FOR THE RECORD:
"I give permission to any and all individuals or organizations who may receive the e-mail below and the e-mails I previously wrote to Mrs. Sarah Bione-Dunn the unrestricted right to copy, distribute, or post on Internet web sites of their choice, in whole or in part, these communications between Mrs. Dunn and myself. I further give permission for any future recipients of these e-mails to copy, distribute, or post them on the Internet. I waive any privacy restrictions, laws, or regulations concerning such private communications by electronic or other means. I certify I have the legal right as the author/recipient to give such permission as I personally wrote the four electronic communications I sent to Mrs. Dunn and I am the intended recipient of the e-mail Mrs. Dunn wrote and addressed to my AOL e-mail account."
Gregory V. Smith, MD, FAAP
Ms. Bione:
My name is Greg Smith. I am a pediatrician in Gainesville, GA, ------ just down the road from Athens. You likely know I was with the Morgellons Research Foundation for almost 2 years. The first of August I left the MRF and am working with a group we named the New Morgellons Order. I believe you are familiar with our web site.
I have this bizarre disease which is commonly called Morgellons. Thus, I am actively working to get recognition of it as real and to get serious research started.
FYI: My psychiatrist, with whom I have had a professional and a personal relationship for over 20 years, does not think I am delusional I have adult ADHD he treats, plus he's known and prescribed medications for me during very stressful life events. He says he has no idea what is causing the things both I and my wife see in our skin, but it is not a delusion. My dermatologist at Emory Clinic also believes something is going on in my skin and it is not a delusion. He says he has no idea what it is or what to do for it. He says he is interested in the disease, but unable (and possibly unwilling ? ) to take it on himself!
Here, then, is my reality: In many, many ways it would be much easier if I was delusional! At least then I would know what was wrong and could read the literature, take my meds----and not be so uncertain about what my future with this disease will be!
With that information as background, I have a request. At the NMO web site we want to post any research which is pertinent to Morgellons. Your research is certainly pertinent, regardless of your personal bias or conclusions. I respectfully request that you share the results of your survey with us at the NMO, and request you give permission to post it on the NMO web site.
I would also ask that you allow us to review and post all three of the articles you have written---referred to in the Lymebusters post copied below. Even if not accepted for publication, I believe your research results and conclusions should be made public.
I sincerely hope your attitude toward patients with Morgellons disease is consistent with your Lymebusters post and not the attitude you seemed to display in other things you have written!
I thus ask for you to have a degree of scientific objectivity regarding Morgellons/DOP. Do not make the mistake many dermatologists make! Do not make assumptions! Don't believe the 'party line' dermatologists and, unfortunately, many parasitologists quote as dogma. Don't forget that 'things change' and new diseases continue to appear.
Respectfully,
Gregory V. Smith, MD, FAAP
Sept 30, 2005, 12:22pm
Dear Lymebusters Community,
I am writing to inform everyone that I have an article about Delusory parasitosis coming out next week in Georgia Pest Control Association's magazine, Profile. I had submitted three articles, one delineating alternative reasons a person may have itchies and crawlies in which I included Morgellon's. The Delusory Parasitosis article was the only one selected for publication, or not lost/misplaced/used as a tissue. This may be because it was one of the very first I submitted and the other have yet to be reviewed, but honestly I don't know.
As many of you know, GPCA is one of my grant sponsors of unidentified skin parasite conformation research, and DP is a condition people have which may lead them to call pest control operators. They are an organization of pest control operators interested in quality customer service, state of the art technologies, pesticide safety, and integrative pest management. The demographic who reads this magazine tends to be 18-35 year old men with high school degrees or some college. Basically, the guys who come spray your house if you have roaches or whatever. So, the DP article may have been appealing because of the people who read it, or because of the weirdness factor, again, I don't know.
I wanted to be the first to tell you the news regarding this publication because of the sensitivity I know you all have and bad experiences with researchers/medical professionals. I want to be as up-front as possible and not seem like I'm pulling any wool over anyone's eyes or anything like that. Your suffering and skin situations are my priority, your safety, well-being and quality of life as well. And I don't think any of you are "crazy."
