scholarly journals Critique of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists Psychedelic Therapy Clinical Memorandum, Dated May 2020

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 145-160
Author(s):  
Victor Chiruta ◽  
Paulina K Zemla ◽  
Pixie Miller ◽  
Nicola Santarossa ◽  
John A Hannan
Keyword(s):  
Mental Illness ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
Patient Access ◽  
Clinical Environment ◽  
Medical Evidence ◽  
Self Medication ◽  
Current Time ◽  
Zealand College ◽  
Negative Health Outcomes

Objective: The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) has positioned itself against medically controlled patient access (at this current time) to 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) and psilocybin-assisted therapies in its Therapeutic Use of Psychedelic Substances Clinical Memorandum, May 2020. The main reason given by the RANZCP for its stance is safety concerns. Methods: Every reference in the clinical memorandum (CM) was checked against the original publications used by RANZCP to justify its position. In addition, the search engines Google Scholar, PubMed, ScienceDirect, the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Therapies (MAPS) website, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) website, relevant Australian and New Zealand legislation were searched for pertinent and up-to-date- information. Results: There is no scientific or medical evidence from the last 70 years to suggest that either psilocybin or MDMA, when administered as an adjutant to therapy in a controlled clinical setting, are linked to either mental illness or negative health outcomes. On the contrary, MDMA and psilocybin have been shown to be safe, non-toxic, non-addictive, and efficacious when administered in a medically-controlled clinical environment. All associated risks are apparent in an uncontrolled setting. Conclusion: The RANZCP’s position is based on outdated, irrelevant, misinterpreted, and misinformed evidence. With the recent positive media coverage of the efficacy of these medicines when used as an adjunct to therapy, there is an intrinsic risk of self-medication or underground therapy. This means that any medical discussion must also purvey the ethical responsibilities and social duties associated with these substances.

Owning the brand of psychiatry

2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (S1) ◽  
pp. S740-S740
Author(s):  
A. Peters
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Public Space ◽  
Medical Training ◽  
The Public ◽  
Community Information ◽  
Zealand College ◽  
Competing Interest ◽  
Promotion Campaigns

In Australia and New Zealand, conversations around mental health are playing out in the public space with increasing frequency. Mental health promotion campaigns and organizations are embraced by mainstream and other forms of media, and supported by government. Whilst public knowledge of mental illness is increasing, the profile of psychiatrists as leaders and medical experts in mental illness is a more difficult brand to sell. With a somewhat tarnished history behind us, the modern evidence-based practice of psychiatry is not always at the forefront of public impression. Furthermore, in Australia, more than half of the population (56%) is unaware that psychiatrists have undertaken medical training as a doctor. This presentation will outline Royal Australian and New Zealand college of psychiatrists (RANZCP) action to improve community information about psychiatry, psychiatrists and treatment experiences.Disclosure of interestThe author has not supplied his/her declaration of competing interest.

Psychiatric Training in New Zealand

2000 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 146-153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janet Moloney ◽  
Joanna MacDonald
Keyword(s):  
Mental Illness ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
General Health ◽  
Work Conditions ◽  
House Officer ◽  
Psychiatric Training ◽  
Work Setting ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Zealand College ◽  
And Training

Objective: The aims of this study were to develop a profile of current psychiatric trainees in New Zealand, to identify factors important in their recruitment to and retention in psychiatric training and to identify factors that predict failure to complete training. Method: A survey was sent to all current psychiatric trainees in New Zealand and to all trainees who could be traced who had left psychiatric training in New Zealand in the last 5 years without completing the Fellowship of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists. Results: General characteristics of the two groups are presented, as well as information about recruitment, burnout, general health and experiences of work and training. The only significant difference in general characteristics between the two groups was that more of those who had left training prematurely had been born overseas. The levels of family and personal mental illness were high, but there was no difference in these rates between those who had stayed in training and those who had left prematurely. Most trainees had decided to pursue a psychiatric career during their house-officer years. The most important factors determining the choice of a career in psychiatry were philosophical interest and house-officer experience in psychiatry. With respect to retention, despite high rates of burnout and psychological morbidity, and dissatisfaction with various aspects of the work setting, 94% of current trainees indicated satisfaction with their decision to train in psychiatry and over 90% intended to practise in New Zealand in the future. Most trainees who left training prematurely did so during the first 2 years of training. Dissatisfaction with work conditions, and stress or burnout were the main reasons for leaving. Conclusions: This study provides information on some of the complex determinants of psychiatric recruitment and retention in the New Zealand setting. Areas that could be addressed in order to improve recruitment, work satisfaction and retention in training are considered.

