Congressional Inquiry into Alzheimer’s Drug Faults Its Maker and FDA
From The New York Times: The agency’s actions "raise serious concerns about FDA’s lapses in protocol," the report concluded. Nevertheless, the FDA is now evaluating two other Alzheimer’s drugs for approval early next year.
The New York Times Uncritically Repeats Discredited Antidepressant Claims
From CounterPunch/Bruce Levine, PhD: Once again, as with their reporting on WMDs in Iraq, the paper showed no skepticism about declarations from sources with powerful motives to sell a self-serving narrative that conflicts with the evidence.
A House on Shaky Ground: Eight Structural Flaws of the Western Worldview
From Tikkun/Jeremy Lent: Many of the ideas we hold sacrosanct in modern society are actually myths that emerged from erroneous assumptions made at different times and places in history.
Babies Feel Pain More Intensely Than Adults, Brain Imaging Study Finds
From Return to Now: Researchers found that babies are actually four times more sensitive to pain than adults, even though painful procedures are still routinely performed on them with no pain relief.
Assisted Dying Laws Are Devastating for Suicide Prevention, Warns New Research
From Scottish Daily Express: European countries and US states that have introduced systems to allow for euthanasia have reported an increase in the number of non-assisted suicides.
‘Restraint and Seclusion’ Harms Kids. So Why Is It Used in Schools?
From The Washington Post: What if you went five days a week to a school that regularly locked you up or physically held you down? Most of us would walk in ready for a fight, not to learn.
I Was Hospitalized Against My Will. I Know Firsthand the Harm It Can Cause
From The Guardian: As Mayor Eric Adams recently announced a dramatic expansion of New York City’s involuntary hospitalization policy, I listened in disbelief, overcome with both rage and grief.
‘Transparent Replications’ Project Aims to Improve Reliability in Psychological Research
From Clearer Thinking: The new initiative, launched by Clearer Thinking, will replicate a substantial fraction of papers coming out in top psychology journals.
Celebrating Steps Toward Humane Approaches to Distress
From John Read, PhD/Psychology Today: 2022 saw many examples of the ongoing international struggle for effective mental health services. Here is my list of some of the year's successes.
The Wisdom of the Symptom Bearer: It’s Always the ‘Crazy’ One Who Knows the...
From Medium/Rev. Sheri Heller, LCSW: The 'symptom bearer' or 'identified patient' is the scapegoat who carries the evidence of the familial dysfunction.
Civil Rights Advocates Call U.S. Child Welfare System a ‘National Problem’
From The Imprint: A new report says the child welfare system fails to adequately address the needs of families and often harms the very kids it's designed to protect.
Why Is Stigma Toward ‘Schizophrenia’ Getting Worse?
From Psychology Today/Justin Garson, PhD: Intriguingly, the greatest increase in stigma toward 'schizophrenia' occurred from 1990 to 2001, the so-called "decade of the brain."
Eat For Life Podcast: The Hidden Harms of Antidepressants with Robert Whitaker
From Eat For Life: As one of the first children to be put on Prozac, this is an important and personal episode for me, as depression and mental illness continue to rise despite all the drugs available today to treat them.
Authenticity Can Heal Trauma | Gabor Maté, MD
From How To Academy: What happens if, for the sake of fitting in with the family or culture, we have to give up our connection to ourselves, our authenticity, for the sake of attachment?
AI Has Already Taken Over. It’s Called the Corporation
From Resilience/Jeremy Lent: Futurists warning about the threats of AI are looking in the wrong place. Humanity is already facing an existential threat from an artificial intelligence we created hundreds of years ago.
What’s Happening in Mental Health Services? | Asylum Magazine
From Asylum Magazine: Perhaps we need to spend less energy arguing about 'models' of mental health care and turn our attention to challenging the abuse of power.
Echando Pa’Lante Podcast: Esperanza, Coloniaje y Puerto Rico w/ José Luiggi-Hernández
From Echando Pa'Lante: MIA science writer José Luiggi-Hernández discusses his recently published chapter "The Experience of Hope Within the Puerto Rican Colonial Context" and the debate in Puerto Rico about Puerto Rican "resilience."
The Online Therapy Bubble Is Bursting
From TIME: Many of the mental health startups that popped up or thrived during the pandemic are being scrutinized for prioritizing growth above all else—a common mentality among tech startups.
Rights Groups Rip NYC Mayor Over Forced ‘Hospitalizations’ for ‘Mental Illness’
From Common Dreams: "The decades-old practice of sweeping deep-seated problems out of public view may play well for the politicians, but the problems will persist—for vulnerable people...and for [other] New Yorkers," said the head of the NYCLU.
Why Highly Sensitive People Can (and Should) Trust Their Hearts — And Use Their...
From Highly Sensitive Refuge: Highly sensitive people have important perspectives to contribute to society. They must protect their process, especially when the world doesn’t.
Could the Blackfoot Wisdom That Inspired Maslow Guide Us Now?
From GatherFor/Medium: At the Blackfoot Reserve, "Maslow saw a place where what he would later call self-actualization was the norm," said researcher Ryan Heavy Head. This observation "totally changed his trajectory."
How Hospice Became a For-Profit Hustle
From The New Yorker: Hospice has evolved from a constellation of charities, mostly reliant on volunteers, into a twenty-two-billion-dollar juggernaut funded by taxpayers and rife with exploitation.
How Big Pharma Hijacked Patient Groups
From The Breach: Once a vibrant grassroots social movement, patient groups have become a powerful cluster of corporate-influenced organizations, with leaders whose values, beliefs and ties align more closely with the private sector than the public interest.
New York City Will ‘Hospitalize’ More ‘Mentally Ill’ People Involuntarily
From The New York Times: "The common misunderstanding persists that we cannot provide involuntary 'assistance' unless the person is violent," said Mayor Eric Adams. "This myth must be put to rest."
The Tyranny of the Prefrontal Cortex
From Jeremy Lent: There is an overriding dynamic driving all the imbalances in our lives. Acknowledging it is the first step toward achieving re-harmonization within our individual and collective consciousness.
