Bolje ja da kazem nego neko drugi...
A self-help course is to blame for the psychosis which led a "shy, modest, gentle" woman to jump naked to her death from a Sydney office building, a coroner says.
Rebekah Lawrence was singing in a child-like voice and shouting "I love you" to her husband as she plunged from the building in December 2005.
The "highly regarded" worker and "sweetheart" wife had been acting increasingly psychotic in the hours leading up to her death, her inquest heard. She plunged to her death two days after attending the Turning Point course - described as a "journey to the core of the human spirit".
"She took her clothes off, she was petulant in a child-like way and she asked for help in getting dressed," NSW Deputy State Coroner Malcolm MacPherson said while delivering his findings at Glebe Coroners Court on Tuesday.
"She became physically aggressive much like a child having a tantrum. She screamed and misbehaved.
"Finally, Rebekah was naked, repeatedly ranting 'I love you David, I love you David' and was heard singing as she climbed onto the windowsill and jumped out."
An autopsy found no drugs or alcohol in her system.
Mr MacPherson blamed the regressional therapies used by untrained, unqualified practitioners running the People Knowhow course for Ms Lawrence's psychosis which led to her death.
He called for an overhaul of the regulatory systems for psychotherapy practitioners after "overwhelming" evidence of the course's responsibility for Ms Lawrence's death.
"The evidence is overwhelming that the act of stepping out of a window to her death was the tragic culmination of a developing psychosis that had its origins in a self-development course known as the Turning Point," Mr MacPherson said.
He said he was persuaded by the extensive evidence of psychiatrist Dr Michael Diamond, who heavily criticised the "Inner Child" segment of the course, which involved childhood regression of people "at their most vulnerable".
"It's the use of (these) dangerous techniques in the hands of people who don't necessarily have the skills to work with them. That is my criticism," he said.
Dr Diamond said there was no evidence to suggest Ms Lawrence had any pre-existing psychiatric illness before doing the course.
The coroner made recommendations to the NSW health minister that legal restrictions be introduced for practising under the title psychotherapist or counsellor.
He also called for compulsory legal requirements to have tertiary qualifications recognised before practitioners could receive any payment for their services.
Outside court, Ms Lawrence's sister, Kate Lawrence-Haynes, and husband David Booth said they were satisfied with the findings.
"Rebekah's death isn't in vain - it's helped a lot of people who may have come to the same grim end in the future," Mr Booth told reporters, remembering his "sweetheart" wife.
"I'm not angry, because they didn't mean to do it, but it's just unqualified people doing damaging things to people's minds.
"(People looking for psychotherapy should) go to someone with appropriate qualifications."
Ms Lawrence-Haynes warned people thinking of attending similar courses to "tread carefully".
"She was a normal woman in her 30s, grappling with marriage issues, wanting kids - there's probably hundreds of thousands of women out there grappling with exactly those issues," she said.
"She wasn't strange or crazy.
"(The finding) doesn't bring my sister back. My sister would be sharing Christmas with us ... (but) I think (the course organisers) have got their comeuppance."
The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) said the case showed the urgent need for the regulation of the self-development and motivational courses industry.
Those running the courses should have basic skills to identify participants with undiagnosed mental health problems and to encourage these people to get "appropriate professional help".
"Unregulated courses can present a significant public safety issue," said RANZCP president Professor Louise Newman.
"While the RANZCP appreciates that the primary purpose of self-development courses is not to identify mental health concerns, the potentially high correlation between those attending courses and those suffering undiagnosed mental disorder cannot be ignored."
Prof Newman also said there was a need for more research into the "effectiveness or detrimental effects" that self-help motivational courses could have on a participant's mental health.
**************************
OK, new je news, zena sa mentalnim problemom otisla na kurs gde su je sjebali. Ja u ovom tekstu vidim i jos nekoliko stvari koje spadaju u pripremu javnosti: da ce se kursevi ubuduce drugacije regulisati (namerno nisam rekla "bolje" jer se ne zna oce li biti na bolje iil na gore) kao i klasicno sejanje straha koje je ko hidrogen za farbanje kose: jednom kad kosu naprzis hidrogenom, posle mozes da turis koju god hoces boju.
