Academic freedom? was Dr.Mark Foster fired for speaking his views on psychiatric medications?

Dr. Mark Foster has been writing letters to Robert Whitaker after reading Whitaker's book, Anatomy of an Epidemic.

The letters have been a great story in itself reading a transformation of sort of a doctor and patients while sorting out a medicated life vs. medicating life situations and the rest.

Here's an excerpt from March 15, 2011

"It seems to me that she is a person who was originally medicated because it was assumed by well-meaning medical professionals that she lacked the aptitude or desire to cope with life on her own terms. I wasn't involved in that decision, so I don't want to judge, and maybe their approach served a purpose in its time. But I think they underestimated her. I almost did, too. She is resilient, and has a glowing fire of resolve and toughness within her that is now shining through. She has just completed a very difficult thing, this Effexor withdrawal, and I believe her victory will bolster her self-concept and sense of inner strength. That bodes well for her future mental and emotional wellness, no medicines required."

I appreciate Dr.Foster's time and patience, as well as willingness to take that road with a patient.

That, is a rare event in the world of psychiatry, where medication is the base and often the only thing offered to patients in America (from psychiatrists).

Often, and all too common, patients are medicated for life situations and many patients are actually never asked about 'what's happening' in their lives that could spur a mental health crisis. The drugs added can often cause more problems, such as withdrawals when the patient stops taking the meds, or wants to take a new approach to wellness.

Dr. Mark Foster was terminated by his employer, Littleton Adventist Hospital on March 15, 2011

Is this a case of loss of Academic Freedom? Is this a case of the hospital firing a doctor for blogging? expressing views in a public forum? the hospital claims "without cause"--no reason.

Robert Whitaker has thoughts at the Mad in America blog about the termination of Dr. Mark Foster:

Excerpt from Whitaker's article on the termination of Mark Foster

"As I reported in Anatomy of an Epidemic, there is a long list of physicians and researchers who have had their careers threatened, or suffered a career setback, for having publicly questioned the merits of psychiatric medications. Forty years ago, Loren Mosher was ousted from his position as head of schizophrenia studies at the NIMH after running a study, the Soteria Project, that showed better outcomes for the patients treated in the Soteria home with minimal use of psychiatric medications than those treated conventionally with antipsychotics. After Peter Breggin spoke about how antipsychotics can cause tardive dyskinesia on the Oprah Winfrey show, NAMI filed a complaint with the Maryland State Commission on Medical Discipline, asking that the commission take away his medical license. In 2000, Irish psychiatrist David Healy spoke about how SSRIs could stir suicide, and when he did, the University of Toronto’s Centre for Addition and Mental Health, where Healy had accepted an offer to head up its mood and anxiety program, rescinded the job offer. Nadine Lambert, a psychologist at the University of California at Berkeley, reported in 1998 that children treated with stimulants for ADHD had elevated rates of cocaine abuse and cigarette smoking as adults; soon the National Institute on Drug Abuse stopped funding her work. When Joseph Glenmullen, a clinical instructor in psychiatry at Harvard Medical School published Prozac Backlash, Eli Lilly mounted a campaign to discredit him. After Gretchen LeFever, a psychologist at East Virginia Medical School, published research showing that an overly high number of children in Virginia schools were being diagnosed with ADHD, an anonymous “whistleblower” charged her with scientific misconduct."

Dr.Mark Foster wrote letters to Whitaker after reading and reviewing the book, on Foster's own blog.

Questions beg to be answered.