Is it time to include people with intellectual disabilities in Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists’ treatment guidelines?

2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (5) ◽  
pp. 519-521
Author(s):  
Harry Hill
Keyword(s):  
Mental Illness ◽  
Intellectual Disability ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Treatment Guidelines ◽  
Current Approach ◽  
Specific Population ◽  
People With Intellectual Disabilities ◽  
Zealand College ◽  
Potential Impact ◽  
Missed Opportunity

Objective: The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists’ (RANZCP) treatment guidelines set the zeitgeist for psychiatric practice in Australasia. This review conceptualises the current approach to treatment of individuals with an intellectual disability and co-occurring mental illness in RANZCP guidelines, and its potential impact. Conclusions: The enduring omission of people with an intellectual disability and co-occurring mental illness from RANZCP clinical guidelines is a missed opportunity in normalising care and optimising outcomes for people with an intellectual disability. There are substantial cultural, political and historical overlays contributing to the ongoing divide between health and disability. In developing psychiatric guidelines, authors should consider including people with co-occurring intellectual disability as a specific population, that requires distinctive consideration.

Creativity as a Haven: An Angel at My Table (Jane Campion, 1990)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alistair Fox
Keyword(s):  
Mental Illness ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Coming Of Age ◽  
Main Character ◽  
Personal Investment ◽  
Jane Campion

Through a comparison with Janet Frame’s Autobiography, from which it is adapted, this chapter analyses Jane Campion’s An Angel at My Table as the first New Zealand film to present all three of the main maturational phases characteristic of the coming-of-age genre, but as experienced by a Pākehā girl. Identifying the effects of a repressive environment as the source of the emotional stresses that lead the main character, Janet, to be institutionalized for schizophrenia, the discussion shows how she finds respite in fictive creativity and a world of the imagination. It also shows Campion’s personal investment in the story as a displaced representation of her own mother’s fight with mental illness.

Clinical Supervision: A Review of Underlying Concepts and Developments

2002 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 92-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanna Macdonald
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
American Literature ◽  
Clinical Supervision ◽  
Developmental Process ◽  
Empirical Support ◽  
Personal Contact ◽  
Role Conflicts ◽  
Effective Feedback ◽  
Zealand College ◽  
The Relationship

Objective: This review examines how psychiatric clinical supervision is represented in the psychiatric literature and its relevance for Australasian psychiatry. Method: The literature was first identified then reviewed using Medline and Psychlit, manual searches of relevant journals and personal contact with some key workers in Australia and New Zealand. Results: The predominantly American literature written two to three decades ago reflected the conditions in which psychiatry was practised at that time, largely based in asylums or private offices and informed by the dominant psychoanalytic discourse of that era. These articles, frequently anecdotal and with little empirical support, conceptualized supervision as a developmental process, a syndrome, or a process of identification. They focused substantially on the nature of the relationship between the trainee and supervisor. More recent writers have included trainees’ perspectives. They have identified a number of problems with supervision, including role conflicts, uncertainty about boundaries, lack of supervisory training and lack of effective feedback, and have introduced the concepts of adult learning as highly relevant. These concerns, however, have led to little change to date. Conclusion: The implementation by the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) of new training by-laws provides an opportunity to define the meaning of supervision in the current clinical context, to undertake research to clarify the key elements in the process, and to evaluate different techniques of supervision.

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