“No Easy Answer to the Question of Forcible Medication”
Nathaniel Ayers, the violin-playing subject of the 2009 film "The Soloist," continues to fight against efforts to compel him to take antipsychotic medication. "....
“Opiates and ‘Benzos’ — a Deadly Cocktail of Drugs”
MIA Blogger Richard Lewis lands an op-ed in New England's South Coast Today: "Not a week goes by without some news headline reporting about...
“What Can A Rat’s ‘Behavioral Despair’ Tell You?”
"A 'tail suspension test' is exactly what its title implies. Researchers lift a rat by the tail for a few minutes at a time,...
“Is Britain Hooked on Happy Pills?”
The Telegraph provides a forum for Joanna Moncrieff: "The use of antidepressants continues its inexorable rise. Since the early 1990s the number of prescriptions...
Limbic Kindling — Hardwiring the Brain for Hypersensitivity
Beyond Meds looks at limbic kindling - "one of the most exciting concepts in neuroscience you’ve never heard of. And it’s becoming a key...
“Saving Minds Along With Souls”
Tanya Luhrmann writes in the NY Times about Pastor Rick Warren's effort to "get the church directly involved with the care of people with...
“The Business Interests Behind America’s Costly Medical Care”
Truthout explains that "Unlike most other wealthy countries, the U.S. lacks any central mechanism to constrain overall health-care spending. This has led us instead...
“Are You Too Optimistic? Science Can Fix That”
From Discover magazine: "Unrealistic optimism refers to the pervasive tendency of healthy individuals to underestimate their likelihood of future misfortune, including illness. The phenomenon...
“The Antidepressant Generation”
Doris Iarovici, a psychiatrist from Duke University, asks in the New York Times "Are we using good scientific evidence to make decisions about keeping...
“Mother Wishes She Had Restricted Flow of Prescription Drugs to her Son”
"Looking back, Pam Herrera wishes she had asked more questions and been more forceful with her son's therapists," says the Denver Post. "The list...
“J&J Allegedly Over-Promoted Risperdal and Paid the Price”
The Ohio-based Legal Examiner reviews the history of Johnson & Johnson's allegedly inappropriate - perhaps criminal - marketing of Risperdal, including pushing the drug...
“Drama Helps Kids with Autism Communicate Better”
Results from a pilot study called Imagining Autism suggests that drama workshops help children with autism-spectrum disorders.
Drama Helps Kids with Autism Communicate Better (New Scientist)
The Hot Stove Project
The Hot Stove Project seeks to increase dialogue across different perspectives, by integrating individuals who are presently marginalized due to "mental health issues."
The Hot...
Tom Arnkil on “Unconditional Respect for the ‘Otherness’ of Other People”
Tom Arnkil on the book he co-authored with Jaakko Seikkula, and the necessity for the "Unconditional Respect for the 'Otherness' of Other People."
“Institutional Corruption of Pharmaceuticals and the Myth of Safe and Effective Drugs”
The Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics looks at institutional corruption in the pharmaceutical industry; "An extensive range of studies and lawsuits already documents...
“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...
“A Nonbeliever Tries To Make Sense Of The Visions She Had As A Teen”
"People have these unaccountable mystic experiences," Barbara Ehrenreich tells Fresh Air's Terry Gross about her new book, Living With a Wild God: A Nonbeliever's Search...
“Colorado Responds Slowly to Psychotropic Drug Use Among Foster Kids”
The Denver Post writes "Colorado officials have known since at least 2007 that prescriptions and dosage levels of psychotropic drugs — which also include antidepressants, mood...
“Are We Using Antidepressants to Paper Over the Cracks of a Fractured Society?”
The Guardian writes that "Use of antidepressant drugs has become more common than ever before. Perhaps it's time that we looked at the wider causes...
“Autism: Difference or Disorder?”
Pediatrician Claudia Gold assesses the controversies around the rise in autism diagnoses: "The massive rise in diagnosis of autism indicates that something is amiss....
“A Generation of Stimulation Junkies: Television, ADD and ADHD”
Mod Vive reports that "The rampant self-diagnosing of attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is out of control. There is also an increasing amount of people...
“We Need a Better Explanation for the Surge in Autism”
The Washington Post says "The latest numbers from the Center for Disease Control showing a steep rise in the number of children with autism...
“How to Take Kids Off Medication: Tips for Making Sure Your Child Makes a...
The Child Mind Institute advises that "When you're considering medication for a child with emotional or behavioral problems, how you start is very important....
“Neoliberalism and the Machinery of Disposability”
Truthout, in an essay with relevance to MIA readers, digs into contemporary processes wherein "the collective sense of ethical imagination and social responsibility toward those who...
“The Medicalization of “Ups and Downs”: The Marketing of the New Bipolar Disorder”
Joanna Moncrieff writes in Transcultural Psychiatry, "The concept of bipolar disorder has undergone a transformation over the last two decades. Once considered a rare...
