Blog Posts

Burning down the House: It's time to get that adequate continuum of care and the right people in mental health --- that includes immunology

10/27/2025

Val's Take: It's been a slow burn beginning with the US National Institute of Mental Health's denunciation of the DSM 5 in 2013 and researchers around the world investigating Psycho-Neuro-Immunology, Immuno-Psychiatry, and Neuro-Immunology.

My biggest concern is the use of the "Anti-Social Personality Disorder" Label within Criminal Justice by Forensic Evaluators.

There now is much more of an understanding of "Anti-Social Personality Disorder" as a Neuro-Developmental Disorder -- a Developmental Neuro-Immune Disorder.

State Failure to provide an adequate continuum of care is a real public policy issue.

On the other hand, the States should be looking at their provision of Psychiatric Services and seeing if they have the right people. At least some researchers are recommending including IMMUNOLOGY.

Talking Heads
Burning Down the House

How did Colorado's Competency program & Continuum of Care --- become such a broken mess

10/2/2025

Val's Take/Conjecture

It's ALMOST INCONCEIVABLE that officials would release Defendants determined to be incompetent because there is nowhere for the person to go.
Many citizens are recognizing that this is UNTENABLE.
This is a logical place to BUILD OUT that HIGH END of the CONTINUUM of CARE

Community Oriented Correctional Health Services
Medicaid and the Criminal Legal System: Specialty Courts (2023)

9News
Man at center of controversy over competency laws to remain in jail after another arrest (Sept. 25, 2025)

The hard algebra of the biological basis of behavior and --- Anti-Social Personality Disorder

9/23/2025

Plato had some empirical basis for his forms, even if it was scant by our standards or Aristotle's.
With regard to the CATEGORIES in the DSM-5-TR, there's much more of an empirical basis for them than for Plato's forms or even Aristotle's empirical categorical systems.

These nice, neat, distinct DSM CATEGORIES that have become Platonic Forms in the name of STANDARDIZATION ---
- are not supported by the research.

"Plato's Theory of Forms, which posits that true reality lies in eternal, unchanging Forms, has faced significant criticism, particularly from his student Aristotle.

"Key criticisms include the separation of Forms from the physical world, the \"Third Man\" argument leading to infinite regress, and the difficulty of applying the theory to the everyday world." ---Google AI

The Philosophy Guy

"Aristotle will also go on to spend even more space criticizing that very account primarily the notion of the forms as contributing to wisdom." --- The Philosophy Guy

OBSERVABLE BEHAVIOR is RELEVANT.

ENVIRONMENT is RELEVANT.

The UNDERLYING BIOLOGY is a NON-NEGOTIABLE VARIABLE in Medicine.

Dr. Thomas Insel, then Director of the National Institute of Mental Health, said mental health professionals try to help people change through compassion --- but much of what they do is more RELIGION than SCIENCE.

When one doesn't have the science, it doesn't seem like a significant problem.

Well, we're getting the SCIENCE, but the mental health profession does not appear to appreciate the gravity of the situation, especially in Criminal Justice and especially with respect to Anti-Social Personality Disorder.

TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE AS A JUSTICE ISSUE

8/23/2025

Val's Take/Conjecture

A number of people and entities are talking about Translational Medicine in terms of Health Equity and Justice.

We've had some significant Federal investment in Mental Health Research, and that seems to be paying off.

I've been known to say that if we just got out of the Punishment Business and went to Civil Certification --- things would be better.
- And I think they would be --- probably.
- I say "probably" because a small percentage of justice-involved people with psychiatric disorders would prefer a more definite prison term than an unpredictable civil commitment term.

BUT that doesn't solve our DESPERATE NEED for better understandings and treatments.

BHA Launches Colorado LIFTS, Increases Access to Behavioral Health Support (2025)

The Colorado Behavioral Health Administration (BHA), today celebrated the launch of Colorado LIFTS (Linking Individuals and Families To Services).

Colorado LIFTS is Colorado’s streamlined network of safety net behavioral health services, including crisis, substance use and mental health support.

From today forward, anyone in Colorado, no matter their insurance status or where they live in the state, can connect directly with care navigation support to help them begin or continue their journey to whole-person health.

Colorado is probably not the only State that tries to address frightening shortages with administrative fixes.
BUT Colorado does it a lot.

On the other hand, will State Governments ever have enough funds for OUT-OF-DATE understandings and treatments in Mental Health.

MENTAL HEALTH has already EXHAUSTED the Public Health Care System.

Those new understandings and, to a certain extent, treatments are here ---
- But they are in a wide range of ACADEMIC JOURNALS and ACADEMIC TEXTS and maybe the occasional YouTube video.
- Dr. Chris Palmer did write a book designed for the Public --- BRAIN ENERGY -- and it is helping to popularize some of these new paradigms along with METABOLIC MIND.

