Research News
Dance and Exercise Show Promise as Alternative Approaches to Depression
This week, Mad in America examines three studies around alternative treatments for depression. The first finds that salsa dancing in linked to improvements of...
Pharmaceutical Industry Corruption Is Structural, Systemic, and Profitable, New Review Finds
A new empirical review published in the Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics reports that pharmaceutical industry corruption is a structural, industry-wide problem. Author...
“Sticky Labels” and Overlooking Physical Illness—Researchers Highlight Risks of Psychiatric Diagnosis
This week, Mad in America explores four articles around problems with psychiatric diagnoses. The first study finds that childhood diagnoses of autism and ADHD...
Coercive Practices in Psychiatry Are Being Systematically Underreported, Study Suggests
Experts say it is difficult to know how often restrictive or coercive practices are used in psychiatric care because different people define these practices...
Antidepressants: Limited Evidence, Inadequate Information, and Little Support to Stop
This week, Mad in America explores three articles around antidepressant use and discontinuation. The first article questions the evidence base supporting long-term antidepressant use,...
“It’s Devastated Me That I’m Not Being Listened To:” Patients Prescribed Antipsychotics Say Their Voices Aren’t Being Heard
In contrast to the paternalistic approach of days past, Western medicine has almost universally adopted an aspirational philosophy of person-centered care, including shared decision-making....
Psychiatric Detention Isn’t Just About Clinical Need, Four Studies Suggest
This week, Mad in America examines four studies related to patient and psychiatrist characteristics and psychiatric detention. The first finds that social marginalization is...
When Financial Stress Becomes a Mental Health Problem
This week, Mad in America explores four new studies around financial stress and mental health. The first links financial stress to poor mental health...
Independent Evaluation Finds No Benefit to Coercion Under New York’s Kendra’s Law
Kendra’s Law is a New York State statute that allows courts to force people with “severe mental illness” into involuntary Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT)....
Childhood Adversity May Shape Mental Health Across Generations, but Positive Experiences Can Help
This week, Mad in America explores three studies out of China around adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). The first finds parents’ ACEs are linked to...
Benzodiazepine Use Tied to Increased Risk of Death, Especially at Higher Doses
Benzodiazepine use is common, with research estimating as many as 12.6% of US adults report past-year use. A 2019 study found significant increases in...
Peer Support Is Gaining Recognition, but Systemic Barriers Remain
This week, Mad in America explores three new articles around peer support work. The first essay argues that peer support is crucial to mental...
When Doctors Disagree: New Study Raises Questions About the Reliability of Psychiatric Diagnosis
Despite decades of refinement to diagnostic manuals, questions persist about the consistency and scientific basis of psychiatric diagnosis. A new article published in Frontiers...
Studies Highlight Rapid Expansion of ADHD Drug Prescribing
This week Mad in America explores three new studies related to increasing psychiatric stimulant use. The first finds that psychiatric drug use among US...
Psychosis and the Burden of Inequality
This week, Mad in America examines three articles around discrimination and psychosis. The first explores human rights violations, coercion, structural discrimination, and social exclusion...
“Assault” and “Torture”: Patients Recall the Institutional Violence of Forced Drugging
A new article published in the Journal of Humanistic Psychology finds that patients often experience forced drugging in psychiatric contexts as dehumanizing and violent....
When Therapy Makes Things Worse
This week, Mad in America examines three articles related to negative effects of psychotherapy. The first reviews the literature around negative effects in therapy,...
“Every Time I Took a Pill, I Felt I Was No Longer Myself”: Young Adults Describe Antipsychotic Use After First-Episode Psychosis
A new study published online by the Journal of Humanistic Psychology examines young adults’ experience of taking and discontinuing antipsychotic drugs after completing a...
Antidepressants Linked to Suicide Risk, Irregular Heartbeat, and Sudden Death
This week Mad in America examines three studies related to adverse effects of antidepressants. The first study finds that antidepressant use is linked to...
Shifting Acute Mental Health Care to the Home Limits the Cycle of Rehospitalization, Study Finds
Intensive home treatment (IHT) is an approach to acute psychiatric care that avoids the stressful psychiatric ward admission procedures and allows the patient or...
The Power of Lived Experience: Challenging Psychiatry’s Artificial Trials and Clumsy Diagnoses
This week, Mad in America examines three articles published online by the Journal of Humanistic Psychology. These three articles are part of a forthcoming...
Diagnostic Overshadowing Harms Patients With Psychiatric Diagnoses, Review Finds
Diagnostic overshadowing (DO) describes when doctors attribute symptoms or concerns to an existing condition. This is especially common for people with psychiatric diagnoses, where...
Minorities Face Higher Rates of Restraint, Chemical Sedation, and Psychiatric Detention
This week Mad in America examines three studies around racial bias in hospital and mental health settings. The first study finds that people with...
Psychiatric Inpatient Safety Risks Driven by Systemic and Environmental Factors, Review Finds
A new study published in Frontiers in Psychiatry examines patient safety incidents (PSIs) in psychiatric inpatient settings. The most common PSIs included medication-related incidents,...
Researchers Caution Against Emerging Risks as AI Use in Mental Health Grows
This week, Mad in America examines three articles related to AI chatbots and mental health. The first argues that AI chatbot use for mental...
