Rethinking the Infamous Stanford Prison Experiment
From Scientific American: New evidence makes it clear that merely assigning people to play the role of prison guards did not lead them to engage in cruelty naturally, of their own accord.
The Healing Power of Gardens: Oliver Sacks on the Consolations of Nature
From Brain Pickings: "I cannot say exactly how nature exerts its calming and organizing effects on our brains... [but] in many cases, gardens and nature are more powerful than any medication."
The Shamanic View of ‘Mental Illness’: Birth of a Healer
From Uplift: "The Western culture has consistently ignored the birth of the healer. Consequently, there will be a tendency... to keep trying as many people as possible in an attempt to get somebody's attention."
‘Well’ Explores the Social and Political Underpinnings of Health
From NPR: To improve the nation's physical and mental health, epidemiologist Sandro Galea says we need to understand the factors that are actually the drivers of it.
Too Many Medicines Simply Don’t Work
From Bloomberg: A recent study in JAMA Internal Medicine examines 93 cancer drugs approved between 1992 and 2017, of which only 19 showed improvement in overall survival.
Not Just Soldiers: Civilians with PTSD Struggle to Find Effective Therapy
From NPR: The National Council for Behavioral Health calls trauma a 'near universal experience' for those with mental and behavioral issues, yet finding knowledgeable help is difficult.
Involuntary Commitment Can ‘Destroy the Human Spirit,’ Social Worker States
From Pete Earley: "What are we committing people to? And why don’t we start with treatment and services that we know work, and that people actually want?"
‘Mentally Ill’ FL Woman Gave Birth Alone in Isolated Jail Cell
From The Miami Herald: In a letter to the Broward Sheriff, the public defender demanded an immediate review of medical and isolation practices at all Broward County detention facilities.
Radical Project Rejected ‘Mental Illness,’ Embraced Communal Healing
From Aeon: Philadelphia House, co-founded by R.D. Laing and still operating in London, offers an alternative to confrontational treatment methods and medical interventions.
Psychiatry, Racism, and the Birth of ‘Sesame Street’
From Undark: Chester Pierce — the founding president of the Black Psychiatrists of America — was most concerned about one institution in particular: television.
Antidepressant Guidelines to Tighten in the UK
From Psychology Today: Doctors will soon be told to warn patients that ending treatment can cause "severe" adverse effects and last much longer than previously advised.
As Suicides Rise, Insurers Find Ways to Deny Mental Health Coverage
From Bloomberg: "There’s an incentive for managed-care companies to do the wrong thing, because they know that at the end of the day they don’t stand to be punished monetarily."
Transgender No Longer a ‘Mental Disorder,’ According to WHO
From TIME: According to the ICD-11, "gender identity disorders" have been reframed as "gender incongruence" and have been moved to a chapter on sexual health.
Conversations in Critical Psychiatry: Allen Frances, MD
From Pyschiatric Times: In many ways, Dr. Frances is one of the architects of modern psychiatry, yet he has also emerged as one of its most prominent critics.
The APA Meeting: A Photo Essay
From Slate Star Codex: It turns out that having 15,000 psychiatrists in one building sparks a drug company feeding frenzy that makes piranhas look sedate by comparison.
NHS to Tackle Elderly Over-Medication With 200 New Pharmacists
From PharmaTimes: The pharmacists will prevent care home residents from being given too many medicines as part of a package of measures to improve older people’s health and care.
Capitalism and Mental Health
From Monthly Review: The alleviation of mental distress is only possible "in a society without exploitation and oppression," says professor of social work Iain Ferguson.
Years After My Son Died in NHS Care, State-Sanctioned Torture Continues
From The Guardian: I’m still puzzling over the peculiar inability of the government to even discuss whether the CQC report (and others like it) documents torture.
A Contrarian View of Digital Health
From Quillette: By transforming pain, illness, and death from a personal challenge into a technical problem, medical practice becomes the source of a new kind of un-health.
Healing as a Subversive Act | Gabor Maté, MD
From Psychotherapy Networker: Whether in a medical or more direct psychotherapeutic sense, healing is about subverting people's self-image as isolated, simply biological or simply psychological creatures.
Clinical Guidelines on Antidepressant Withdrawal Urgently Need Updating
From The BMJ Letters: NICE’s current position on antidepressant withdrawal not only was advanced on insufficient evidence but is now widely countered by subsequent research.
5-HTTLPR, the “Depression Gene”: A Pointed Review
From Slate Star Codex: This is a rare case where methodological improvements allowed a conclusive test of a popular hypothesis, and it failed badly. How many other cases like this are there?
In Memoriam: Mel Starkman, Psychiatric Survivor and Activist
From NOW Toronto: Don Weitz pays tribute to his friend Mel Starkman, a former University of Toronto archivist and psychiatric survivor who spoke out against electroshock treatment.
Anti-Stigma Campaigns Potentially Making Life Worse for People in Distress
From Psychologists for Social Change: These campaigns leave little resources or public appetite to tackle anything harder that might actually make life better for swathes of people.
Mother Whose Son Killed Himself in Solitary Wants FL to Change Practice
From the Orlando Sentinel: While many states have reduced the number of inmates in solitary confinement, an SPLC study found Florida has not been part of that trend.