Robert Plant and Kashmir

8/13/2025

Val's Take: Lyrics to Kashmir

Oh, let the sun beat down upon my face, with stars to fill my dream.
I am a traveler of both time and space to be where I have been.
To sit with elders of a gentle race this world has seldom seen.
Who talk of days for which they sit and wait
When all will be revealed.

There are many associations with Kashmir and with the Robert Plant interview and mental health.

I'm going to focus on KNOWLEDGE and IGNORANCE. Enormous progress has been made in understanding Neuro-Developmental, Psychiatric and Addiction Disorders. Has all been revealed --- NO.

But if we adopt a comprehensive Public Health Approach to Criminal Justice ---- we can still maintain our integrity without complete certainty.

Dan Rather interviews Robert Plant
Kashmir over Stairway to Heaven and Loss & Grief

Led Zeppelin
Kashmir

Confused understandings, Paradigm Shifts and Justice

8/6/2025

Val's Take: Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is interesting because patients have worked so hard to have the disorder not considered a Psychiatric Disorder --- THIS IS A REAL ILLNESS.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is like Multiple Sclerosis in that those patients often have co-morbid Psychiatric Disorders.

It wasn't that long ago that Psychiatric Disorders were considered "Psycho-Somatic." That is not as true today, BUT our understanding has been CONFUSED.

When we make that paradigm shift to Neuro-Developmental & Psychiatric Disorders as NEURO-IMMUNE DISORDERS and appreciate the ramifications of Maternal Immune Activation and Atypical Virus Response --- we're in quite a different place than we've been for the last several decades.

This has all kinds of ripple effects in Criminal Justice, and is piling on to the need for a PUBLIC HEALTH APPROACH TO CRIMINAL JUSTICE.

NYU School of Medicine
Schizophrenia and Covid 19: Lessons From Systemic Immune Challenge (2022)

Institute for Neuro-Immune Medicine -- NSU Florida
Virus Reactivation: Testing and Treatment (2024)

Anti-social Personality Disorder, the Vietnam War & Support

7/27/2025

Val's Take: Is the inadequacy and harm of Forensic Evaluators and "ANTI-SOCIAL PERSONALITY DISORDER" in the Criminal Justice System ever going to end?

Yes, it will.

Two Orchid Themes & Symbols: THE VIETNAM WAR & SUPPORT

Vietnam Veterans Memorial

Greek Column -- Support

Monty Python & The Holy Grail
The Witch Scene

Neuroscientist & Author Antonio Damasio
Why the Mind Encompasses More Than Just the Brain (2016)

Australia's Professor Elizabeth Scott rings the alarm bell on out-dated mental health care

7/26/2025

Professor Elizabeth Scott is candid about the inadequate care given to Youth presenting with JUST "psychiatric symptoms" and how they are often written off as having a "personality disorder."

It is quite frightening that poor mental health care is largely the status quo, not just in the US but in other countries as well, as Professor Scott references in Australia.

As that might suggest, the need for additional basic research and improved treatments has significantly contributed to this low bar status quo.

BMC Youth Mental & Technology Research (Australia)

Immune system related psychotic and mood disorders

Not everyone has "autoimmune encephalitis" as Juliete above, but more and more we are recognizing Neuro-Developmental, Psychiatric, and Addiction Disorders as Neuro-Immune Disorders requiring PRECISION MEDICINE.

We're gaining a more comprehensive understanding, but that is not being effectively communicated to the public or the majority of patients.

This is not a minor problem. Failure to address it is GROSS INCOMPETENCE

Australia's Brain Mind Centre at the University of Sydney
Youth Mental Health & Technology

"Leading generational change for disorders of the brain and mind."

One of the big generational changes is ----
IT'S NOT JUST THE BRAIN

"The Picture of Dorian Gray" and recalibrating morality

7/18/2025

Val's Take: It is tough to miss that "The Picture of Dorian Gray" is an old-fashioned, albeit creative, morality tale.

We need MORALITY --- but our understandings are modified by ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, INSIGHT, etc.

As a society, we are grappling with the concept of lifestyle choices versus biological factors.

As research gets incorporated into the general PUBLIC DOMAIN, more and more people utilize that information.

While there is considerable focus on TRANS folks these days, the obsession with "NARCISSISTS" is hard to miss.

We currently navigate our relationships with other people using:

ROUGH CATEGORIES,
RED FLAGS, and
"SECRET" INSIGHTS.

The acceleration of complex and individualized biological insights is necessitating a recalibration of Morality.

Thug Notes
The Picture of Dorian Gray

Oscar Wilde

Immuno-psychiatry could be a "Convenient Truth"

7/15/2025

That provides the transfoRmation
we're looking for in mental health

In this case, "IMMUNO-PSYCHIATRY" is exposing:
- A grossly inadequate "SYSTEM" of TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE, and
- The Need for a PUBLIC HEALTH APPROACH to CRIMINAL JUSTICE
  - That understands the importance of research and the need for better treatments.

