International Society for Ethical Psychology and Psychiatry (ISEPP) Presents Wendy Dolin with Special Achievement Award

“The ISEPP Special Achievement award is intended for a professional or non-professional who has made a significant specific contribution to challenging the conventional mental health system,” said Dr. Chuck Ruby, ISEPP Executive Director. “Dolin’s advocacy and devotion to her husband’s memory is inspiring and warrants the receipt of ISEPP’s Special Achievement Award.”

2018 ISEPP Citation

Wendy Dolin is a therapist and activist who founded MISSD, which is an acronym for Medication Induced Suicide in Memory of Stewart Dolin. Stewart was Wendy’s husband of 36 years and a successful senior member of the international defense firm, Reed Smith in Chicago. In July 2010, one week after being prescribed paroxetine for work stress, Stewart’s life ended when he jumped in front of an oncoming train. This started Wendy’s painful search for an answer and her mission to educate the community about medication-induced suicide.

She discovered that the drug company, GlaxoSmithKline, had been concealing the suicide risks associated with paroxetine and so launched a lawsuit. In March 2017, a jury concluded that the drug manufacturer failed to warn about the suicide risk and awarded Wendy $3 million in damages. However, an appeals court recently overturned the ruling. Wendy will be petitioning the Supreme Court of the United States to review the case.

Turnout at last night’s MISSD annual gala was the largest ever. Special thanks goes out to hundreds of attendees and to all whose continued support helps make MISSD public education programs possible. Check out our new video focused on better identifying some outward signs of akathisia.

https://youtu.be/ER4JGnRssSk

MISSD founder Wendy Dolin (with director Jenna Sachman and board members Cindy Klinger and Jeff Dritz, shown here) presented about her story and akathisia to some of Loyola’s School of Social Work grad students yesterday. The topic and discussion were well-received by the students, who were interested in learning more so they could take the information to their internship sites. Special thanks to Dr. Marcia Spira for allowing MISSD to bring awareness to this important topic!

MISSD is thrilled that our educational video about akathisia has been included in a recent article of the online version of one of the UK’s largest and most widely read and respected newspapers, the Daily Mail. The piece, which you can read here, describes side effects of psychotropic medications and the long-term risks that affect some patients. It also highlights a variety of interesting studies about drugs and placebo effects, discusses long-term conditions and shares one individual’s story. It explains the fact that even after stopping medications, withdrawal effects can sometimes last years or even become a permanent condition. Although MISSD is not anti-drug and does not support all the views described in this article, we do take a stand for truth in labeling. Our mission is to raise awareness of akathisia and medication-induced suicides.

Read the article and let us know what you think!