“France Tightens Rules in Wake of Fatal Clinical Trial Disaster”
After a clinical trial killed one person and landed five others in intensive care, the government is demanding that the clinical trial company responsible, Biotrial,...
What Do the OCTET Outpatient Committal Trials Really Tell Us?
-Two commentaries in The Lancet Psychiatry debate what the OCTET trials have shown about community treatment orders.
J&J CEO Too Busy to Testify in Gynecomastia Trial
David Sell writes in the Philadelphia Inquirer about the travels and tribulations of Johnson & Johnson CEO Alex Gorsky, who will be too busy...
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?
“Oliver Sacks: I Want to De-Stigmatise Hallucinations”
Oliver Sacks opines in NewScientist that "there's a common view, often shared by doctors, that hallucinations denote madness - especially if there's any hearing...
“The Irrationality of Irrationality: The Paradox of Popular Psychology”
From Scientific American: "Psychologists found that people are 'radically insensitive to both the quantity and quality of information that gives rise to impressions and...
Sunday Morning Channel: “Has Psychiatry Silenced God?”
-The Edinburgh International Book Festival hosted a discussion exploring religious beliefs, creative inspiration, and whether hearing "the voice of God" should be regarded as a symptom of mental illness.
“If This Isn’t Racketeering…”
1 Boring Old Man opines that the lawyers in the Texas TMAP trial "were operating on a higher plane than these guys in Philadelphia,"...
The Problem with Publications Rarely Publishing Dull Results
Medical, psychiatric, psychology and other scientific studies that simply replicate research, find null results, or get results showing no effects from treatments are far...
“Is Teaching Kids Empathy Just as Important as Teaching Them Math?”
The Pacific Standard spoke with Joan Cole Duffell, executive director of Committee for Children, about the importance of social-emotional development on children, both as...
Supreme Court Case May Set Precedent for Psychiatric Drug Prescription Powers
A news story and opinion article in Psychiatric News discuss a current US Supreme Court case that is considering whether non-dentists should be permitted...
Use of Psychiatric Services “Skyrocketing” in Turkey
The number of people seeking psychiatric treatment in Turkey rose from 3 million people in 2009 to almost 9.2 million in 2013, according to...
“The Chill of Forced Incarceration and Psychiatric ‘Care'”
"When you make therapists have to report danger that means no one will feel safe talking… this does not make us safer. It in...
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.
“Preventing the Onset of Psychosis: Not Quite There Yet”
Robert Heinssen and Thomas Insel of the National Institute of Mental Health argue in Schizophrenia Bulletin that the balance of evidence does not support...
“Big Precision Medicine Plan Raises Patient Privacy Concerns”
-Scientific American discusses a new $215-million initiative to create a massive database of the personal health information of one million people.
Campaign Against Drugging of Foster Children
-The US National Center for Youth Law has launched an "action campaign" to persuade government officials to reduce the psychiatric drugging of children in foster care.
“A Creative Solution for Psychology’s Replication Problem”
In the Atlantic, Ed Yong reports that despite the lack of replicability of individual studies, when you get a pool of psychologists “betting on” the reproducibility of a study their predictions are surprisingly accurate. “Which makes me wonder: What's going on with peer review? If people know which results are really not likely to be real, why are they allowing them to be published?”
“Belief That Mental Illness Can Be Contagious Contributes To Isolation”
Tania Lombrozo for New Hampshire Public Radio (nhpr) asks, “could it be that some people believe psychiatric disorders can be contagious?” A new study in the Journal of Memory & Cognition says “yes,” and adds that this perception influences the way people interact with mental health category members.
“Look Beyond Martin Shkreli for Pharma Reform”
Martin Shkreli, the former hedge fund manager who became infamous for buying a life-saving drug and then raising the price significantly, was led away in handcuffs by the FBI last week. Unfortunately, the Boston Globe editorial board reminds us, “viewing his much-publicized takedown as anything like a tipping point in the push for pharmaceutical industry reform would be a mistake.”
Does Forced Treatment Save Taxpayers “Gobs of Money”?
-Time magazine reports on a study about Assisted Outpatient Treatment, without disclosing that the study was developed for prominent promoters of AOT.
“Six Former Commissioners Say FDA Should Be Independent Agency”
Helen Branswell at STAT: “Give the FDA independence and elevate its status. That’s the message from six former commissioners who led the FDA for...
The Hidden Costs of Paying Physicians More to Diagnose Dementia
A plan from the British government to pay doctors for every diagnosis of dementia that they make is an act of "folly," writes physician...
“Report Finds Florida Foster Kids Put on Psychotropic Drugs Without Following Proper Procedures”
After the 2009 suicide of a seven-year-old foster kid who had been on two “black box” medications intended for adults, Florida updated its policies to protect vulnerable children from over-prescription. Unfortunately, according to a report by Orlando Weekly, “foster children are still being put on psychotropic medications without caregivers following proper procedures.”
“All Joy and No Fun” – NY Times Book Review
Andrew Solomon's review of "All Joy and No Fun" by Jennifer Senior serves as a great reminder of the importance of good parenting -...
