Yearly Archives: 2012
E. Fuller Torreyās Review of Anatomy of an Epidemic: What Does It Reveal About...
E. Fuller Torrey, through his Treatment Advocacy Center, is the countryās most prominent advocate for outpatient commitment laws, which typically force people with a...
Whose Recovery Is This?! Helping Families Heal
Last night I had the privilege of attending my first Family Den with other Mother Bears like myselfāparents, spouses, siblings and adult children. All of us have family members who have experienced mental health challenges. All of us had a story to tell.
Nonwhites Twice as Likely to Receive Injectable Antipsychotics
Research published in the Journal of Clinical PsychiatryĀ shows that of all 901 patients diagnosed with schizophrenia from July 2009 to June 2010 at a...
DSM-5 Adds “Behavior” to List of Addictions
The APA convention last week included a debate about the addition of "Behavioral Addiction - Not Otherwise Specificed" to the new edition of the...
Pain Predicts Psychopathology
Researchers from Italy, Hungary, and the U.S. investigated the extent that the subjective experience of pain in 575 psychiatric outpatients (without comorbid physical diagnoses)...
The Big Chill: Psychiatric MedicationsĀ NowĀ Are on Trial For Murder
The Canadian judge in the first North AmericanĀ criminal trial to find Prozac the sole cause of a murder ruled - "There is clear medical...
Is there Any Value In Psychiatric Diagnosis?
The medical model of diagnosis has become a dominant idea in the field of mental health, but it hasn't always been this way. As...
Med reduction notes
Alt Therapies for Bipolar
Alternative to Meds (Safe Harbor)
BenzoBuddies ā Benzo Withdrawal
Med Free or Working on It
Paxil Progress (SSRI withdrawal forum)
Surviving Antidepressants (help withdrawing from...
Is Psychiatry “Salvageable”?
A reader in the commentary here asked me if I think āpsychiatry is salvageable.ā This is a timely question that requires careful consideration.
First, Iāll...
Lowering the Threshold for Bipolar: “More Harm Than Good”
Researchers publishing in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry argue that broadening the diagnostic criteria for bipolar disorder would result in a greater increase in...
Motherhood in Illness & Recovery
Researchers in Norway, publishing in the International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, Ā explore the experiences of being a mother with mental illness; "their way...
Policy and Staffing are Key to Reducing Seclusion Rates
Dutch researchers examined the belief among psychiatric ward staff that patient characteristics explained the different rates of seclusion observed between facilities. They conclude that...
Former APA Member Protests the DSM on Fox News
Dr. Keith Ablow, who resigned from the APA in protest "some time ago," criticizes the unscientific and arbitrary process by which diagnoses are generated...
Differentiation of SSRI and Benzo Dependence/Withdrawal “Not Rational”
Researchers from the Cochrane Center and University of Copenhagen in Denmark, publishing in the May issue of Addiction, "explore the rationale for claiming that...
Utah Supreme Court Allows Lawsuit for Psychotropic-Induced Murder
Ruling that health care providers, while important, "are not entitled to an elevated status in tort law that would categorically immunize them from liability...
Mad Pride and Spiritual Community: Thoughts on The Spiritual Gift of Madness
Let our Mad Pride movement be grounded in humility and kindness for each other in our diversity of life experiences, a recognition that social movements need good communicators and organizers more than charismatic leaders and messianic visions, and that the beautiful language we use to describe ourselves is only as powerful as the grounded actions we take to back up our words.
Start with a Solid Foundation
How are we going to do this?Ā Thatās the question we asked ourselves when a few likeminded bureaucrats sat down and said, our current...
Robert Whitaker: “Imagining a Different Future in Mental Health”
Robert Whitaker on Imagining a Different Future in Mental Health, Philadelphia May 6, 2012
Generalized Anxiety Disorder Does Not Meet Criteria for a Disorder
Researchers in Italy found that of 105 subjects who met criteria for the DSM diagnosis of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), only 18 had no...
Psychotropics Contribute to Suicides Among Military Children
The Marine Corps Times writes of a dramatic increase in prescriptions of psychiatric medication for children of active-duty military personnell during their parents' deployment...
Does Everyone Have a Mental Illness?
Psychiatrist and author Allen J. Frances, former chair of the DSM-IV task force, outlines why he thinks the DSM-V will lead to millions of...
Motherhood: Pride & Recovery
Researchers at the Rockland Psychiatric Center in New York found that of the 39% of female inpatients who were mothers, the majority reported having...
Former DSM Chair: DSM-5 “A Disaster,” Calls for APA Monopoly to End
Former DSM task force chairman Allen Frances reviews the rise of the DSM, crossing over from a research instrument to to a popular bestseller...
Laura Delano, David Oaks, Ted Chabasinski and Adina Lambert in Philadelpha
Laura Delano at Occupy the American Psychiatric Association, May 5, 2012, in Philadelphia
David Oaks at Occupy the American Psychiatric Association, May 5, 2012
Ted Chabasinski...
Imagining A Different Future in Mental Health
Robert WhitakerĀ speaks about how the data shows we could have far better outcomes for people diagnosed with mental illness by going to a selective...