I am writing for grants now to extend my investigation here at the UGA extension agency past December. So, the research will roll on and hopefully this little article will be a foot in the door for the other articles.
If you do have any questions, comments or concerns, please e-mail me at sbione@uga.edu or call at 706-542-9033.
I'll be out of the office on Monday because I'll be visiting my new niece.
Respectfully and sincerely, Sarah Bione
Ms. Bione:
I sent this e-mail several weeks ago and have not had a reply. I put my name and MD in the subject line this time in case you are as over-loaded and behind on e-mail as I often find myself---and overlooked my request.
I have been completely up-front and honest in telling you of my own situation and beliefs. I freely admit I have an agenda. That agenda is simple. I want the medical and scientific communities to approach Morgellons disease scientifically and objectively. I think it must be considered as a new, very odd and novel disease with profound systemic symptoms in addition to the skin symptoms. I admit that confusion with Delusatory Parasitosis patients may be logical, as the histories of the patients are so bizarre---while being eerily similar down to minute details! I also agree many patients with Morgellons disease exhibit significant psychiatric symptoms. I believe those psychiatric symptoms are a result of the disease itself but intensified by the attitudes of health care providers. I also believe the group of patients who haVE self diagnosed themselves as Morgellons is NOT a homogenous group. I strongly suspect a number of them truly are delusional!
I now ask only that same honesty from you. I perceive you to believe ALL patients with Morgellons are delusional "imaginary bug people". Whether true or not, I can understand your belief. It has been influenced by what you have read and what you have been taught about DOP.
If you ARE intellectually honest and are a real scientist (as I believe you have referred to yourself), and if you truly want to help patients with Morgellons, you should be willing to share information with others trying to help these same patients! If you expressed a desire to help Morgellons patients and do not truly wish to help, then SHAME ON YOU, for you have been deceptive in soliciting patients to do your survey.
If your "fixed belief" that ALL Morgellons patients have DOP cannot be shaken by logical argument and you are unwilling to LOOK OBJECTIVELY AT EVIDENCE, then perhaps you need to take a course in appropriate scientific methods and objectivity!
I would hate to think the reason you are unwilling to share all three articles you wrote is that two of them actually do not exist! I only suggest such an unethical behavior because of the "apparent" deception in your attitude when posting to request patients for your survey compared to the attitude expressed in the article you wrote for your honorary psychology society publication. That attitude seemed, at least to me, to indicate a belief that all Morgellons patients are, indeed, crazy and delusional.
Your prompt reply and comments will be most appreciated.
Sincerely,
Gregory V. Smith, MD, FAAP
(att: November 8, 2006 - 1st Request )
Hello, Ms. Bione:
I sent the top e-mail pasted below over 2 weeks ago. The first request was sent the first of November. I have had no reply from you.
I know you have been on-line, as you have posted recently on Morgwatch. When I saw the comment about finals, I thought you were simply busy and stressed.
Finals are, I believe, over. And, as I have had no reply from you, I must assume you have not seen my prior communications. I don't think you, as a self described scientist, would be so unprofessional as to ignore a note from a health care professional asking about your research results. I must conclude you either are not getting my e-mails or not checking you personal e-mail at the UGA.edu account.
As I genuinely want the opportunity to review and possibly discuss your research results, if I don't hear from you in the next couple of days, I'll post my request on-line in hopes you will see it.
Sincerely,
Greg Smith, MD, FAAP
(att: November 30, 2006 - 2nd Request )
(att: November 8, 2006 - 1st Request )
From: sbione@uga.edu
Hi Mr. Smith,
You are correct. I rarely check this email because I no longer work for the
University of Georgia. Surely you knew this, as you seem to be tracking my
online activity. Of course, you could have contacted the University of Georgia
on several occasions and reached Ms. Laura Turner who has filled my position
there for nearly a year.
Your self-described agenda is curious to me. I am not even an M.D., but both as
people of scientific interests, I would not approach ANY medical condition
without extreme skepticism. It seems to me to be begging the question, a logical
fallacy, to say "let's treat Morgellons as a real disease to prove that it is a
real disease." Scientifically, as you know, you test things that are
falsifiable, and yours is not a falsifiable agenda, and consequently I would
think it not scientific.
