B4U-ACT joined with seven mental health professionals to object to an article recently published in the Harvard Mental Health Letter. The open letter sent in response follows: April 25, 2011 The Editor Harvard Mental Health Letter Harvard University Cambridge, MA Dear Editor: We wish to respond to the article “Pessimism
A letter to the editor written by Richard Kramer, Director of Operations of B4U-ACT, has been published in the scientific journal Archives of Sexual Behavior. The letter “describes how the proposed DSM-5 criteria for pedohebephilia have been developed without following four key guidelines specified by the American Psychiatric Association (APA)
With great sadness, B4U-ACT announces the death of Michael F. Melsheimer, co-founder of the organization in 2003. Mike died peacefully on July 15 after battling emphysema for several years. He was born August 21, 1942 in Jacksonville, FL the son of the late Richard L. and Nancy R. Ison Melsheimer.
Six people from B4U-ACT who are attracted to minors participated in a conference call Friday morning, June 11, with seven people who are involved in revising the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM). These seven included the four members of the Paraphilias Subworkgroup, responsible for the DSM entry
Three representatives of B4U-ACT recently returned from attending the Annual Meeting of the American Psychiatric Association in New Orleans. The APA recognized B4U-ACT as a patient advocacy group at the meeting. There were about 11,000 attendees at the conference, of whom about 8000 were psychiatrists (the rest were students, psychiatric
The American Psychiatric Association (APA) is currently revising its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM), the authoritative handbook used by mental health professionals to diagnose mental disorders. The DSM influences the beliefs and practices of mental health professionals, the criminal justice system, the media, and the public. Therefore, it has an
Three representatives of B4U-ACT sent the following letter to the members of the DSM-5 Paraphilias Subworkgroup and the chair of the DSM-5 Task Force, asking for a meeting with members of the subworkgroup in order to provide input on the revision of the DSM as it relates to minor-attracted people.
B4U-ACT held its one-day workshop entitled “Beyond Fear and Mistrust: Toward Open Communication between Mental Health Professionals and Minor-Attracted People” in Westminster, Maryland. The workshop was highly interactive, with four mental health professionals and four minor-attracted people taking leadership roles as presenters or discussion leaders. Attendance was by invitation only
Participants at the TogetherChat submitted a report of their discussions to Baltimore Mental Health Systems. This report identifies several barriers to communication that exist between mental health professionals and minor-attracted people, including self-interest, media sensationalizing, culturally enforced secrecy, drastic and ineffective legal policies, inaccurate stereotypes, the silencing of minor-attracted people
B4U-ACT opened its forum for mental health professionals and minor-attracted adults to discuss the barriers that hinder communication between them. Three professionals, all of whom specialize in treatment for minor-attracted adults, and three minor-attracted adults were recruited to participate. Over the next several months, the group expects to include additional
