The Coral Gables Times

CORAL GABLES TIMES

2 CORAL GABLES TIMES Thursday, December 27, 1962

He Can't Sleep, Can't Work, Feels Ill; Why?

By RAYMOND LANG Times Reporter A veteran complains of headaches and stomach cramps, but a physical examination reveals nothing. Yet he can't sleep and he can't work, He's got a family, but can't lead a normal life. All because a deep-rooted resentment he probably isn't even aware of has been building up for years. The result is the physical illness, underlined by a mental condition ranging from a mild anxiety neurosis to a psychosis. Why? Finding the answer is up to the VA Hospital's diagnostic team of a psychiatrist, psychologist and one of two social workers attached to the mental hygiene section. One of several major causes of a veteran's mental illness can almost always be traced back to his childhood and the relationship with his parents, said W. B. Sculthorpe, social service chief under which mental hygiene falls. But something happens while the veteran is in the service which brings to the surface this nervous condition resulting in the physical illness with no physical basis and the mental disturbance. This service-connected incident could have been an argument the veteran had with his commanding officer. Or seeing his buddy killed, said Sculthorpe. "We would hope to give him some deeper understanding about himself. He may not understand what is bothering him," said Sculthorpe. "We try to help them tell us what it is by going back and talking about their lives. Actually, it's the patient who carries the ball. "And maybe some of the things are so terrible to talk about he may block them out . . . But," Sculthorpe said in a soft voice that keeps your attention, "you go back with him into his life and let him fill the details." Mental hygiene's two workers are Miss Margaret Evje and Miss Lolabel Lord. Clinic chief is Dr. Louis N. Gould. They first give a veteran an exhaustive interview that covers his whole life. The social worker then speaks to the family to get further details. Every Wednesday, the VA "team," the social worker, psychiatrist and psychologist, pore over each case and decide which of them can best help. If the mental hygienist gets the nod, she sits down with the veteran and just talks with him much as you do around the dinner table. But it takes a while. These men come in once a week, perhaps for a year, some for two or three years. What makes the road back tougher is that these troubled vets usually hold themselves in low self-esteem. A major contributing cause for this would be a feeling of insecurity ingrained in childhood, said Sculthorpe. He could resent his parents, classic symbols of authority, said Sculthorpe. As he grew older, he would come to resent all other authority symbols, such as the policeman or his boss. Or he could, in the subconscious of his mind, resent his own son if he's a teenager who's an honor student, popular and doing better than his father did as a boy. This, said Sculthorpe, is a familiar case. So the resentment builds. During the service, it's triggered. And these men find themselves in Social Service's seventh-floor office. Social service has six workers. Beside's two in mental hygiene, there's a pair in medical-surgical service, and one each in the Day Care Center and Outpatient Service. "I think this is basic," Sculthorpe said, "that a person have had a secure foundation and a good self-image. "Then he can stand the shocks of life. I think what is so important is that you believe in the patient. "And if he believes that you believe in him, then you can help him." THESE ARE the people behind the Social Service scene at the VA Hospital. Foreground is chief of social service, W. B. Sculthorpe. From the right are, Charles Cadwallader, Sculthrope, Phillip Slater, (standing next to Slater) Margaret Evje, Frances Dunlop, Lolabel Lord, Florence Gross. (Times photo.)

Here Is The Corps Of Helpers

It takes a corps of people working together at the VA Hospital to write the story about Social Service and how it helps veterans. These persons are: Chief, Social Work Serivee, W. B. Sculthorpe; Dr. Raymond M. Price, chief, Outpatient Service; Dr. Louis N. Gould, chief, Mental Hygiene Clinic; Dr. Louis Herman, chief, Day Care Center. Clinical social workers are; Mental hygiene, Miss Margaret Evje and Miss Lolabel Lord; Medical and Surgical Service, Charles C. Cadwallader and Miss Frances Dunlop; Outpatient Service, Miss Florence M. Gross; Day Care Center, Phillip Slater; psychiatry and neurology service, Mrs. W. D. G. Whitehead.