Delusory Parasitosis is called a "monosymptomatic hypochondriasis", meaning,
otherwise, people are doing just fine-- if it wasn't for that pesky delusion
causing such distress. I have never spoken with two people with Morgellons who
have symptoms down to minute details, who have not developed these symptoms only
after speaking with one another. Mental health disorders are frequently
co-morbid, and so, some may have the monosymptomatic subtype, while others have
a variety of bizarre histories, including UFO abductions and the like. This is
also common, as mental health conditions are spectrum disorders, so while two
people may both have a diagnosis of "schizophrenia," for example, their symptoms
may be drastically dissimilar.
I would say that most people who have diagnosed themselves with Morgellons are
delusions. They have a false, unshakable belief that they have a condition in
spite of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, or worse, an actual medical
condition such as eczema or lupus or a herniated navel. This makes for a
delusion. So while they may not all have delusions of parasitosis, one could, by
definition, be able to be classify people with these bizarre mentation a
delusional. This isn't what I've taught, but the conclusion to which I have come
through my own investigation and critical thinking. To say you've been to 8
doctors, who have all diagnosed you as having lupus, and you defy this and
self-diagnose as Morgellons still, is certifiably a delusion.
I have no interest in Morgellons except as a hobby, a personal interest in
critically analyzing the evidence. My job at UGA was, past tense, to investigate
bugs, and when people didn't have bugs but submitted bits of dirt, dust or lint,
find out what that was about and get people to appropriate resources.
It is again curious to me that you, as an alleged M.D., do not understand that
scientific investigation goes through a series of grants and the like. I, and
likely you, work so that I can pay my bills, and luckily have been able to work
in areas that are of personal interest. While I have minimal personal time to
invest in Morgellons and my skeptical interests, I'm just there for the
conversation. I can't afford, nor do I have any interest, in "helping people
with Morgellons."
If you have seen a single solicitation for my survey, you would see it is not
for "Morgellons" but for "invisible, unidentified, or mysterious skin
infestations." What does this have to do with Morgellons? So everything else
about which you have ranted in this email to me, I will not address, as you seem
to not have read the very thing about which you are complaining.
It's again curious to me that you say "LOOK OBJECTIVELY AT EVIDENCE" when you
yourself begin your email with your agenda, which I have already shown to be
logically fallacious. I'm interested in your thoughts regarding this.
"I would hate to think the reason you are unwilling to share all three articles
you wrote is that two of them actually do not exist!" What does this mean? I am
growing more and more skeptical that you are an MD at all, because if you were,
you would know how the process of submitting academic literature works, and it
takes years to be peer reviewed, sent back for editing, re-submitted, and
published. It's very strange that you would be foreign to this, being an MD.
Please be advised of the privacy policy enacted regarding this email.
Best wishes and merry Christmas,
Sarah Bione-Dunn
* * * *
Mrs. Sarah Bione Dunn
"This communication is for use by the intended recipient(s) only and may contain
information that is privileged, confidential and exempt from disclosure or
unauthorized use under applicable law. If you are not an intended recipient of
this communication, you are hereby notified that any dissemination,
distribution, copying or use of this document or information contained in this
document is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in
error, please notify me by reply e-mail or fax, permanently delete this
communication from your system, and destroy any hardcopies you may have printed.
This communication is covered by the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, 18
U.S.C. 2510-2521."
To: Dr.Greg
Sent: Sat, 23 Dec 2006
3:21 PM
Subject: Re: Your research--3rd request
Research
Entomology Department
University of Georgia
Office: 706-542-9033
Fax: 706-542-5782
Dear Mrs. Bione-Dunn;
When I read your reply to my prior e-mails, I was initially a bit shocked at the rude tone and the arrogant, condescending attitude you expressed! The article you wrote for your honorary psychology society journal, “Eye on Psi Chi”, emphasized the importance of interdisciplinary cooperation when researching Delusory Parasitosis. I thus expected a more professional reply.
