Yes, even the JCI can weigh in on celebrity gossip, but hopefully without becoming a tabloid. Rather, we want to shine a light on the reckless comments actor Tom Cruise has recently made that psychiatry is a “quack” field and his belief that postpartum depression cannot be treated pharmacologically. We can only hope that his influence as a celebrity does not hold back those in need of psychiatric treatment.
Ushma S. Neill
Submitter: Deborah M. Kim | dmk564@yahoo.com
Philadelphia
Published December 5, 2005
I want to thank you for writing such an intelligent and well-thought out rebuttal to many of the things that Tom Cruise has said. I also had no idea what "silent birth" actually meant, but I wanted to add to your comments. Not only is there no literature that proves that a "week of silence" is helpful for a baby, it can actually be extremely dangerous. If certain disorders, such as galactosemia, hypothyroidism, and phenylketonuria are not recognized right when the baby is born, and treatment is delayed, the baby can suffer from irreversible physical and mental damage. I hope that every Scientologist who ascribes to the belief of "silent birth" has healthy children. Otherwise, it would be heartbreaking to see a child suffer from a disease because of its parents' religious beliefs.
Submitter: Lucas A Catton | luke@stopaddiction.com
Narconon Arrowhead
Published August 22, 2005
In response to your editorial about Mr. Cruise,
I wanted to offer a bit of a rebuttal. While you cited one former assistant surgeon general as saying the Narconon Program was dangerous, another (the late Asst. Surgeon General for four Presidents, Dr. Emery Johnson) was a supporter of the Narconon Program, so it is only a matter of opinion of Mr. Rhoades. Furthermore, the scientific validity of the program has been proven over and again in the last 16 years since his statement.
In addition, the State of Oklahoma in 1991 acted only on bias and misunderstandings regarding the Narconon Program and Narconon of Oklahoma, Inc. (dba Narconon Arrowhead) has since been certified by the same Board of Mental Health and Substance Abuse and has also been nationally accredited by the Rehabilitation Accreditation Commission (CARF), so that point is moot.
"Traditional" medical and mental health practices are not always the most effective, and the Narconon Drug Rehabilitation Program has proven to be successful throughout its 39-year history, which is why it has grown to include over 120 programs in 38 countries and counting.
Please check all your facts before commenting on something that you do not have enough information about and spreading opinionated information on a program that is helping thousands of people recover from drug and alcohol addiction.
For more information and evidence to back this up, please feel free to contact Narconon International (www.narconon.org) or Narconon Arrowhead (www.stopaddiction.com).
Respectfully,
Lucas A Catton, CCDC
Narconon Arrowhead