Prison for Mentally Ill Kids w/ Dr. Murphy | Hospitals End Transgender Youth Care w/ Dr. McConkey

Welcome to American Medicine Today, I'm Kimberly Benatti. We have an exciting show lined up. We'll get right to it. A new report was just released showing that many children with mental illness are sent to prison instead of a treatment facility. In many cases, even without having committed a crime. Joining us to discuss is Dr. Tim Murphy, psychologist, mental health advocate, former congressman, and author of The Christ Cure, 10 Biblical Ways to Heal from Trauma, Tragedy, and PTSD. Welcome to the show again, Dr. Murphy. Thank you. Great to be with you. Certainly. So can you tell us how this report for Congress, tell us more about it and what it actually revealed? Well, we know that there's a shortage of hospital beds overall in the country for everyone since the time of the big institutions were closed down. And we know that the cost of treating severe mental illness is very high and very often states and counties really neglect to pay for it. And the other thing we know is the largest psychiatric facilities in the nation now are jails because there's not other places to put them. And sadly, one of the groups that really suffer a great deal from this is children. So a report was prepared for some members of Congress that looked at several facilities across 25 states. And what they found was in many cases, children, because they don't have an inpatient place to go to, residential care to go to, they're taken to jails. And they will remain in those jails sometimes up to a year waiting for something to happen for them. These are not kids who've committed crimes or charged with anything. And in some cases, they may have been a minor who was involved with a jail sentence, but that's over and they're trying to transfer them to a psychiatric facility and there's nowhere to go. So they just remain in jail indefinitely, which is a terrible tragedy and of course makes the situation worse for them. Right. So you said because there's no place for them, that is why they're being placed in jail most of the time without even having committed a crime. What does that do to one's psyche? Oh, it's devastating. Anytime, I mean, I've worked in jails and just the sound of the slamming steel doors can get to you. When one is in jail, that is a trauma in and of itself. But when you have a child who hasn't committed a crime and may themselves already come from a very troubled home and background being placed in a jail, a hugely traumatic event. Now what happens sometimes is people with mental illness, children and adults alike are oftentimes the victim of further abuse in jail by other inmates. They may get in a fight with guards and then they get a charge against them and sometimes for their own protection, they say, they're put in solitary confinement. Another devastating thing. Now if you have a child with early signs of psychosis to isolate them, to put them in a situation where they're in solitary confinement, is hugely traumatizing for them. It just exacerbates their symptoms and a time when states and counties ought to be doing more to care for them. Unfortunately, in many cases, these are children who are not getting help. Why do you think so many young people these days are getting mental illness? Why are they showing these signs so early? Well, we have, and there's a number of things. In the area of social media has had a huge impact. Oddly enough, social media is one of the most isolating things that people go through. They're really not connecting, but it contributes to symptoms. So we see more depression, more anxiety, troubles for kids reaching out. And another big factor here is that children over-identify their diagnosis. They may read something and say, gee, maybe I'm autistic. Maybe I'm on the spectrum. Maybe I have something there. Maybe I have gender dysphoria. They have all these maybes and they start to convince themselves they have it. And another factor is the use of marijuana. As states legalize marijuana, and even though they say, well, minors shouldn't have it, that's like saying minors aren't going to grab beer. We see big increases in psychosis. They double the risk for psychosis. Can you talk about how parents, teachers, and even pediatricians, they need to be educated on detecting these early signs of mental illness? Sure. Well, obviously one of the things that's important for pediatricians to ask is what drugs are you using and have a candid conversation with the child. It's also important to ask a number of questions about that. Not just do you feel sad, but how far does that go with you? Do you feel anxious? Under what circumstances? Before a test, everybody feels a little anxious before a test. Is it getting in the way of social relationships? Does the person have friends? That's usually a big indicator. If they're isolated, they feel aggression. And to have a candid conversation with the parents too. Do the parents ever find the child, particularly with severe mental illness, sometimes they're not taking care of themselves anymore. Their grades are dropping. They're becoming more isolated. Their moods are changing. Anything that parents see that's of concern, bring it up. Now, pediatricians have great education. I used to