Addiction is Not a Disease; It is Learned by the Brain and Can Be...
-Salon discusses the ideas of neuroscientist Marc Lewis, a psychologist, former addict, and author of the book, The Biology of Desire: Why Addiction is Not a Disease.
“Can Schizophrenia Really Be Treated by ‘Talk Therapy’ Alone?”
-On the Oxford University Press blog, a professor of psychiatry and psychology weighs in on recent studies using therapy as a response to problematic psychosis symptoms.
Antipsychotic Use Linked to Increased Mortality Risk in Parkinson’s
-A presentation at the International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society Congress, that showed a doubling and tripling of the risk of dying within 6 months for people with Parkinson's if they were taking antipsychotics.
“How Colleges Stop Depressed Students From Returning To Campus”
-Two different articles examine cases of US colleges and universities forcing students with depression to go on leave, and never come back.
National Association for Rights Protection and Advocacy Conference, August 20-23
-Bruce Levine, Leah Harris and Chacku Mathai are among the keynote speakers at the upcoming National Association for Rights Protection and Advocacy Conference in Washington, DC.
Transpersonal Therapists Examine Ketamine-For-Depression Questions
-The most recent issue of the The International Journal of Transpersonal Studies examines the promises and risks associated with mainstream psychiatry's growing interest in ketamine for the treatment of depression.
Observing Versus Judging: A Brief Review of Mindfulness
-BPS Research Digest reviews some of the key research into the role of mindfulness meditation in therapeutic contexts, looking at both the apparent positives and possible negatives.
Senators: Focusing on Mental Health Laws Easier than Dealing with Gun Control
-National Journal reports that some Republican and Conservative senators alike recognize a need for gun control legislation, but say it's easier to focus on restrictive mental health regulations instead.
Interview with Jonathan Metzl on Gun Violence and Mental Illness
-Vox interviews Jonathan Metzl about his research into the relationships -- and lack thereof -- between gun violence and mental illness.
Are Eating Disorder Centers a “Rehab Racket”?
-She won a seminal court case requiring insurance companies to pay for stays in residential treatment centers for eating disorders, and now Jeanene Harlick has begun an investigative expose on those same centers' poor practices.
“Those Who Are Jesus”
-The documentary "Those Who Are Jesus" contemplates the borders between revelation and psychosis as people recount their own intense religious experiences.
ADHD Stimulant Sales To Adults Outstrip Sales To Children
Bloomberg reports that, "Adults in the U.S. have overtaken children in taking medication for the condition and accounted for 53 percent of the industrywide...
“Just Because It’s Legal, Doesn’t Mean It’s Safe”
-Interviews with people who murdered their own loved ones while taking SSRI antidepressants are included in the documentary, "Dark Side of a Pill."
Centers For Medicare & Medicaid Keep Pushing To Reduce Antipsychotic Use In Elderly
-"The push for long-term care facilities to abandon the use of off-label use of antipsychotic medications for residents with dementia will intensify over the next two years."
“Does Air Pollution Cause Dementia?”
-Mother Jones examines the growing body of research implicating air pollution in dementia.
Hundreds of Thousands of Mental Health Workers In US Earning Tens of Billions
-A US Congressional Research Service report reviews various sources of information on how many different types of mental health workers there are and how much money they earn.
Psychosurgeons “Burn Away Mental Illness,” According to Wired
-Nick Stockton writes that "psychosurgeons use lasers to burn away mental illness," raising the ire of some commenters.
“Return of Electro-Cures Exposes Psychiatry’s Weakness”
-John Horgan offers brief overviews of the evidence -- "or lack thereof" -- for five types of electronic psychiatric therapies that are experiencing a resurgence in public promotion.
“Compulsory Well-being”
-Mind Hacks has an interview with Will Davies, author of The Happiness Industry, that "looks at the history and practice of positive psychology as government, and âwell-beingâ as a way of managing people."
“The Isolating Effects of Anxiety”
-Daniel Yudkin discusses studies examining some of the ways in which anxiety can change how people think, and inhibit social connections and understanding.
Will Cognitive Enhancers Soon Become Necessary Work Steroids?
-What repercussions will there be for our competitive society if we develop a cognitive-enhancer drug that actually works over the long term?
Would Finding A Biomarker For ADHD Actually Help Anyone?
-Psychiatrists Ilina Singh and Simon Wessely ask if it would be ethically right to treat a child for ADHD, even if it were possible to definitively identify a biomarker for ADHD.
“How the US Mental Health System Makes Natives Sick and Suicidal”
-For indigenous peoples, the modern mental health system in North America often represents little more than a new form of colonialism and domination, writes David Walker.
University of Minnesota Trying To Improve Human Research Protections
-MIA Blogger Carl Elliott discusses and links to a series of stories covering the latest developments in the wake of the University of Minnesota psychiatric research scandals.
“Scientists Discover A New Link Between The Brain And The Immune System”
-io9 discusses the recent discovery of a new link connecting brain function to the gut microbiome and immune system in humans.
