How Literature Teaches Compassion Over Condescension
From Psychology Today: Great works of literature remind us of the humanity of others by allowing us to imagine our way into their woundedness and hear their stories from within.
Most People Who’ve Used the 988 Crisis Line Say They Wouldn’t Turn to It...
From CNN: New research in JAMA Network Open found only a quarter of users said they'd be very likely turn to 988 in the future for themselves or a loved one.
The Superpowers of Sensitive People
From Greater Good Magazine: Sensitivity is the ability to "perceive, process, and respond deeply to one’s environment" and is exactly what our world desperately needs, argue the authors of a new book.
Inside the Psychiatric Hospitals Where Foster Kids Are a “Gold Mine”
From Mother Jones: Scandal-plagued health care giant Universal Health Services (UHS) profits handsomely off the failing American child welfare system.
It’s Time to Consign the “Selfish Gene” to the History Books | Jeremy Lent
From Salon: The trouble with the 'selfish gene' story is not just that it is scientifically flawed; it's also that it presents such an impoverished view of life's dazzling magnificence.
The Troubled-Teen Industry Offers Trauma, Not Therapy
From The New York Times: Hundreds of thousands of young Americans have endured harms or assaults in residential boot camps, wilderness therapy and Christian and therapeutic boarding schools.
Psychiatric Patients Restrained at Sky-High Rates at This L.A. Hospital
From the L.A. Times: L.A. General’s Hawkins Mental Health Center has reported a restraint rate more than 50 times higher than the national average for inpatient psychiatric facilities.
People Not Professionals
From Aeon: Peer support provides a cathartic space for refuge that transcends the constraints of expert-delivered formal services in favor of a more equitable relationship.
In the Name of ‘Modernization,’ Newsom Admin. Wants to Disappear Unhoused and Disabled People...
From Disability Visibility Project: The CARE Act is predicated on a big lie perpetrated by policymakers and marketed to the public: that houselessness is caused by ‘severe and untreated’ mental illness and substance use.
Neuroscientist Argues the Left Side of Our Brains Have Taken Over Our Minds
From CBC: "A way of thinking which is reductive, mechanistic has taken us over," says Iain McGilchrist. "We behave like people who have right hemisphere damage."
The Feeling Child | An Interview With Alice Miller
A good therapy should help the patient evolve from a "silent child" to a feeling and "talking child."
Beyond the “Chemical Imbalance” Theory: An Interview With Prof. Joanna Moncrieff
From Psychology Today/Justin Garson PhD: "I was surprised, first of all, by the level of public interest [in my paper debunking the serotonin theory of depression] and then by the defensiveness of the profession," says psychiatrist Joanne Moncrieff.
“Functional Disorders”: One of Medicine’s Biggest Failures | Marion Brown
From The BMJ: Is this a cop-out for the medical profession? Surely we need to look at what may be CAUSING the mind/body system to malfunction, and not miss out the important question of ‘could it be the medicine’?
A History of Pernicious Anemia and Psychiatric Misdiagnosis
Katrina Burchell, chief executive officer of the Pernicious Anaemia Society, writes about the history of pernicious anemia, which produces symptoms that are often misdiagnosed...
Not My Words, Not My Story | Julia Buxton
From Asylum Magazine: One of the first things that struck me when I entered mental health services was how little interest staff took in me describing my experiences or how I felt.
What Celebrating Columbus Day Portends for Our Civilization | Jeremy Lent
From Salon: The Columbus mindset is the same one that is driving our global civilization toward environmental (and social) catastrophe.
Are You Ready for “Brain Transparency” and AI Reading your Mind?
From Igor Chudov: An "exciting" seminar at the annual WEF meeting featured new technology that allows human brains to be scanned via wearable devices and the wearer's state of mind to be instantly interpreted via their brainwaves.
Childhood Trauma: How We Learn to Lie, Hide, and Be Inauthentic
From PsychCentral/Darius Cikanavicius: Adults often see children's natural honesty as a nuisance, silliness, or even a problem, which leads to a society where dishonesty, fakeness, and inauthenticity are normal.
Reconsidering Forced ‘Psychiatric Care’: A Conversation with Rob Wipond
From Psychiatry at the Margins/Awais Aftab: "I don’t hear nearly enough psychiatrists speaking out and showing genuine understanding and concern about how harmful and unhelpful involuntary 'treatment' can be," says journalist Rob Wipond.
Medicalized Meddling With Neurotransmitters Leaves Us in a Big Mess
From Dr. Gary Sharpe: Human biochemistry is an example of a "complex system," where exceedingly small interference in the system can create massive and unforeseeable changes.
Surviving Techno-Dystopia
From Mental Hellth: Malcolm Harris, a Silicon Valley native and author of Palo Alto: A History of California, Capitalism, and the World, discusses the mental health side of techno-capitalism.
What Are Psychological Defenses?
From PsychAlive: "When children are faced with pain and anxiety in their developmental years, they develop defenses to cut off that pain," says psychologist and author Robert Firestone.
The Truth About Anti-Depressants With Robert Whitaker | The Homeless Romantic
From The Homeless Romantic Podcast: Journalist Robert Whitaker discusses the need to bridge the gap between the public perception of mental health and the evidence-based reality.
The Invisible Memories That Shape Our Lives
From PsychAlive/Lisa Firestone, PhD: Implicit memories are unconscious, bodily memories that, when triggered in the present, do not seem like they are coming from the past.
All the Lonely People: The Atomized Generation
From Erraticus: We must live each day in radical opposition to the world, keeping in mind that the economics of modern life are designed to atomize us.
