Yearly Archives: 2019
NH Woman Detained in Hospital for Weeks Joins Lawsuit Against State
From NPR: The ACLU of New Hampshire is bringing a federal class-action lawsuit against the state for not providing hearings to involuntary psychiatric patients sooner.
UKâs National Survivor User Network Announces New CEO
From the National Survivor User Network: In January 2020, Akiko Hart will join NSUN as CEO with the goal of amplifying the voices of people with personal experience and fighting for rights-based changes in mental health.
Survivorship, Resistance, and Connection: An Interview with Dorothy Dundas
An interview with activist Dorothy Dundas about her connection to the psychiatric survivor movement from the 1970s to today.
Taking the Cops Out of Mental Health-Related 911 Calls
From Kaiser Health News: Denver and at least seven other cities are considering an Oregon program that diverts nonviolent, often mental health-related 911 calls to a medic and a mental health professional instead of law enforcement.
Social Relationships Integral to Recovery in First Episode Psychosis
Research finds patients of first-episode psychosis report benefits from social relationships where their personhood is respected.
Berlin Manifesto for Humane Psychiatry Released
Changing the mental health and psychosocial support system in Germany requires public debate about the ways our society should help and support people in mental crisis and with chronic mental health problems. We believe the driving force behind all help and support should be humanitarianism and respect for inalienable human rights.
âJokerâ Tells the Truth About ‘Mental Illness’ and It’s Long Overdue
From The Toronto Star: Here is a movie that says, loudly and clearly: screw the just-go-get-help discourse thatâs been dominating our discussions about mental illness. Because things are not all right. The system is really broken.
Non-Medical Treatments for PTSD Effective, Study Suggests
Group-based MBSR and PCGT therapies effective as a complementary treatment for PTSD.
There Is No Such Thing as a Side Effect
There is no such thing as a side effect. There are only the real effects â plain and simple. If youâve been through what Iâve been through, shuffling through life in a drug-induced haze for eight years â well, you donât want to hear about âside effectsâ anymore, or anything about how theyâre âsecondary.â
People Diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder at Increased Risk for Parkinson’s
Increased Parkinson's risk could be related to lithium, antipsychotic, and antiepileptic drug use.
Why Parents Should Be Concerned With âEQ,â Not Just IQ
From The Washington Post: Weâve long underestimated and ignored emotional intelligence, especially in kids, instead focusing on academic success and testing them to measure it.
A Blueprint for an ‘Ecosocial’ Person-Centered Psychiatry
New article pushes for a shift from a psychiatry centered on brain circuitry toward an 'ecosocial' view of mind, brain, and culture.
NICE Guideline Update Acknowledges Severe Antidepressant Withdrawal
A new update to the NICE guideline for depression suggests providers discuss long-term, severe antidepressant withdrawal symptoms.
Building a Culture of Mental Well-Being
We used to turn to family, community, and religious/philosophical teachings to ease our despair. Now, one is expected to turn to psychiatrists and therapists. With depression rates rising throughout the world, modern society must find a way to enhance the individualâs capacity to build a meaningful, satisfying, and self-actualized life.
Suicide Attempts Among Black Youth Rising at Alarming Rates, Study Finds
From CBS News: Self-reported suicide attempts for black adolescents rose by 73% between 1991 to 2017, while falling by 7.5% for white adolescents over the same period.
CDC: More American Young People Dying by Suicide, Homicide
From CBS News: Suicide deaths among 10- to 24-year-olds increased 7% annually from 2013 to 2017, while homicide deaths in this age group rose 18% from 2014 to 2017.
When Mad Voices Are Locked Out of Academia
The âinclusionâ of the consumer/survivor voice in research has been gradually increasing, albeit with significant resistance, tokenism and co-option. Our recent experience of attempting to publish with Australasian Psychiatry highlights the barriers that still exist.
A Strange New Culprit Behind Eating Disorders
From The Atlantic: Recent evidence suggests a relationship between upper-respiratory-tract infections and the development of eating disorders in some children.
Not Just Opioids: What Doctors Want You to Know About Benzos
From CNN: "If we don't turn our attention to benzos, if we ignore this pattern that we're beginning to see, we may...find ourselves in the same position that we have with opioids."
When Healing Looks Like Justice: An Interview with Harvard Psychologist Joseph Gone
MIAâs Ayurdhi Dhar interviews Joseph Gone about how a history of dispossession, conquest, and colonization shapes mental health outcomes in Native American communities.
Hereditary Madness? The Genain Sisters’ Tragic Story
The story of the Genain quadruplets has long been cited as evidence proving something about the supposed hereditary nature of schizophrenia. But who wouldnât fall apart after surviving a childhood like theirs? The doctors attributed their problems to menstrual difficulties or excessive masturbation â anything except abuse.
A Social Psychiatry Manifesto that Takes Social Context Seriously
A re-visioned approach to social psychiatry aims to understand the broad influence of social life on mental health.
Peer Specialists in the Mental Health Workforce: A Critical Reassessment
It is time to seriously consider re-focusing our energy and resources away from placing peer staff in roles where they support the mental health systemâs status quo, and toward the goal of making high-quality peer advocacy available to people faced with coercion by the mental health system.
As Trump Calls for More âInstitutions,â GOP Shifts Focus to Mental Health
From The Washington Post: "I do want people to remember the words 'mental illness.' These people are mentally ill," Trump said after the recent mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton.
Smartphones, Loneliness, and Depression in Teens
New study finds that smartphone use may precede experiences of loneliness and depressive symptoms among older teens according to longitudinal analysis.
