Mindfulness “Potent” in Preventing Relapses in Chronic Depression
Two psychologists writing for Scientific American Mind review some of the evidence base for the impacts of mindfulness meditation on problematic psychological states. They...
“The Violent Side Effects of Antidepressants that Many Ignore”
Dr. Mercola reviews the history of psychiatric medications' connection to mass shootings, potential violence and worsened depression, and the APA's recent recommendation to "reconsider...
Changing the Way We Communicate About Patients
From BMJ Opinion: "A 53 year old woman with right lower quadrant abdominal pain. A 36 year old acutely suicidal man off psych meds. A...
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.
Psychiatric Hospitals With Safety Violations Still Get Accreditation
From The Wall Street Journal: Psychiatric hospitals kept their accreditation after patients said they were raped or assaulted; died by suicide; slept on chairs due to crowding; and more.
Broken Kids, Not Guns | Michael Mendizza
From Touch the Future: To blame guns, TV, video games, Twinkies, the bully next door, bad genes, and all the rest for the pervasive violence, self-mutilation, self-medication, and suicide is a misguided defense.
“Learning to Live with the Voices Inside Your Head”
For ABC’s All in the Mind, Lynne Malcolm and Olivia Willis report on the latest research showing that hearing voices may be far more...
“Protect California Foster Youth from Dangerous Psychiatric Drugs”
The Santa Cruz Sentinel reports on legislation being passed in California to go after physicians who overprescribe psychiatric drugs to foster youth. The proposed legislation also targets government agencies that fail to offer nondrug alternative therapies to help foster youth recover from traumatic childhoods.
What We Must Learn From the US Opioid Epidemic
From The BMJ: There is no doubt that America's opioid epidemic is a national crisis that needs to be addressed. However, we must be careful...
Amid COVID, People Involuntarily Confined in Psych Hospitals Must Be Released
From Truthout Holding people in congregate environments dramatically increases risk of coronavirus-related illness up to and including death.
“When Medical Apps Do More Harm Than Good”
-The industry of mobile apps that diagnose users' physical and mental ailments is already worth some $4 billion.
Improving Outcomes for Psychosis: Psychiatric Survivor and Critical Psychiatry Perspectives
"If I and the people around me could have been helped to see that there was some significance in what I was proclaiming, that I could actually do something meaningful in the world, something with impact, something with power to affect change -- was that so crazy? Or did it come true?" ~ Dina Tyler
Mental Health Seclusion Rates Increase
From Stuff: More than 800 New Zealand mental health patients were held in seclusion at some point last year, representing a six percent increase in...
“Forgiving Others Can Protect You From Depression”
A new study out of the University of Missouri examines the relationship between forgiveness and depression. Medical Daily reports, “while your therapist might tell you to forgive yourself when times get tough, it’s not always just self-forgiveness that decreases depression. Rather, forgiving others seems to have the most positive impact.”
‘Bear Our Pain’: The Plea for More Black Mental Health Workers
From NPR: Dr Rhea Boyd says racism's toll threads through the psyche, manifesting in many ways, and shaping the youngest of brains.
Update on DSM-5 by 1 Boring Old Man
1 Boring Old Man does a status analysis of the DSM-5, finding that the DSM-5 has moved beyond the restraint of earlier versions, which...
Facebook Is Receiving Sensitive Medical Information from Hospital Websites
From The Markup: Experts say some hospitals’ use of an ad tracking tool may violate a federal law protecting health information.
Patients Are Still Being Misinformed About Electroconvulsive Therapy
From Psychology Today/John Read, PhD: A second audit confirms that UK patients are not being told about the serious risks and limited benefits of ECT.
The Mental Health Crisis Is Down to Government Policy, Not Stigma
From The Guardian: "I have a radical proposal for tackling the mental health crisis. Let’s just stop talking about stigma. I’m not suggesting stigma...
I’m Reinventing Mental Health Care by Putting Patients in Charge
In this piece for The Guardian, Joy Hibbins describes how her experiences of powerlessness as a mental health service user led her to start Suicide...
“The Wisdom of the Aged”
A New York Times piece by John Leland asks “Do you know what you want to do when you get old?” as it follows six New Yorkers over age 85 throughout the year. For them, “old age is a mixture of happiness and sadness, with less time wasted on anger and worry.”
“The Drug of Choice for the Age of Kale”
For The New Yorker, Ariel Levy explains how drinking the ancient Amazonian hallucinogenic brew, ayahuasca, became the latest trend. “If cocaine expressed and amplified...
Outpatient Committal: “Politics and Psychiatry in a Culture of Fear”
Psychiatrists' use of community treatment orders (or outpatient committal) in the UK is already ten times more frequent than was originally envisioned, writes Manchester...
“Antidepressants Are A Quick Fix In A Broken System”
For The Times, Labour MP Luciana Berger writes about her concerns with the increased use of antidepressants. “Antidepressants should never be prescribed as a...
APA Condemns Sharing of Immigrant Youths’ Therapy Notes With ICE
From the American Psychological Association: "For this administration to weaponize these therapy sessions by ordering that the psychotherapy notes be passed to ICE is appalling,” said APA President Sandra L. Shullman.
