a tremendous threat. A member of the

California Senate introduced an anti-advertising bill that would ban

sponsored direct-to-patient health newsletters.

Working under a pressing legislative deadline, Rabin Strategic

Partners quickly developed our client's outreach strategy. We

outlined the issue and communicated it to key stakeholders. We then

went on to build a strong and diverse coalition opposed to the

legislation of consumer and patient groups, medical societies and

organizations protecting underserved populations. These groups were

strategically recruited from the local districts of key members of

the California Senate and Assembly.

Rabin Strategic Partners also developed and disseminated key messages

to potential coalition members, members of the state legislature and

the Schwarzenegger administration. Strong momentum built against the

bill and highlighted that it actually would thwart patient

information. In the end the bill's sponsor withdrew it from

consideration. "

Case Study: MENTAL HEALTH CHECK-UPS FOR TEENS: A Ten-Year Strategy

and a Daily Responsibility:

" After a decade of extensive research, Columbia University perfected

a simple questionnaire for teens that finds those at risk of suicide

and suffering from unidentified mental illness, such as depression.

The big question - how to offer a voluntary, mental health check-up

to every American teenager before leaving high school?

Rabin Strategic Partners started to answer this question three years

ago. We provided Columbia University with a ten-year strategy

including the marketing, public policy and funding steps needed to

launch the program nationally. Rabin Strategic Partners developed

and managed public relations, lobbying and advertising to implement

the plan. Now on a daily basis we track the media and political

landscape to make sure the plan meshes with the current environment.

So far the strategy is paying off. Programs are established in

almost 500 communities in 42 states and over 250 sites are in

development. Thirty four national organizations support voluntary,

mental health check-ups for teens. Just recently federal grants were

awarded to four states to implement the program as part of their

overall suicide prevention efforts. "

Case Study: COLUMBIA GRADUATE SCHOOL OF JOURNALISM: Creating Coverage

that Makes a Difference

" Our client wanted to help move media coverage of mental illness from

the sensational to the supportive. Rabin Strategic Partners created a

two and one-half day colloquium at the Columbia Graduate School of

Journalism that allowed journalists new to mental health reporting to

learn from established reporters from such outlets as The New York

Times and The Wall Street Journal. Scientists and advocates

participated in working sessions held in the school's World Room,

site of the annual Pulitzer Prize deliberations. The results were new

story ideas for coverage that could make a difference in the lives of

children with mental illness and more than 20 articles so far that

incorporated insights from these sessions. A report of the colloquium

proceedings was distributed to more than 500 reporters and other

interested parties. "

According to Brandweek, April 11, 2005 " There are two new hires at

Rabin Strategic Partners: A. Borgognoni as partner and

S. Hoppy as communications associate. Borgognoni had been at

Bristol-Myers Squibb. Hoppy served as assistant communications

director at Columbia University's Division of Child and Adolescent

Psychiatry. "

*** AHRP obtained that report and uncovered the $$ connection: " The

colloquium was sponsored by The Carmel Hill Family Foundation and

unrestricted educational grants secured by the Division of Child and

Adolescence Psychiatry from Janssen Pharmaceutical Products, LP and

McNeilConsumer and Specialty Pharmaceuticals. "

Widmeyer Communications

http://www.widmeyer.com/archives/2004/08/columbia_univer_1.php

Columbia University Division of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry

Overview

· While 90 percent of teens who commit suicide suffer from a

treatable mental illness, the vast majority of parents, teachers and

other adults are unaware that there is a problem. As a result, 60 to

80 percent of adolescents with depression will go undiagnosed and

untreated.

· Columbia, through its TeenScreen program, had already been

partnering with schools and communities across the nation to

implement mental health screening programs for youths. It also

created Positive Action for Teen Health - a national initiative to

provide every teen in America with a voluntary " mental health check-

up. "

Communications Challenge

· Getting the word out to ensure that parents and other key

players (educators, policymakers, the media, etc.) were aware of the

Teen Screen program and the importance of mental health screening.

Strategy

· Combining our extensive knowledge in education; results-

oriented communications expertise; in-house research, polling and

design; and advertising capabilities, Widmeyer Communications devised

a comprehensive national public health campaign involving media

relations, partnership development, research, public affairs and

advertising.

Tactics

· Convened a National Advisory Council to provide third party

credibility. Members included former Iowa Governor Terry Branstad,

former National Education Association President Bob Chase, actress

Patty Duke, Nobel Laureate Dr. Kandel, A Beautiful Mind author

Sylvia Nasar, and Today Show medical reporter Ian .