Is "IMMUNO-PSYCHIATRY" going to be the LAST WORD in Psychiatry --- probably not.
- Even though I think it is considerably better and more accurate than the current level of clinical and forensic practice.

Terra Incognita

The "Mental Illness" Map has been pretty far off the mark even if professionals did the best they could.

"The Earth is not flat" -------------NEURO-DEVELOPMENTAL DIFFERENCES / DISABILITIES, "MENTAL ILLNESS," WORK AROUNDS & CRITICAL THINKING

Immunopsychiatry and Criminal Law

Immunopsychiatry is an emerging field that explores the complex interplay between the immune system and mental health conditions.

While it is a relatively new area of study, the insights gained from this field have potentially significant implications for criminal law, particularly regarding the evaluation of criminal responsibility, the insanity defense, and sentencing considerations.

Understanding the link

Inflammation and mental illness:
- Research suggests a strong link between chronic inflammation and a heightened risk of developing psychiatric disorders like depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia.
Impact on behavior:
- Inflammatory processes can disrupt brain function, affecting neurotransmitter balance, stress response (HPA axis), and neuroplasticity.
- These disruptions may manifest in behavioral changes, including impaired judgment, impulsivity, and altered emotional regulation, which could be relevant to understanding criminal behavior.
Aggression and violence:
- Some studies point to an association between heightened inflammation and aggressive or violent behavior, although the causal link is complex and may be bidirectional.
Neuropsychiatric disorders:
- Specific neuropsychiatric disorders, potentially influenced by immune system dysregulation, can lead to symptoms like impulsive behavior, lack of empathy, and difficulty conforming to societal norms, which are also relevant in the context of criminal responsibility.

Implications for criminal law

Insanity defense:
- Evidence from immunopsychiatry could potentially be used to strengthen the argument for an insanity defense in cases where a defendant's mental illness, possibly fueled by inflammation, rendered them unable to comprehend the nature and consequences of their actions or distinguish between right and wrong.
- However, successful insanity defenses are rare and require rigorous proof.
Diminished capacity:
- Immunopsychiatric findings might also support arguments for diminished capacity, where a mental illness might have impaired the defendant's ability to form specific intent necessary for a particular crime, potentially leading to conviction of a lesser offense.
Sentencing considerations:
- Even if not a basis for a full defense, evidence of a mental illness or neuropsychiatric disorder with an immunological component could be considered a mitigating factor during sentencing, potentially influencing the court's decision towards treatment-focused approaches rather than solely punitive measures.
Forensic psychiatry:
- Forensic psychiatrists may play a crucial role in evaluating criminal defendants with potential immunopsychiatric involvement, assessing the link between their condition and their actions at the time of the alleged crime.

Challenges and future directions

Causality and correlation:
- Establishing direct causality between specific immunological factors and criminal behavior remains challenging, as many factors contribute to such actions.
- It's also important to note that many individuals with mental illness are not violent and are more likely to be victims than perpetrators of violence.
Specificity of findings:
- More research is needed to determine the specific immunological mechanisms involved in different forms of aggression and how they manifest in criminal behavior.
Legal adoption:
- The legal system is often slow to adopt new scientific findings.
- Immunopsychiatry's place in criminal law will depend on the strength and consistency of the evidence, as well as its relevance to legal definitions of criminal responsibility.
Ethical considerations:
- The use of immunopsychiatric data in criminal cases raises ethical concerns about predicting future dangerousness and potential implications for personal autonomy and liberty.

In conclusion, immunopsychiatry holds promise in enhancing our understanding of the complex relationship between the brain, behavior, and criminality.

While further research is needed to solidify the connections, the insights from this field may ultimately help refine the legal framework surrounding mental illness and criminal law, leading to:
* more nuanced evaluations,
*fairer outcomes, and
*potentially more effective interventions focused on treatment and rehabilitation.

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Transitional/ Translational Justice Monday

Burning down the House: It's time to get that adequate continuum of care and the right people in mental health --- that includes immunology

How did Colorado's Competency program & Continuum of Care --- become such a broken mess

The hard algebra of the biological basis of behavior and --- Anti-Social Personality Disorder

TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE AS A JUSTICE ISSUE

Robert Plant and Kashmir

Confused understandings, Paradigm Shifts and Justice

Anti-social Personality Disorder, the Vietnam War & Support

Australia's Professor Elizabeth Scott rings the alarm bell on out-dated mental health care

"The Picture of Dorian Gray" and recalibrating morality

Immuno-psychiatry could be a "Convenient Truth"

That provides the transfoRmation
we're looking for in mental health

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Transitional/ Translational Justice Monday

That provides the transfoRmation ​we're looking for in mental health

Archives

Categories

That provides the transfoRmation
we're looking for in mental health