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RedwoodAge.com is proud to nominate Senior Editor Pamela A. MacLean for an
SPJ Award for Explanatory Journalism for her four-part series, "Psychiatrists List New Mental Disorders in Seniors."
MacLean researched and wrote this important series, which explained the
importance of the fifth revision in an obscure psychiatric manual and, in
particular, the very deep impact that could have on millions of vulnerable
senior citizens in the United States.
As MacLean reported, the draft version of
the "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)"
would reclassify common problems among elders as new mental illnesses, resulting
in treatments with psychotropic drugs and labeling millions of elders as
mentally ill. The proposed additions included such conditions as grief
after the loss of a loved one, and "mild neurocognitive disorder" to
describe elders who fall short of the technical definition for dementia.
 (Anderson Photo) MacLean wrote the series for RedwoodAge with the support of a fellowship from
the MetLife Foundation's Journalists in Aging program, a project of New America Media and the Gerontological Society of America. RedwoodAge is a 6-year-old national news organization that emphasizes coverage of news related to
aging.
The story was distributed by New America Media and carried by news organizations across the country. It also drew praise from Dr. Allen
Frances, the author of the third revision of the DSM and the
psychiatrist largely credited for helping to eliminate the definition of
homosexuality as a psychiatric illness.
"Congratulations for [the] terrific DSM 5 article," he wrote
to MacLean. "The Minor Neurocognitive [disorder] will result in a huge
false positive rates causing needless worries and heartache, expensive
testing, and useless treatments. The silliness of the grief proposal speaks
for itself, but you have put it very well. Thanks!"
Here are the four major parts of the series, along with a sidebar about an
unusual court that hears elder cases in Martinez.
PART 1: Psychiatrists
List New Mental Disorders in Seniors
PART 2: One
Woman's Caregiving Journey
PART 3: Overuse of
Psych Drugs on Elders
PART 4: New
Options in Dementia Care
Sidebar: A
Unique Elder Court
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