· Developed a website - www.TeenScreen.org - to provide

important information about teen depression and suicide risk.

· Conducted a national poll investigating parent's attitudes

toward teen mental health issues.

· Implemented an aggressive media relations effort to

publicize the Positive Action for Teen Health initiative and its

goals, including separate press launches in New York City and

Washington, DC.

· Established partnerships with national education

associations to secure the necessary support from the professional

community.

Results

· Nationwide coverage in key outlets including The Washington

Post, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, AP, Reuters, more than 85

metropolitan newspapers, CNN Headline News, and a number of local

TV affiliates in major media markets.

· In the first four weeks following the media launch, the site

recorded more than 300,000 page views - as many in one month as for

the entire preceding year.

· Since the launch, Columbia University has received over 1,000

requests for information on how to start a screening program at the

community level.

· There are currently three bills pending in Congress related to

teen mental health issues and six state governments are implementing

plans to adopt statewide screening programs.

http://www.widmeyer.com/wire/2004/07/volume_5_issue_1.html

" March 2004 Special Issue: Reaching Youth with Important

Messages: Research and Partnerships are Critical Elements To

Successful Social Marketing to Young People

Marketing to young people has always been a sensitive topic. But as

an audience of 40 million with annual buying power of $364 billion,

teens and " tweens " are important customers in the marketplace of

products and ideas. For " social marketers " - namely organizations and

government agencies striving to change behavior - three recent and

ongoing campaigns demonstrate the powerful impact of sound research

and strategic partnerships in achieving success.

Although the results make it look easy, it's important to note that

in each of these three campaigns, the influential messaging, creative

tactics and effective " calls-to-action " were not created overnight.

Those leading the efforts have committed significant time and energy

to gain a deep understanding of the unique perspectives of target

audiences - and have wisely tapped the power of intermediaries to

reach and influence these audiences.

For the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which

worked with Widmeyer Communications to create and launch the " Take A

Stand. Lend A Hand. Stop Bullying Now! " campaign, this research

involved numerous focus groups with young people and adults to

understand the true impact and scope of bullying and a " Youth Expert

Panel " that provided firsthand insight on every aspect of the

campaign. To reach target audiences, the campaign then formed

partnerships with more than 70 health, safety, education and faith-

based organizations to determine which types of outreach materials

would be most useful for adults who interact with youth on various

levels.

For Columbia University, which turned to the firm to

promote " TeenScreen " - a nation

http://www.teenscreen.org/images/logo.gifal effort to provide every

teen in America with a voluntary school " mental health check-up " for

depression and mental illness - research was carried out through a

national poll investigating attitudes about teen mental health. This

campaign team also formed partnerships with national education

associations and a National Advisory Council that includes Former

National Education Association President Bob Chase, actress Patty

Duke, Nobel Laureate Dr. Kendel, A Beautiful Mind author Sylvia

Nasar, former Iowa Governor Terry Branstand and NPR's Jacki Lyden.

And for the Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network (GLSEN), ongoing

research is being conducted through Widmeyer's Research & Polling

division to gain direct insight from teens about the impact of anti-

gay slurs in schools. This information will undoubtedly be useful in

GLSEN's continuing success with the Safe Schools Action Network,

which uses a remarkably savvy Internet-based approach to ensure that

individuals from all walks of life can instantly weigh in on

policies, media reports and special events that impact the lives of

young people

A quick look at all of these efforts reveals the impact that can be

created by a broad array of innovative and creative communications

tactics. Log on to HHS' " Take A Stand. Lend A Hand. Stop Bullying

Now! " Web site and youâ€™ll be drawn into suspenseful

animated " Webisodes " about young people struggling to find the right

response to bullying in a modern middle school. Conduct a news search

about Columbia TeenScreen and youâ€™ll see news stories from CNN, the

Associated Press, The Washington Post and more than 90 newspapers and

local TV affiliates. Talk to hundreds of school counselors about the

work of GLSEN, and you'll hear about nationwide " special events " such

as " No Name Calling Week " and the " Day of Silence " in which 200,000

young people in 2,000 schools take a vow of silence to protest

discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender

students in their schools.

For more information about these organizations and campaigns, visit

www.stopbullyingnow.hrsa.gov, www.teenscreen.org, and www.glsen.org

Widmeyer Communications was hired to put together the PR campaign.