His View of Interama 'Most Wonderful Ever Dreampt Of'

Interama, the dream for Dade County that's turning to reality, had its half billion dollar financial background a n d future plans sketched recently before Gables Rotarians. Speaker was Dr. Irving Muskat, director of development for the University of Miami and chairman of Interama. As he envisions it, Interama will dwarf even the tourist attraction of Miami B e a c h which now brings 5 million visitors here yearly. For Interama, Dr. Muskat predicts 15 million visitors a year. Cost? The cost will be massive, says the chairman. Only the big can afford to be in. Getting in is only part of it; it'll cost up to millions merely to remain year to year as an exhibitor. Estimated yearly expenditure: $80 million to $100 million. Interama hopes for a $25 million appropriation from the U.S. Government for its exhib-it. It hopes the U.S. will foot another $50 million bill for 21 Latin American republics' participation as part of the Alliance for Progress. The republics have no funds of their own for such a project, he said. Dr. Muskat says the concept of Interama is to demonstrate on a "meeting ground of the Americas, that the U.S. way of life is progress with freedom. "That's the guts of it." Interama already is underway. Its 1,700 acres are situated northeast of Miami on the bay on a tract known as the Graves Tract. Interama will develop 680 of the 1,700 acres there. Interama will build no buildings. Exhibitors must do that themselves. Interama merely will lease the land and maintain the parks and general areas. Bonds are being sold to finance the cost of this phase. Already, dredging and bulkheading of the tract is in an advanced stage. Dr. Muskat estimates that half a billion dollars will be spent in Interama before it's complete. The aim is to appeal to all people through four major groupings: national and international exhibits; industrial exhibits; cultural attractions; and fiesta times. "The appearance will be so that your first reaction is that of being in a beautiful park, a subtropical p a r k. Buildings won't be close together. Parking lots will be convenient but not huge in area." The State of Florida is handling the road work which Dr. Muskat estimates will cost between $8 million and $10 million. Dr. Muskat said President Kennedy and other U.S. officials have expressed positive interest in the project. Major governmental support is imperative if the venture is to succeed. DR. MUSKAT . . . dream here

SOUTH MIAMI HOSPITAL SUES

South Miami Hospital Sues Over Sewer Hookup

By EDWIN KNIGHT Correspondent City of South Miami and South Dade Professional Building, Inc., have been named defendants in a suit filed last week in Circuit Court. According to City Attorney George Hardie Jr., the suit was brought by South Miami Hospital to stop tap ins to a sewer pipe running from South Miami Hospital to a sewage disposal plant in Coral Gables near South Dixie Highway. The hospital is seeking a temporary and permanent injunction against the city and the Professional building to halt any use of the line except for hospital use. First hearing on the suit will be held Dec. 27, according to Hardie. The city attorney, in defending the city, will ask at the hearing that the city be dropped from the Bill of Complaint. Reason for the city's part in the suit is an amendment to a franchise ordinance the city recently passed. South Dade Professional Building, Inc., is owner of the building occupied now by South Miami Hospital. The corporation is also is holder of a franchise authorizing the running of a sewer line from the hospital to Coral Gable's treatment plant. Against protests of South Miami Hospital, the city Council recently amended its franchise ordinance granting South Dade Professional Building permission for tap ins. Coral Gables after first agreeing and later reversing itself, finally gave the owner permission to hook in. The hospital says this will start a series of tap ins to the line which will hurt the hospital in the event the hospital expands and needs more sewage lineage. A self - service laundry near Red Road and South Dixie Highway paid South Dade Professional Building $7,500 for a tap in to the line. In other action, Council accepted the resignation of James E. Ferguson from the city's Advisory planning and zoning board and named Edward C. Vining his successor. Vining was one of two unsuccessful candidates for the city's mayorship.