However, the reason for the tone of your note became readily apparent as I finished reading it! Your obfuscation did not conceal the fact that you failed to answer my question about being allowed to review your research data. And your comments about the process by which scientific articles are reviewed and edited skipped the question I posed about the “other two articles”. YOU stated there were three articles you had written in a post you placed on Lymebusters—pasted below. Do those other two articles exist? If yes, why not share your thoughts and research findings?
Perhaps the other two articles do not exist. Then, young lady, you have been caught in a lie. Is that the reason for your vicious e-mail to me? Such a personal attack is certainly the refuge of those who are unwilling to address uncomfortable questions!
Sept 30, 2005, 12:22pm
Dear Lymebusters Community,
I am writing to inform everyone that I have an article about Delusory parasitosis coming out next week in Georgia Pest Control Association's magazine, Profile. I had submitted three articles, one delineating alternative reasons a person may have itchies and crawlies in which I included Morgellon's. The Delusory Parasitosis article was the only one selected for publication, or not lost/misplaced/used as a tissue. This may be because it was one of the very first I submitted and the other have yet to be reviewed, but honestly I don't know.
The second paragraph of your e-mail to me is pasted below. Under it is paragraph 8.
Your self-described agenda is curious to me. I am not even an M.D., but both as
people of scientific interests, I would not approach ANY medical condition
without extreme skepticism. It seems to me to be begging the question, a logical
fallacy, to say "let's treat Morgellons as a real disease to prove that it is a
real disease." Scientifically, as you know, you test things that are
falsifiable, and yours is not a falsifiable agenda, and consequently I would
think it not scientific. …………………………………
It's again curious to me that you say "LOOK OBJECTIVELY AT EVIDENCE" when you
yourself begin your email with your agenda, which I have already shown to be
logically fallacious. I'm interested in your thoughts regarding this.
My response is simple. I am NOT a scientist nor am I a medical researcher. I am a clinician—a pediatrician who practiced general pediatrics for almost 28 years. I am also a patient with this bizarre disorder. I am not objective, as one can never be when one is the patient! But I don’t plan of doing the lab research or clinical investigations needed to understand this disease.
As I stated in one of the e-mails I sent to you, “I freely admit I have an agenda. That agenda is simple. I want the medical and scientific communities to approach Morgellons disease scientifically and objectively.” It is my “unshakable belief” that Morgellons will be found to be a “real disease” when subjected to such scientific scrutiny. For those doing such research, the hypothesis is “Morgellons is a real disease and not a purely psychiatric one.” Proving that hypothesis false would, I believe, qualify as a scientific, falsifiable agenda. So yes, one would have to ‘treat it like a real disease” to be able to prove that it is real!
As long as patients are routinely diagnosed without thorough skin examinations and without appropriate medical evaluations, the dermatology community will remain mired in the ‘conventional wisdom’. And it logically follows that “unless you look, you won’t see….”.
Speaking of ‘logically fallacious’, I continue to be amazed at the illogical position taken by many physicians and entomologists. To unequivocally believe that a large group of patients with similar symptoms are ALL delusional would be a mental stretch even if I did not have my own personal illness! Almost no group of patients is that homogeneous!
I will mostly dismiss paragraph seven of your e-mail (below).
If you have seen a single solicitation for my survey, you would see it is not for "Morgellons" but for "invisible, unidentified, or mysterious skin infestations." What does this have to do with Morgellons? So everything else about which you have ranted in this email to me, I will not address, as you seem to not have read the very thing about which you are complaining.
This is simply argumentative and another attempt to avoid addressing issues I have raised. Morgellons, Elliot’s disease, The Fiber disease, and other names have been used for the physical illness in question. As many Morgellons patients have been diagnosed as DP, and many believe they suffer from an unidentified and mysterious skin infestation, “Morgellons” is archetypical for the patient group you solicited for your research project.
It is important, I believe, to seriously address your paragraphs 5 and 6:
I have no interest in Morgellons except as a hobby, a personal interest in
critically analyzing the evidence. My job at UGA was, past tense, to investigate
bugs, and when people didn't have bugs but submitted bits of dirt, dust or lint,
find out what that was about and get people to appropriate resources.
