Around The Web

Robert Whitaker and Lisa Cosgrove discuss their new book Psychiatry Under the Influence in an interview with psychologist and social critic Bruce Levine for Truthout. In the book, Whitaker and Cosgrove apply the institutional corruption framework, developed by Larry Lessig, to psychiatry and determine that “just as elected officials develop dependency on special interests and become beholden to these funders instead of the citizenry,” psychiatry has “had its social mission subverted by drug companies as well as by the psychiatry guild's self-preservation and expansionism needs.”

Australian trade minister, Andrew Robb, spoke about inadequate government funding for mental health at a summit of mental health experts on Monday. Canberra related his own personal experience of struggling to seek treatment for depression and counseled that “stigma has been such a massive deterrent” both for individuals in need of help and for government funding of mental health programs.

In a blog post for The Guardian’s Healthcare Professionals Network, frontline worker Tim Smith takes on the oft-heard metaphor that “mental health problems should be seen like a broken leg.” Smith explains how this metaphor, while intended to reduce stigma, negatively impacts mental health care by creating the expectation that treatments will follow a set course and that patients will respond uniformly and predictably.

From Marlo Thomas on HuffPo: "For those taking medication or anti-depressants, orgasm can seem even more unattainable. Reduction in both sexual desire and orgasms...

"Mary Ann DeBernardis of Utica knew her mother was dying when she left the hospital on the evening of July 5, 2013. Burdened with a...

"Older women who eat white bread and rice found to have greater risk of depression, according to research ... But whole grain foods, roughage...

Fox 5 Atlanta featured a back to school story about the growing percentage of preteens and teens being prescribed antipsychotic medication for ADHD.  They report:...

On The New York Times Opinionator Blog, Diana Spechler has written a series entitled “Going Off,” relating her experience transitioning to a life without...

"I’ve eaten mushrooms ... dropped LSD ... taken MDMA ... I’ve done everything adults always told me not to do in my youth, and...

High Times takes a good look at the chemistry and epidemiology of "America's Favorite Amphetamine": "If you’re one of the roughly 6.4 million kids or 10 million adults in the...

"Sales for drugs like Vyvanse and Adderall are growing rapidly. To those who have experienced the dark-side of regular amphetamine use, that’s concerning," says...

"In an article published this month in the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, McGill University psychiatrist Dr. Joel Paris says the diagnostic criteria for adult...

Eleanor Longden and John Reed look at the "relationships between childhood adversity and the presence of characteristic symptoms of schizophrenia."  They conclude: "The current...

In 2004 'Amy,' who was being treated for a drug overdose, screamed "Mum, don't let him near me! He shouldn't be in here! He's raped...

TruthOut reveals that "Turned out by the tens of thousands, scores of patients have been trapped between the worst of both worlds, free to...

Tanya Luhrmann writes in the New York Times: "Americans are a pretty anxious people. Nearly one in five of us — 18 percent —...

-A "fact checker" investigates a statement by an Australian politician describing the government's supportive employment initiative as a "prescription" for young people struggling with mental health problems.

-Scientific American visits the question of whether exposure to anesthesia during early childhood can lead to cognitive or behavioral problems later in life.

-Tom Jefferson updates on the "revolution" promised by European Medicines Agency policies on publicly releasing more detailed data from drug clinical trials.

-HealthNewsReview.org looks at the research and concludes there's little evidence that women experience loss of executive functions during menopause, or that an ADHD drug could help if they did.

-Psychiatry Advisor reports on psychiatrist James Rucker's campaign for more research into the therapeutic potentials of psychedelic drugs, and on critics who point to the risks.

-Two Australian scientists discuss historical and current research into tentative links between inflammation, immune response and depression.

-Business Insider explores some of the psychosocial factors that may be contributing to depression in the high tech industry.

-A survey of 120 psychiatrists found that the more psychiatrists fear death, the more negative emotions they have towards people diagnosed with borderline personality disorder.

-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.