teach in the School of Medicine and Department of Pediatrics, but they can't possibly be informed of everything on this. So it's a matter of asking questions, using questionnaires with that, and making sure they have somewhere to refer the family to. With these individuals that are getting early mental illness, is it possible they just need activities and they just can't be left to their own devices and online social media devices? We need to activate them to become social? That's a great question. It is important that kids get engaged in activities. Outdoor activities, exercise are very important. If a child's up in their bedroom, spending their time on computers and their phones all the time, get them out of there. It is really okay for parents to limit their time and they ought to do that. There are some moves afoot to even restrict kids' access under age 16. Some countries are doing that. They shouldn't have these phones in schools. But parents sometimes say, well, my child has a tantrum. They get very upset. They scream and yell. Well, you know what? That's a sign of some addictive behavior. And it is very important that parents say no and redirect the child into activities. That's what kids need, those social activities, getting outside, doing things, engaging with the world, and not just with AI. Yes, amen. So can you tell us more about your book, The Christ Cure, and where people can learn more? Sure. It's a book that I track things like the life of the apostle Paul, who had dozens of traumas. I said, well, why didn't he have all the symptoms of PTSD? Also, I served in the Navy and I worked on a traumatic brain injury and PTSD unit. What I found from talking to many military and veterans and first responders, and quite frankly, families, because 75% of the population will face some trauma, and my own traumas as well. I put together this list that's based upon some biblical principles, but also the nexus of that with psychological and psychiatric research. Because we know that many counselors don't have any idea what to do with issues of faith, and most people, when they see a counselor, would like to discuss faith. And there's the other side, too, that most clergy don't have training in how to handle counseling. So this book is designed to be a handbook for the broken and those who love them, and really reach out and help people put pieces together and understand how we can have a full and rich life again. We don't have to always be just barely surviving or be victims of our trauma, even though traumas can be horrific. But it's a way to say, let's look at this and what other people have done in biblical stories and faith, and use that as a resource to help us heal. God bless you for that. And thank you so much, Dr. Tim Murphy, psychologist, mental health advocate, former congressman, and author of The Christ Cure, 10 Biblical Ways to Heal from Trauma, Tragedy, and PTSD. Thank you for being on the show. Thank you. Take great care. We'll have more after the break. You were watching American Medicine Today. Well, I'm very, very happy. You did a great job. One thing that you're My name is Joe Doyle. I'm from Mount Upton, New York. I've always been an active person. I tolerated the pain, and I would do a lot of activities at home, but I had to push myself to the very limit to do it. My pain in my lower back radiated from the very center, and I had problems with shooting pain in my right leg. It radiated, and it was numbness. I had quite a bit of numbness in it. My condition was severe enough where everyday activities just were really tough to do. If I, you know, walking or lifting, it restricted me from lifting big time, twisting or moving. It was very hard to function every day. It made it difficult. Joe had a spine fusion in 2008 that failed to relieve his pain, so he began searching for an alternative spine surgery and found the Bonatti Spine Institute. There's not many people that I could find that would do this kind of surgery, minimal invasive surgery, and have the years of experience that Bonatti has, and it's helped as many people. I knew I had to get my back restored best possible way I could, and I knew that Bonatti Institute. They're one of few people that do remove the screws and stuff, and I was hoping that that would be what they would do. And I sent them an MRI, and they said, yes, we can help you. I scheduled my date as in December. My wife and I drove down here from New York. Joe tells us about his experience meeting Dr. Bonatti for the first time, and why he decided the targeted Bonatti spine procedures were right for him. When I was in the exam room with Dr. Bonatti, he is so much different than other doctors that I have dealt with, and I've dealt with a lot of doctors. He would tell me what my symptoms were. It was refreshing because I'm like, he understands what I'm going through. Everything he would say would be, are you having pain in your right foot? Are you having this? And now you're doing this, and that, and this, and that. This is going on with your lower back. It radiates back. Yes, yes, yes, yes. And I'm like, wow, this guy knows what's going on. This is the guy I want to work on me. The exclusive Bonatti spine procedures are performed incrementally using conscious IV sedation. This kept Joe comfortable