Tactics:

· Convened a National Advisory Council to provide third party

credibility. Members included former Iowa Governor Terry Branstad,

former National Education Association President Bob Chase,

actress Patty Duke, Nobel Laureate Dr. Kandel, A Beautiful Mind

author Sylvia Nasar, and Today Show medical reporter Ian . "

· Established partnerships with national education

associations to secure the necessary support from the professional

community.

· Implemented an aggressive media relations effort to

publicize the Positive Action for Teen Health initiative and its

goals, including separate press launches in New

York City and Washington, DC. "

AHRP question to TeenScreen administrators & the federal agency that

supports TeenScreen (Substance Abuse and Mental Health

Services Administration (SAMHSA)

If the goal of TeenScreen is not to promote increased use of

psychotropic drugs, why did TeenScreen hire high powered PR firms

whose business is to create promotional campaigns to increase sales

for its clients--manufacturers of psychotropic drugs?

Contact: Vera Hassner Sharav

veracare@... veracare@... This email address is being

protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

http://www.ferris.edu/ISAR/arcade/psycho/analyze.htm

ANALYZE THIS: DOCS GET DRUG CO. $$

By GREGG BIRNBAUM & DOUGLAS MONTERO (Feb. 28, 1999)

The world's pharmaceutical giants are pouring big bucks into the bank

accounts of state psychiatrists and researchers in charge of drug

experiments on mentally ill New Yorkers, a Post probe has found.

The financial pipeline from the drug companies has aroused serious

concern about the integrity of their research and the safety of

patients who serve as human guinea pigs.

It also has critics blasting the psychiatrists as " hired guns. "

The Post's investigation found:

Leading psychiatrists and a high-ranking official at the state

Psychiatric Institute in Manhattan, the state clearinghouse for drug

research on kids and adults, have been lining their pockets with

hefty drug-company speaking fees, consulting deals, board

memberships, and subsidized international trips, state records show.

Two members of the Psychiatric Institute in-house panel directly

responsible for protecting the rights of mentally ill patients have

financial ties to drug mega firms like Eli Lilly, Glaxo Wellcome and

Bristol-Myers Squibb.

The drug makers, while enriching the psychiatrists, are also picking

up the tab for research at the Psychiatric Institute, where their

products are tested for treatment of such ailments as depression,

hyperactivity and schizophrenia.

Drug-company-funded studies are often led by the same researchers who

have private money deals with the firms.

The financial ties have critics wondering about the hidden pressure

put on researchers to ride roughshod over patients' rights, and the

validity of their studies.

" This is truly a conflict of interest, and it is truly unethical, "

said Dr. Adil Shamoo, a bioethicist at the University of land

School of Medicine and vice president of Citizens for Responsible

Care in Research.

" This is not in the best interests of the patients. The human

subjects could end up being abused because no one is looking out for

their interest, " Shamoo added, saying drug-company dollars may

have " clouded researchers' judgment. "

The researchers' previously undisclosed money connections to the drug

companies were uncovered in a Post review of over 150 financial

disclosure forms filed with the state by employees at the Psychiatric

Institute, state Office of Mental Health and other facilities.

On the forms, employees are required to list all personal income over

$1,000 received annually from outside sources. Specific dollar

amounts are not made public.

" Those researchers getting paid by the drug companies are no longer

doing objective research, " said one advocate for the mentally ill.

The Post investigation found at least 10 key players at the

Psychiatric Institute who profit from side deals with a host of huge

drug companies.

They include a top institute official, prominent researchers and

psychiatrists serving on a special watchdog panel charged with

safeguarding patients in experiments.

Psychiatric Institute Deputy Director Jack Gorman's outside income is

so extensive that he had to attach extra pages to the standard

financial disclosure form.

Records show he took home lecture and advisory-board fees from

Pfizer, Janssen Pharmaceutical, Eli Lilly, Kline Beecham and

other drug manufacturers.

Gorman is the lead researcher on an experiment sponsored by Pfizer,

according to the Psychiatric Institute's Web site posting of 200

current experiments and studies. Gorman did not return The Post's

calls.

Others on the gravy train include psychiatrist Tim Walsh, who earned

lecture fees from Eli Lilly and is supervising a study on Prozac;

psychiatrist Roose, who received honoraria and travel

reimbursement from Kline Beecham and other drug firms and is

heading an experiment funded by Kline Beecham; and psychiatrist

Myrna Weissman, who fattened her bank account with speaking fees from

Wyeth-Ayerst and Solvay and is running a Solvay-sponsored study... "

Marriage of Convenience: Mental Screening--Eli Lilly check

$500k