It is again curious to me that you, as an alleged M.D., do not understand that
scientific investigation goes through a series of grants and the like. I, and
likely you, work so that I can pay my bills, and luckily have been able to work
in areas that are of personal interest. While I have minimal personal time to
invest in Morgellons and my skeptical interests, I'm just there for the
conversation. I can't afford, nor do I have any interest, in "helping people
with Morgellons."
This contrasts quite vividly with the third paragraph of your Lymebusters post of Sept. 30, 2005 pasted below:
I wanted to be the first to tell you the news regarding this publication because of the sensitivity I know you all have and bad experiences with researchers/medical professionals. I want to be as up-front as possible and not seem like I'm pulling any wool over anyone's eyes or anything like that. Your suffering and skin situations are my priority, your safety, well-being and quality of life as well. And I don't think any of you are "crazy."
I had thought you would have some interest in ‘helping people with Morgellons’, based on what you expressed in that Lymebusters’ post and the fact that you are training to be a health care provider. I guess either your humanitarian feelings for this patient group went away when your job changed or you were not truthful when soliciting patients for your research! Either way, your behavior and attitude speak to the quality of your character.
When I first began to search the Internet to find answers to the truly strange skin symptoms both I and my wife were experiencing, I was shocked at the number of people who told of being treated with derision, condescension, and even hostility by the medical care providers they had consulted. Many spoke of feeling humiliated and abandoned by the doctors to whom they had looked for help. The treatment of these patients was even more amazing to me than the poor quality of medical care they had received! That behavior by individuals in my own profession shocked and upset me terribly. The many, many stories of the arrogant and derogatory attitudes of medical doctors fueled the passion which keeps me working toward a simple goal—getting the research started and finding answers to this enigmatic disorder!
There are two caveats those doctors have forgotten—or never learned! First, crazy people get sick, too! Second, every patient, even the craziest, deserves to be treated with courtesy, respect, and dignity!
In spite of the rather callous and unsympathetic attitude you exhibited in the article in your honorary psychology magazine, and despite objections from several friends and other patients with Morgellons, I reached out to you. I really wanted to see your research data and read the articles you said you had written. I gave you the benefit of the doubt and assumed your intentions toward these sick people were good. Instead, I find that you knowingly misrepresented yourself to a group of sick people to obtain research subjects. Unless you choose to prove me wrong by showing me the articles you claimed to have written, I must assume you also blatantly lied to those same patients. I find such behavior reprehensible and unethical.
I have re-read the e-mails I sent to you several times. I made a request from one professional to another. What I said was inflammatory only if you had not been truthful. Your vituperous response, including a personal attack, certainly indicates something touched a nerve and set you off! Such unprofessional behavior and lack of good manners, combined with your arrogance and lack of compassion for Morgellons patients, makes your career choice as a psychotherapist seem odd, indeed.
You questioned my academic credentials. These may easily be confirmed if you care to take the time. Your own credentials, I understand, include a bachelor’s degree in psychology. From this background, you then assume you have the ability to diagnose mental illness by survey and over the phone! Your hubris exceeds even that of many dermatologists! At least the dermatologists see the patient in the office, even if they do not actually examine the patient! And, whether or not they actually do the medical evaluation, dermatologists have at least been taught of the various medical conditions which can cause the same symptoms as patients suffering from a purely psychiatric delusional disorder.
I would suggest you look into the meaning of “diagnosis of exclusion” in medical practice. You might then familiarize yourself with the diagnostic tests recommended before the diagnosis of Delusions of Parasitosis is made! Here’s a link to get you started: http://www.emedicine.com/derm/topic939.htm. Seems the UC Davis Bogart Museum site is down right now, so I will attach a copy of their review of DOP to this e-mail.
BTW, by pointing out the “privacy policy enacted regarding this e-mail”, I suppose you have learned to be careful about what you write. That is a good step! However, you should perhaps review the applicable codes cited in said “privacy policy”. They apply to 3rd parties who might come in possession of such electronic communications. Since the e-mail was addressed to me, it becomes mine to distribute or keep private as I wish.
I wish you well in your continuing education. Best wishes for the New Year.