while also awake and communicating with Dr. Bonatti while he was on the operating table. They want you awake and responsive to interact with the doctor. And I thought, well, you know what? That's not so bad. That sounds good to me. I think that's a very good thing. So when I was in the operating room, I was fully awake during my surgery. I could feel what was going on. I could, you know, how's that? I could hear what was going on. And I was talking to him, you know, it's like, just like we're talking now. Communication is the most important thing in your work. So think about this. You're going to have surgery. You want to interact with your surgeons and the people around you. So when Dr. Bonatti is saying, hey, where does it hurt? You know, tell him, hey, it hurts. Where? He wants to know. And he's going to fix your problem. And, you know, you're going to go walk around a better person. No pain here. No pain here. Well, no pain on the butt. All right. While in the recovery room, Joe knew his procedure was a success. Once you get your surgery, it's almost an uplifting moment. And once the recovery hits you and it just changes your whole perspective on things, it makes you think, well, now I can do this and I can do that and without pain. You know, and this is what I, this is what I've been hoping for, for many, many years. When I had my first surgery, I was very excited about it. I wanted, I was, I was so excited about it. I did want to jog. After the patented Bonatti spine procedures, patients don't have to wear uncomfortable braces or endure weeks of physical therapy. Instead, they are instructed to walk about 40 minutes a day. Part of my recovery now, from what I was told, is to do a lot of walking. And you walk with me as soon as you get out of there. And I love to walk anyways. Now pain-free, Joe is looking forward to living an active lifestyle. I'm just going to sit back and enjoy my life a little bit with pain-free. You know, it's just something I'm not used to. To see more stories of recovery just like this, search for the Bonatti Spine Institute on YouTube, Rumble, Apple's App Store, Google's Play Store, Roku, and Amazon's Fire TV. Welcome back to American Medicine Today. So a hospital in Manhattan recently announced that they will no longer provide medical treatments for transgender youth. That decision has been met with both support and condemnation. Joining us to discuss is our returning guest, Air Force Colonel Dr. Josh McConkie, author of the Pulitzer Prize-nominated book, Be the Weight Behind the Spear. Thank you for joining us again, Doctor. Yeah, thanks for having me on today. Certainly. So can you tell us about this decision by NYU's Langone Health Hospital? Yeah, and this is, you know, they've tried to spin this as a political issue, but if you're just going to be honest, like with medicine for the last 100-plus years, we have really based everything we do on evidence-based practice. And just the facts are that the gender-affirming care with the puberty-blocking medications and certainly with the surgeries, there was no benefit from doing that. So when you actually look at long-term studies, there were some mental health issues and it actually worsened a lot of conditions. In 2024, so in the UK, the National Health Service, a large health service, did an independent study and they found that, you know, children treated with these puberty-blocking drugs long-term had decreased brain development, they had decreased bone density, and then the diminished fertility. It literally made them sterile. So, you know, just huge side effects from these medications. And here you have one New York state senator that said that Trump is actually bullying the trans people. What are your thoughts? No, you know, this is not an attack on trans people. This is a protection. So when you give children now under 18 years old, you don't let them drink alcohol, you don't want them to smoke cigarettes, but yet you would give them medications that would decrease their fertility, their ability to have children later, decrease bone production. And then just the mental health issues alone, there was a great study on gender-affirming care that when using just mental health and just counseling, not the medications, not the surgery, those individuals had higher resiliency and lower rates of depression. Most Americans agree that children shouldn't be pushed into transitioning because they're far too young to be making those lifelong decisions. My guess is that you agree. You know, certainly when you're going through puberty, I mean, it's horrible for everybody. I mean, nobody likes puberty and just the different, the brain development, everyone develops at a different rate. Giving them medications to change that process isn't going to help. And again, the literature doesn't support it. We're just falling in line with our European colleagues, all of Scandinavia, Italy, France, New Zealand, and now parts of Australia, specifically Queensland, have stopped the use of these drugs and they've blocked that completely. Why is it so hard for the liberals to understand that? Well, I think a lot of times you'll see that the left doesn't base any of their argument on facts or biology for several things. I mean, just like when they try to have men in women's