Yearly Archives: 2012

1 Boring Old Man reviews the history of whistleblowing, and the story of Allen Jones, who started the ball rolling on the Johnson &...

If people who work in mainstream biological psychiatry are willing to consider referring people in severe psychiatric crises to a program that operates under both a completely alternative philosophy and model to their own, then I see hope for our world’s mental health system. If our local psychiatric emergency room is willing to refer to a program like ours, then other psychiatric emergency rooms elsewhere in the United States and the world must be willing at least to consider doing the same. For this reason, I do not feel like Don Quixote tilting at windmills. I feel the system can change.

1 Boring Old Man revisits the question of reliance on clinical intuition vs. research, and watching the research upon which his young career was...

In what may prove to be a tipping point for prosecutions against pharmaceutical companies, states are beginning to see their "enforcement efforts pay for...

This is a brief description of the project design and some reflections on “lessons being learned” at Second Story, a Peer Run Respite service in California. Second Story invites people to come before they are in crisis, to take personal responsibility and prevent spiraling into a crisis, which often results in an involuntary hospitalization. Former guests often stop by to talk, and visit with current guests. Sometimes they ask to volunteer, to give back to the community by running a group, gardening, cleaning, cooking, whatever they wish to offer. They are growing their own support community.

The Toronto Star's investigation of ADHD meds has revealed 600 cases so far of Canadian children "suffering serious, sometimes fatal side effects suspected to...

Thanks to Ginger Breggin for posting about Stephen Sheller's FDA Petition to Revoke the Pediatric Approval of Risperdal on her Facebook Page. Many of you know that Mr. Sheller recently settled a case against Johnson & Johnson over Risperdal causing breasts to grow in a young boy. What is not yet well-known is that on July 27, 2012, Mr. Sheller filed what is known as a "citizen's petition" to revoke the approval of Risperdal (risperidone), and its cousin Invega, for use on children and youth.

A meta-analysis of studies of 168,435 adults who were free of diabetes at baseline found that those who used antidepressant medication were 68% more...

Although the global pharmaceutical industry racked up $11 billion in fines in the last three years, "Companies might well view such fines as a...

1 Boring Old Man scrutinizes the evidence that Johnson & Johnson hid evidence of Risperdal's breast-growing properties, among other improper actions, concluding "The story...

"A drug that was never meant for kids was illegally marketed to kids," said a lawyer for the plaintiff in opening remarks for the...

1 Boring Old Man opines that the lawyers in the Texas TMAP trial "were operating on a higher plane than these guys in Philadelphia,"...

A recent Medscape article by a prominent US psychiatrist sheds light on why there is inadequate attention to non-pharmacological treatments of mental distress.

Testimony at day two of the Philadelphia trial concerning a 17-year-old Texas boy who grew breasts after taking Risperdal from the age of five...

The state of Ohio plans to invest $1 million in the next three years to review the use of psychiatric drugs prescribed to children,...

Ben Goldacre reflects on his having been mislead as a psychiatrist in his forthcoming book Bad Pharma (excerpted here in the U.K. newspaper The Guardian), and...

Transformation Through Peer Respite: Yana is the Senior Program Officer with the Foundation for Excellence in Mental Health Care. She brings 30-plus years of experience...

TRANSFORMING THE MENTAL HEALTH SYSTEM THROUGH PEER-STAFFED RESPITE SYSTEMS Yana Jacobs, MFT, started her work life/ in the mental health field at Soteria House as...

I have almost four months to go until I am done with the little pills. After that, I’m told it will take two to nine months until my brain will regulate, until I will be able to eat normally, to stand without shivering, to hold my children without fear of falling. I will make it. But I am here to state the obvious: Benzodiazepines are dangerous. We need more research. We need to know that an invisible epidemic is in our midst and there is much that can be done.

KILLER BRAIN CANDY: ONE WOMAN'S ODYSSEY THROUGH BENZODIAZEPINE ADDICTION AND WITHDRAWAL OR HOW CHICKEN LITTLE GOT HER HEAD CRUSHED Melissa Bond describes the history of...

Killer Brain Candy: After 2 years of Ativan for pregnancy-related insomnia, and the knowledge that the drug was slowly disassembling her brain and body, Melissa...

Monica Cassani writes an impassioned review of Ben Goldacre's new book Bad Pharma: How Drug Companies Mislead Doctors and Harm Patients. Beyond Meds →...

I co-led a day long Continuing Education Training with that title last month in Oakland. Almost 100 people attended this first ever in the United States, taxpayer funded CEU training that explored the spiritual dimensions of psychosis. But it wasn't preaching to the choir of those who are true believers in that possibility, because the majority in attendance were front line professional county mental health staff!

So many kind and thoughtful parents are trying so hard to simply have a lovingly positive impact on their child, only to see the child slip further and further into the realm of being “challenging.” This is so prevalent, even among the best and brightest parents. Diagnosis: difficult child behavior comprises a quiet epidemic - the kind that brings so many to their knees. Let this article bring you hope and be the medicine that cures your family.

Monica Cassani continues her daily contributions to life with this excerpt from James Hollis' "Creating a Life: Finding Your Individual Path." Beyond Meds →