Yearly Archives: 2019
No Evidence for Brain Asymmetry in Depression
A new study debunks the theory that depression is associated with brain asymmetry.
Integrating Patient Voices in ICD-11 Development
First-of-its-kind study explores patient perspectives surrounding five major psychiatric diagnoses to inform revisions to clinical guidelines.
No Graphic Detail: The Injustice of Being Silenced
They tell us we’re too fragile to speak our own truth, and that those around us are too fragile to hear it. If you must name what happened to you, at least slap a “trigger warning” on yourself, and don’t “paint a picture.” Fuck that. The truth is that graphic detail can make some of us stronger in a way that silence never could.
The Psychiatric “Prescribing Cascade”: A Patient Story
From Lown Institute: It wasn’t until Steve was admitted to the hospital for multi-organ failure that a gastroenterologist set him on a path to deprescribe his psychiatric medications.
‘Dear Doctor’ – Toronto Rapper Calls for Greater Humanism in Psychiatry
From MC FĂśBB: New single by rapper/psychotherapist MC FĂśBB is a response to over-medicalized, disease-focused treatment in psychiatry and calls for greater humanism in mental health care.
We Must Hear Marianne Williamson’s Message About the Overuse of Antidepressants
Although some of Marianne Williamson's rhetoric on the subject of the overuse of prescription medications may be over the top, the topic deserves much more public attention and debate, since it is a crisis as real as the opioid epidemic.
You Can’t Stop Mass Shootings by Punishing People With ‘Mental Illness’
From The Washington Post: Ironically, the "care" I was given—forcibly taking me out of my community and medicating me against my will—started to *actually* make me a danger to myself.
“Peers,” Therapeutic Harm, and Buddhist Forgiveness
I'd like to be peers with anyone struggling against persecution, anyone struggling toward the promise of dignity and respect for marginalized communities, for freaks and weirdos. To fit the diversity of our experiences, maybe our definitions need to be as flexible and individual as we are.
For 20 Years, Delivering Therapy in Exchange for Doing Good
From the Hartford Courant: Volunteers in Psychotherapy, a West Hartford-based non-profit, allows people to get absolutely private therapy in exchange for volunteering at an organization of their choice.
Brave New Apps: The Arrival of Surveillance Psychiatry
Large, centralized, digital social networks and data-gathering platforms have come to dominate our economy and our culture. In the domain of mental health, huge pools of data are being used to train algorithms to identify signs of mental illness. I call this practice surveillance psychiatry.
What is it Like to Experience a First Crisis in Psychosis?
Study explores the emotional and embodied experience of individuals undergoing a first crisis in psychosis.
Evelin Lindner: Dignity and Humiliation
Evelin Lindner was nominated 3 times for the Nobel Peace Prize for her work internationally to overcome the roots of violence and war. Her Dignity and Humiliation Studies initiative is showing a new way to treat each other — from our most intimate relations to our international foreign policies — and also in our response to mental health crisis.
The Violence-‘Mental Illness’ Myth, ‘Risk Assessment,’ and Crisis Response
From the American Psychological Association "Speaking of Psychology" podcast: We know that all human behavior is an interaction between a human being and the circumstances or situations in which they find themselves.
Blaming the “Mentally Ill”: This is Hate Speech
As could be expected, in the wake of the mass murders in El Paso and Dayton, we have politicians such as President Trump and others such as E. Fuller Torrey blaming the killings on the “mentally ill.” We have heard this over and over again, and I think it is time to call this out for what it is: Hate Speech.
Study Explores Service Users’ Views on Diagnostic Criteria
Researchers investigate service users' lived experiences and their views on mental disorder classifications.
Derek Blumke – The Mad in America Veterans Initiative
On MIA Radio we interview Derek Blumke, who tells of his time serving in the military, his experiences taking and coming off psychiatric drugs and his role as editor of MIA's new Veterans Initiative.
How Biotechologies Preserve the Idea of the Disordered Brain
Social scientists explore how psychiatry’s use of biotechnology is being used to reinvent and secure the idea of the disordered brain
Antidepressants and the National Suicide Epidemic
We encourage young people to see themselves as fragile creatures whose brains can go haywire for any reason, or no reason at all. Then we tell them they have the “disease” of depression and ply them with drugs with a known link to worsening depression and suicidality going back for decades. How many more will have to die before this changes?
Open Letter to Politicians: How to Resolve the Mental Health Crisis
From Dr. Gary Sidley/Tales from the Madhouse blog: The illness-like-any-other approach to human distress, as espoused by Western psychiatry, has been an abject failure. We do not need more of the same.
Risk of Cardiovascular Death Increased After Psychiatric Hospitalization
The rate of death due to heart-related problems is more than double the rate in the general population after psychiatric hospitalization.
Understanding Aboriginal Parenting Goals
From CultuRecode DhuriNya Project: Cultures which emphasize Individualism are more likely to make the fundamental attribution error—explaining behavior by reference to innate character traits rather than external sources.
Statement of APA President About Mass Shootings in TX, OH
From the American Psychological Association: The combination of easy access to assault weapons and hateful rhetoric is toxic. Psychological science has demonstrated that social contagion is real.
Adding Fluoxetine to Therapy Not Superior to Therapy Alone in Depressed Teens
The addition of fluoxetine to CBT did not further reduce depressive symptoms in young people with moderate-to-severe depression.
Austerity and Inequality Fuelling Mental Illness, Says Top UN Envoy
From The Guardian: Special rapporteur on health Dr. Dainius PĹ«ras says social justice is more important for mental health than therapy and medication.
How Mindfulness Privatised a Social Problem
From New Statesman: Mindfulness has become the perfect coping mechanism for neoliberal capitalism: it privatises stress and tells people to locate the root of mental ailments in their own work ethic.