Sincerely,
Gregory V. Smith, MD, FAAP
(att: UC Davis on DOP.doc)
Psychology Jobs in Interdisciplinary Fields: Researching Delusory Parasitosis
by Sarah E.D. Bione - University of Georgia
I have a tea stain on my lab coat, the microscope light bulb just burned out, a delivery of sample bottles just arrived, and the printer beeps with a paper jam. I have six skin samples awaiting my inspection, fourteen emails in my inbox, and, of course, the telephone rings. This is part of my normal day. I'm a psychologist who works in the entomology department of the University of Georgia (UGA). Pulling off my latex gloves, I pick up the telephone. "Entomology Department. This is Sarah Bione. How can I help you?"
"Hi, Sarah, this is Joanne. I've got bugs everywhere, but no one will listen to me...."
What do bugs and psychology have to do with one another? A condition called Delusory Parasitosis (DP) is a false, unshakable belief that tiny organisms are living in or on the skin or inside the body (Hinkle, 2000). People with this condition contact entomologists, pest control companies, and physicians seeking relief for the biting and itching sensations they experience. And that's where psychology steps in.
"...I have itching and crawling all over, like something is burrowing into my skin..." continues Joanne.
Last March, I was a senior preparing to graduate. I was working part-time taking catalog orders over the phone. I had been accepted to graduate school in Los Angeles, but I deferred a year. I applied to be a social worker during this time, but I had not yet received any calls. Not only was I getting antsy, my parents were on my case. A few weeks earlier I had been to a Psi Chi meeting where I overheard a professor saying to someone that a year out of the field of psychology could do more harm than good. I started to panic.
"...My husband says he isn't having any symptoms, but I see them on his body..."
That night I received an email from a former professor-turned friend. It was a forwarded message about a part-time job opening from a psychology department listserv. "I know how much you hate your job--why don't you give this a try?" she encouraged. For a second, an image of the smoky, dim-lit, dismal room where I took catalogue orders seized my brain. I shook it off, hit "reply" and requested an interview.
"...They're everywhere: in the bed, the couch, the carpet, the freezer, the car..."
The job description was for a research assistant to study the demographics, sensations, management behaviors, medical conditions, prescription medications, and epidemiology of people with DP symptoms. The problem was I had never heard of this condition. I went to the library for an afternoon of literature review and discovered that most psychologists don't know about this condition. People with DP do not feel mentally ill and do not contact a psychologist. They, as I mentioned before, turn to entomologists or pest control companies, or medical practitioners seeking someone to indulge their delusion and identify their "bugs."
"...I think it might be fleas, I first noticed red bumps when I petted the neighbor's dogs..."
The interview was the next day. Armed with all the winning interview skills I could muster and a resume nitpicked to perfection from a recent Psi Chi meeting, I met with Dr. Nancy Hinkle. Her door had a poster of an enormous flea and the caption, "Pest of the Week." For a moment I considered pretending that I had knocked on the wrong door, but it was too late. We sat down and discussed the research aims and what she needed in terms of time, commitment, and performance for a research assistant. Luckily, I had taken the advice of Psi Chi and padded my resume with two and a half years of research assistant experience, which seemed to ring her bell. After an hour, she was showing me to my new lab and giving me the keys.
"...I've been to four dermatologists and they all think I'm crazy and won't even look at my skin..."
I never expected to work in another science besides psychology. Before now, I almost felt that the required two four-credit biology classes and two earth science classes were a waste of time. Now I'm eating my words. Those science classes paid off! Not only does my experience in a little-known field show how psychology is applicable to many different sciences, it also demonstrates the importance of a broad educational base.
"...This started nearly eight months ago, in the dead of winter..."
My job is this: design and implement research and analyze and publish information regarding Delusory Parasitosis and suspect parasitic infestations. I do this at my desk, which is really just a section of laboratory countertop. My tools are a phone, an answering machine, files, a microscope, and a computer. I share the lab with four cheerful entomology students who work on "real" bugs. They are teaching me a lot about entomology; I can safely say I know more about flea feces than any other psychologist I know. In turn, when they talk about my "crazy bug people," I have an opportunity to pass along the information and terminology that I gained from four years of Psi Chi educational programs.
"...I just can't get rid of them! I've tried vacuuming, foggers, bleach, powders...."
