A Tribute to Peter Campbell, 1949-2022
Peter Campbell, one of the pioneers of the mental health user and survivor movement in the UK, is remembered in a blog post by the activist collective Recovery in the Bin.
“Politicians and Experts Meet at Parliament to Explore Record Antidepressant Prescribing and Disability”
The All-Party Parliamentary Group for Prescribed Drug Dependence is meeting today, May 11th, to discuss evidence of the link between the rise in disability...
‘Doctors Gave Me Depression Pills I DIDN’T Need for 20 Years’
Luke Montagu writes in the Daily Mail, "Six years after taking my last dose of antidepressants, I am still suffering from their effects. I...
Many are Depressed Because They’re Expected not to be
From The Conversation: New studies suggest that Western cultural values - specifically the high value we place on happiness - may be the reason that...
State Sees Boom in Number of Psychiatric Beds
From The Boston Globe: Massachusetts has seen a significant increase in its number of psychiatric institutions since 2015. However, many psychiatric patients are still waiting for...
Proove Biosciences Sells Off Assets as CEO Departs
From STAT: Proove Biosciences, which sold dubious DNA tests to predict opioid addiction risk, has been placed into court-ordered receivership for restructuring and asset sale. Experts...
Birthday Letter: Sylvia Plath and “Daddy”
In this piece for The Paris Review, Belinda McKeon analyzes the poetry and letters Sylvia Plath wrote in the few months just before her suicide.
The Issue of Over-Diagnosing in Psychiatry
From The Concordian: On October 30th, Dr. Joel Paris, a professor of psychiatry at McGill University, gave a lecture about the dangers and consequences of...
Drug May Lead to Early Death for People With Alzheimer’s
From The Washington Post: A recent study found that benzodiazepines are associated with a greater chance of early death for those with Alzheimer's.
"Researchers analyzed data on...
“From the Streets to the Rx Pad: Do Party Drugs Have a Place in...
Psychiatric Times reflects on the rise of ketamine as an antidepressant, MDMA (ecstasy) for the treatment of PTSD, and cannabis' use for neuropathic pain...
The Enduring Myth of the Mad Genius
From Wellcome Collection: It has long been assumed that great writers and artists must be touched by madness. However, no link between artistic talent and...
To Fight Burnout, Organize
From The New England Journal of Medicine: "The social determinants of health — and physicians’ sense of powerlessness in the face of them — seem...
What Is Critical Psychology? New Site for Scholar-Activists
From Robert Beshara: "I am pleased to announce that on behalf of the Critical Praxis Collective, I have put together a website which will...
Stewart Dolin’s Widow Loses $3 Million Verdict for Paxil Suicide on Appeal
From The American Lawyer: "A federal appeals court has thrown out a $3 million verdict awarded last year to the widow of a former Reed...
“How Our Compulsion for Diagnosis May Be Harming Children”
A team of American pediatric physicians has published an article in the journal Pediatrics examining the many ways in which medical overdiagnosis may be...
U.S. Marine and Navy Suicides at a 10-Year High
From CNN: Many of the cases are young Marines who have not deployed overseas or been in combat -- a situation observed in other branches of the military as well.
Depression: “Can Mood Science Save Us?”
The November/December issue of the Psychotherapy Networker is called "Depression Unmasked: Exposing a Hidden Epidemic." It includes articles such as, "Can Mood Science Save...
“Childhood Adversity and Psychosis: Generalised or Specific Effects?”
Eleanor Longden and John Reed look at the "relationships between childhood adversity and the presence of characteristic symptoms of schizophrenia." They conclude: "The current...
The Quality of Monopoly Capitalist Society: Mental Health
From Monthly Review: What Baran and Sweezy saw in the 1960s as the trend toward the psychological dissolution of working-class families and individuals has today become nothing less than a ubiquitous cancer responsible for the decline of whole communities.
California Clinic Comes Under Increased Scrutiny After Suicide
An article for the Los Angeles Times, entitled “His 83-year-old Wife jumped to her death from a Kaiser clinic- why?” tells the story of Barbara Ragan who stepped off a roof in front of her mental health clinic with traces of Xanax, Prozac and an antidepressant in her blood.
How Big Pharma & Psychiatry Gaslight Us: Interview with Bruce Levine
From Radio Free Sunroot: Kollibri terre Sonnenblume and psychologist Bruce Levine discuss some of the myths surrounding the mental health industry.
NC Lawmakers Seek Non-Police, Community Interventions to Mental Health Crises
From North Carolina Health News : State lawmakers have introduced a package of mental health bills that would provide alternative interventions, such as non-police crisis response units and more peer-support organizations.
It’s Misleading to Call Addiction a Disease
From The New York Times: The view of addiction as disease fails to capture much of the experience of addiction, and disease language is not necessary to make the point for humane treatment.
“Mental Health Units” in Prison Are Solitary Confinement by Another Name, Activists Say
From Truthout: According to a new report by the HALT Solitary and the Mental Health Alternatives to Solitary Confinement campaigns, isolating 'mentally ill' prisoners as punishment still happens fairly frequently in New York despite laws designed to protect them.
Routine Anxiety Screenings Will Cause Overdiagnosis, Overprescription, Psychologist Warns
From Fox News: "You can’t just carve the world into 'disorders' and think you’re doing an adequate job of determining someone’s mental health needs," said UCSF professor Dr. Jonathan Shedler.