sports, it just doesn't make sense. So, everything is this radical ideology. Everything is emotionally based. And if you just try to separate that and just look at facts and you look at statistics and you look at the studies, it just doesn't support that. And I think most Americans agree. We certainly do. And especially being a parent, I would want to strangle someone if they started talking in my daughter's ear telling her that perhaps she was really male. Why do you think they're so adamant, though, about trying to change the sex of the kids? Do you think it's the destruction of the American family? There is a large part of that, clearly. It tends to be an attack on our religion. It can break down at the most fundamental levels. The first thing they did during COVID was block access to churches and that faith. They want you to rely on the government for everything. And I've long held that the government is not going to save you. It has to be us. It's people, teachers, coaches, volunteers, your church, your faith. So, those things are most important. And just the left, everything is emotionally based. It becomes their identity. And when you make your identity that type of radical ideology, their backs don't matter to you anymore. What do you think is going to happen next? Will this hospital cave in? Well, it really comes down to funding. So, not only have these medications and these treatments been proven harmful, but why would the government pay for them? So, what they're doing is if you take CMS funds, if you take Medicare or Medicaid funds, and you're doing these medications that have been shown to be harmful to children, you're going to lose your funding. And so, most hospitals, if not 100%, have a huge portion of their budget as CMS. So, it's going to speak volumes, but it is not an attack on trans. This is just science. You would think they'd want to fall in line with following the science. That was the whole push that they were using during COVID. Follow the science. What they meant was their manufactured science. We're going to take a quick break. We'll be right back with Dr. McConkie after this. You are watching American Medicine Today. Revolutionary in his field, Dr. Benati created, perfected, and patented the Benati spine procedures. Using his genius, Benati invented the precise tools necessary to minimize surgery, scarring, anesthesia, and recovery. So successful are the Benati spine procedures, they consistently reflect 98.75% patient satisfaction. 80,000 procedures have been performed exclusively at our location. Nearly half our patients have suffered from failed back and neck surgeries at other facilities. Benati succeeds where others fail. Welcome back to American Medicine Today. We're rejoining our discussion with Dr. Josh McConkie. Why don't you tell us about your book, Be the Weight Behind the Spear? Thank you. So, that's my personal leadership ethos, Be the Weight Behind the Spear. We got a Pulitzer Prize nomination, which we're very proud of, and that is our call to action for Americans to engage their communities. We have an entire generation of Americans that, unfortunately, during COVID, they were shut out of schools, churches, and their communities, and there's a large mental health epidemic going on right now as an emergency physician. I see the anxiety, the depression, the suicide, and it breaks my heart. We need to get through to this younger generation. We need to teach those leadership skills, and this harnesses our best resource, teachers, coaches, volunteers, and families, and empowers you to get out there in your community and help these kids. What do you do when you see somebody struggling, though? I mean, you can have them get active, but what other things can we do to help them through it? We get their face-to-face. You be that mentor. You talk with them. You take them to the animal shelter. You go volunteer. Take them to the soup kitchen. Volunteer for their sports teams, t-ball, soccer. There's so much that you can do. This generation has been raised on social media, and whether we agree with it or not, that perception is their reality. So it can't be videos or TikTok or YouTube. It has to be face-to-face. Get out there. Volunteer. Show them how it's done. Just human beings for thousands of years. We're social creatures, but we're not meant to live behind screens. Yes. And so we need to get out in front and do it face-to-face. All right. That's some great advice. Now, where can people learn more about your book and about your amazing work? Thank you. So if you go to weightbehindthespear.com, W-E-I-G-H-T, weightbehindthespear.com, we have a non-profit organization as well, the Weight Behind the Spear Foundation, and you can follow us on all the socials. They're listed there as well. Well, thank you so much for being on the program and sharing your time with us yet again. Air Force Colonel Dr. Josh McConkie, thank you for being on the show. Thank you. Well, that's all the time we have for this show. If you would like to see previous episodes, download American Medicine Today to your favorite streaming device. If you have any comments or questions, contact us at the numbers below, or you can tweet at Dr. Venati using the hashtag AmericanMedicineToday or hashtag AMT. We would like to hear from you.