Research into the condition of DP requires interdisciplinary cooperation because it encompasses two branches of science that are usually entirely separate. As my days in the entomology department grew into weeks, I realized how much time an entomologist spends talking to people who mistake their creepy crawly sensations for insects. Fortunately for me, the UGA entomology staff also noticed, and two weeks before graduation they offered me a full time job.
"...I spend nearly six hours a day trying to keep these critters at bay..."
There are no typical days at my job, but generally I talk on the phone or exchange emails with people who are experiencing "invisible bugs." I help them consider alternative explanations for why they feel they have bugs on their skin. When people who feel that they are experiencing parasites or bugs send in skin samples, I examine those samples under a microscope and then talk to those people on the phone. Sometimes I talk on the phone up to seven hours a day. I write research papers regarding the different aspects of DP, including its correlation with age, gender, polypharmacy, and social isolation. One of the perks is, because entomology is a field science, I can wear jeans, comfortable shoes, and a lab coat.
"...Sometimes they look like little black specks, but sometimes I can't even see them..."
The job has taken me places I would never have imagined. I recently spoke to the National Pest Management Association's convention in Nashville, Tennessee, to an audience of over 300 pest control operators and businessmen. I gave them information about DP and its implications for the pest management business. It seemed like every pest control technician (that's shop-talk for the people who apply pesticides in your house) knew about DP. Twenty people came up to me to share stories and ask questions. In contrast, I constantly have to define the condition for my peers and professors in psychology. This illustrates the need for psychologists in interdisciplinary fields to raise awareness of little-known conditions.
"...I'm so frustrated, I feel like you're my last hope. Can you help me?"
A friendly professor, email listservs, Psi Chi networking, research experience, and most important, taking a risk, can open new doors for psychology job opportunities. I stumbled into a field that is nearly invisible to mainstream psychology and am one of the very few people in the world generating data and research on the little-known condition of DP. Research opportunities in interdisciplinary fields have amazing potential for collaboration between sciences that were once completely unrelated. Such collaboration offers exciting opportunities to develop new information about previously unappreciated mental health conditions.
And now, back to the phone.
"Hi Joanne. Let's see if we can work this out."
Career Preparation
Personal/Academic Growth
Reference
Hinkle, N.C. (2000). Delusory Parasitosis. American Entomologist, 46, 17-25.
Sarah E.D. Bione is a full-time research assistant in the Department of Entomology at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia. She grew up near Chicago, Illinois, and her family now lives near Atlanta, Georgia. She has a BS in psychology from the University of Georgia. She received the HOPE academic scholarship and was an International Scholar during the spring 2004 semester at St. Andrews University in Scotland. She graduated cum laude in May 2005. Her scholastic interests include behavioral neuroendocrinology and psychopathology. She will begin a PsyD program in the fall of 2006 at Alliant International University and plans to become a rehabilitation therapist for perpetrators of sexual violence. She enjoys volunteering at a local children's theater, knitting, dancing, her pet fish, and playing the fiddle.
Winter 2006 issue of Eye on Psi Chi
(Vol. 10, No. 2, pp. 32-33), published by Psi Chi, The National Honor Society in Psychology (Chattanooga, TN).
Copyright, 2005, Psi Chi, The National Honor Society in Psychology. All rights reserved.
Posted by Sarah Bione on
July 14, 2005 at 10:33:13:
In Reply to: BUNCH OF BUNK!!! posted by wendy on
July 08, 2005 at 14:49:41:
Thank you for replying, Wendy, Fredct, and Anthony. Your interest in research seems intense.
So you must already know that to have research approved you must engage in "full disclosure"-- meaning, participants must know exactly what the research is about before the research is conducted.
Because of your asserted knowledge about resarch, I don't understand your posts. Are they facetious?Clearly, you would know that if I were studying DP, I would say, "DP," but as I am in the entomology department extension agency at the University of Georgia, which has strict IRB requirements and ethics standards, I study bugs.
I understand that it is probably easier for you to be reactionary and angry than to digest my research invitation. I accept that.
You have my e-mail and phone number (sbione@uga.edu, 706-542-9033) if you have any further questions or concerns.
