Posted by Quintal on February 4, 2007, at 21:19:12
In reply to Re: Ashton Rocks!, posted by dbc on February 4, 2007, at 20:47:07
Heather Ashton has produced the most comprehensive and accurate guide to benzodiazepine use and withdrawal ever written. She and her immediate colleagues are not scientologists. I am as sure of it as I possibly can be. That accusation is all too common and easy to throw around here as defensiveness toward any criticism of current psychiatric practice. It is also the last resort of people who know they are out of their depth and have no sound argument to present.
It seems to me that you're speaking out in anger against some perceived attack. I suggest you take them time to calm down and re-read the Ashton Manual thoroughly. I'm sure you will find that on the whole it is a thorough and well researched scientific document. I'm curious about the example you cite - would you please provide a link and quotation from the passage in question?
Here is a brief account of Prof. Heather Ashton's career - an impressive CV not typical of the average scientologist I'm sure:
__________________________________________________ABOUT PROFESSOR C HEATHER ASHTON, DM, FRCP
Chrystal Heather Ashton DM, FRCP is Emeritus Professor of Clinical Psycho-pharmacology at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, England.
Professor Ashton is a graduate of the University of Oxford and obtained a First Class Honours Degree (BA) in Physiology in 1951. She qualified in Medicine (BM, BCh, MA) in 1954 and gained a postgraduate Doctor of Medicine (DM) in 1956. She qualified as MRCP (Member of the Royal College of Physicians, London) in 1958 and was elected FRCP (Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, London) in 1975. She also became National Health Service Consultant in Clinical Psychopharmacology in 1975 and National Health Service Consultant in Psychiatry in 1994.
She has worked at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne as researcher (Lecturer, Senior Lecturer, Reader and Professor) and clinician since 1965, first in the Department of Pharmacology and latterly in the Department of Psychiatry. Her research has centred, and continues, on the effects of psychotropic drugs (nicotine, cannabis, benzodiazepines, antidepressants and others) on the brain and behaviour in man. Her main clinical work was in running a benzodiazepine withdrawal clinic for 12 years from 1982-1994.
She is at present involved with the North East Council for Addictions (NECA) of which she is former Vice-Chairman of the Executive Committee on which she still serves. She continues to give advice on benzodiazepine problems to counsellors and is patron of the Bristol & District Tranquilliser Project. She was generic expert in the UK benzodiazepine litigation in the 1980s and has been involved with the UK organisation Victims of Tranquillisers (VOT). She has submitted evidence about benzodiazepines to the House of Commons Health Select Committee.
She has published approximately 250 papers in professional journals, books and chapters in books on psychotropic drugs of which over 50 concern benzodiazepines. She has given evidence to various Government committees on tobacco smoking, cannabis and benzodiazepines and has given invited lectures on benzodiazepines in the UK, Australia, Sweden, Switzerland and other countries.
http://www.benzo.org.uk/manual/bzcha00.htm#3
__________________________________________________Q
poster:Quintal
thread:729587
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20070201/msgs/729806.html