Dear Editor,
In regard
to the picture taken by Dr Ahmad Abdalla in The Permanente Journal,
Vol 6, No. 4, Fall 2002, p 38, "A
Gathering of Crabs," this picture is an insult to the many
people who respect life of any form on this earth.
People
who care for animals and the environment would like to see animals in
their natural habitat and not in a fish market pending trauma by human
beings, by boiling them to death and then eat them for enjoyment.
I do not
see any healing for the soul and any soul in a healer who perceives
a pile of once-living animals hunted away from their natural habitat
by humans to be sold for a profit as an "attractive" scene.
Yes, there
is mesmerizing beauty in beings and "gathering" of beings
in the nature but there is no beauty in any gathering to be killed soon.
Sincerely,
Zarin
Azar, MD
Gastroenterology, Kaiser Permanente, Bellflower, CA
Response:
Thank you for bringing your viewpoint to our attention. It is far from
our intention to insult anyone. The connection between ourselves and
the world around us, our environment, is often easily overlooked. We
will consider diversity of opinion in future issue decisions.
Editor
The
Permanente Journal,
Thank you
for a very stimulating article "Can
Some Clinicians Read Their Patients' Minds? Or Do They Just Really Like
People? A Communication and Relationship Study," Vol 6, No.
3, Summer 2002. Are you aware of a thoughtful essay on intuition by
a young Eric Berne? It may have been his first published work. I appreciated
your reinforcement of the fact that effective treatment hinges on a
positive treatment relationship. One of my concerns in a mental health
program, where treatment is usually extended over more than one visit,
is the effect of the interval between sessions on the quality of the
relationship--ie, can it be sustained by either the provider or the
client when the interval gets to be four- or five-weeks long? I don't
find many studies of this factor, except in connection with the issue
of managing antidepresssant medication. Any references you are aware
of would be most appreciated.
Bertram
R Barth, LCSW
Mental Health, Santa Rosa Medical Center, CA
Response:
Thank you for your letter to The Permanente
Journal.
I was unaware of the Eric Berne essay1 and your mention piqued
my interest, thus sending me on a search to find it. It is interesting
that he made comments 45 years ago about the importance of alertness
and receptivity that are not unlike our findings of the importance of
attention and presence.
I
agree that the interval between mental health visits is very important,
although I don't know of any recent research in that area--it is out
of my field. Since you are in Northern California, you may want to contact
Dr Robin Dea, Chief of Psychiatry to see if she has any information
or resources.
I
appreciate your interest in our article. We are glad you read the journal
and found something of value.
Editor
Reference
1.
Berne E. Intuition and the ego states. San Francisco (CA): TA Press;
1977. Originally published as: Berne E. Intuition V: the ego image.
Psychiatr Q 1957;31:611-27.
Tom Janisse,
I'm not
caught up on all of my reading. I did just get through the article "Are
All Physicians Leaders." What a great article. I made an additional
copy of the article and sent it to all of the Salem Primary Care physicians
to make sure they saw it.
Dan Roth,
MD
NW Primary Care Service Area Director
Tom Janisse,
The
Permanente Journal lives up to the challenges laid out in the Institute
of Medicine report Crossing the Quality Chasm. The KP Hawaii
Region Health Care Teams recently focused on such at a recent Regional
Health Care Team Leaders offsite. TPJ is a balance of not only
clinical/scientific medicine, but of systems and operations, issues
about leadership, new methods of care delivery besides the 15-minute
MD appointment, communication, and issues that are patient-centered.
A very
enlightened approach.
Ben Tamura,
MD
Chief of Internal Medicine, Hawaii Permanente Medical Group