Posted by Sarah Bione on
June 09, 2005 at 15:39:07:
In Reply to: DOP....really!!! You don't say posted by Joane on
June 06, 2005 at 20:09:31:
"Cannot you find something else to research on other than suffering people who have a real disease?"
It seems that people who are suffering from a real disease would need research on their situations.
"Really...!!!"
Yes really.
"You should be ashamed of yourself unless you are really so limited as to a topic. We are not DOP and you infuriate me to my bones. Go to www.skinparasites.com and you will find plenty of evidence to vote for it....unless you don't want to see both sides to support your case. Or maybe www.lymebusters.com or how about www.safe2use.com or org--- cannot remember."
I'm actually a correspondant with Sue, who runs Lymebusters.com. A pleasant woman whose website has provided me with a lot of pictures which I have used in research presentations about the symptoms of unidentified skin parasites.
"So educated you cannot rationalize right from wrong."
Let me refer to your title. "DOP... you don't say." That is true. I don't say DOP. Research requires full disclosure to participants. So educated, perhaps, that I follow the ethics of approval sponsored by the UGA RBI.
If you have any questions, you are welcome to e-mail me at sbione@uga.edu or mail me at
Sarah Bione, c/o University of Georgia, Biological Sciences Building, Athens, GA 30602. My phone number here in the office is 706-542-9033.
Sarah B-Dunn Says:
January 8th, 2007 at 1:57 pm
Hey Steve,
“The more posts i read, the more i`m convinced that it takes an ignorant *ss h*le, to argue against the existance of Morgellons.”
Has it worked for you in the past, to call people names, and suddenly, they agree with your opinion? Just a thought.
“Can any medical “expert” explain to me in simple terms that an idiot such as myself can understand, how thousands of people with no history of madness or imaginary delusions, and who dont know each other, can suddenly decide to “imagine” identical symptoms, and would do so for no reason ?”
It is actually quite common for thousands of people with no history of madness to share the same delusion. Take other mental health conditions, such as anorexia, the most deadly mental health condition documented to date. Thousands of people share the same delusions, that they are fat, so do you question that an actual organism is causing anorexia? Another example, in schizophrenia, there is a paranoid subtype, where it thousands of people with schizophrenia are convinced the government is out to get them. It can be concluded, that just because thousands of people “have the same symptoms” does not therefore exclude a mental health cause.
“I agree that itching will induce more itching, but why would someone start if they didnt have an itch ? Why would someone suddenly say they feel a crawling sensation at the age of 40, when they`ve lived happily for 39 years without inventing illnesses?”
Because you’ve never had mental health or physical illnesses before, does it mean you can never acquire them? Because you’ve never had the flu before, you’re not susceptible to the condition now? A person can live their whole life and then be diagnosed with cancer, why would that mean they didn’t have cancer, and that the treatment was fraudulent?
[next part was repeat of a prior comment, so I’ll skip]
“It must also have web sites dedicated to it and it must be realistic enough to cause life changing torment and even suicides!!”
Mental health conditions have websites, can make you miserable, and are associated with suicide too. What is your point?
“Go for it Dr wise ass- you make up a disease that fits and i`ll accept we`ve all made this one up.. And for good measure, invent a way to show your physical evidence to a disbelieving doctor without it being seen as the “matchbox sign” (a term from the dark ages !) No rush doctor- in your own time.”
We don’t have to make up a disease that fits. It’s called Delusory Parasitosis. And it’s only a “matchbox sign” if there are not presence of insects. So, I don’t understand your animosity, could you explain?
Hi Chas,
I'm going to ask politely that you remove the libel regarding my research. I can't find a single item of truth in any of it, except for the research topic. I've already made steps to contact the UGA lawyers who protect the research, but first I thought I'd give you the chance to do the right thing about the "New Morgelons Order" website.
Sincerely, Sarah Bione-Dunn
--
* * * * * *
Sarah Bione Dunn
Home: 678-935-0650
Cell: 404-386-8412
Dear Sarah,
My reply:
http://www.thenmo.org/quote-em.htm
Sincerely,
-Chas
Charles E. Holman
Operations Chief
www.TheNMO.org