Blogs

Essays by a diverse group of writers, in the United States and abroad, engaged in rethinking psychiatry. (The directory of personal stories can be found here, and initiatives here).

Illustration depicting birds on wires. One bird sits far apart from the crowd.

Not Everyone Agreed With FDA Approval of Antipsychotic Rexulti for Agitation

6
Providing the sole "no" vote on the approval of Rexulti, the consumer representative on the FDA's advisory committee shares her reasoning.
Close-up of a gold padlock hanging from a man's belt

Antidepressants Have Destroyed My Sexual Function and Range of Emotions

34
In 2012, in a period of low mood and anxiety, my GP prescribed an antidepressant. Little did I know that this would derail my life.
A young woman crouches in distress in a corner, while a doctor's hand reaches out to her. Everything is white

An Unacknowledged Role of Doctors: Suppressing Women

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Western culture has instilled the idea that women are inherently weak and must trust authoritative doctors to manage their distress for them.
A bottle of blue pills overturned on a wooden table

Critical Psychiatry Textbook, Chapter 8: Depression and Mania (Affective Disorders) (Part Four)

3
Discussing how depression pills don’t work for children and increase their risk of suicide.

Making Crazy: Rob Wipond’s “Your Consent Is Not Required”

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Rob Wipond’s exposé details the vast net the psychiatric industry has cast over society under the guise of “trying to help.”
Vector illustration on blue background showing a person, book, magnifying glass, eye, and light bulb

Neurodiversity Is a Scientific Revolution

12
Although I experience distress acutely, I don’t have a disease, a bug, or an error. I have a body. When my circumstances are untenable, my body protests.

Giving Caregivers a Platform: Elianna, Mother of Brandon

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An interview with Elianna, who lives in Colorado with her son, Brandon, 34. His many diagnoses and misdiagnoses include autism and schizophrenia.
A pill bottle on its side spills white tablets out (photo)

Critical Psychiatry Textbook, Chapter 8: Depression and Mania (Affective Disorders) (Part Three)

0
On the latest fad, ketamine, and how depression pills cause dependence and withdrawal.
Close up of two hands circling a group of wooden figurines on a table

The Medicalization of the American Mind

15
One cause of fragility? Pathologizing our children with psychiatric diagnoses and focusing on a medical solution to life's problems.

DOOCE: A Case Study on the Failure of Psychiatry

255
Heather Armstrong’s life was taken by psychiatry, and our unwillingness to scrutinize their methods of madness.
A woman in a box is glowing while people walk around her

It’s Time for Soteria: An Australian Perspective

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Soteria-style community houses are a proven, viable, cost effective alternative to traditional psychiatric hospitals.
Illustration depicting a card on a clothesline reading "DIAGNOSIS: PLACEBO EFFECT" against a blue background

Critical Psychiatry Textbook, Chapter 8: Depression and Mania (Affective Disorders) (Part Two)

1
Peter Gøtzsche discusses misleading statements about depression pills and dosing.
A bottle of spilled pills on black background.

The Systemic Harms of Psychiatry

62
My research into psychiatry began in late 2016 after being admitted to a mental "health" facility. There was nothing healthy about that experience!
lonely man on the bench autumn, winter

Psychiatrogenesis (Whither Psychiatry or Reform)

Preying on the privatisation of distress comes the medical-industrial complex perverting the mental health landscape.
Close up photo depicting a man in a suit pouring two pills into his open palm

Critical Psychiatry Textbook, Chapter 8: Depression and Mania (Affective Disorders) (Part One)

19
On the drug industry’s influence in defining disorders and the lack of efficacy for depression pills.
Doctor holding syringe, a patient cringing away in fear out of focus in the background

White Paper Presents Case Against Forced Treatment

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"I see the white paper as the culmination of my 40+ years of advocacy for people subjected to psychiatric incarceration and forced drugging."
Handsome young doctor man holding a clipboard with angry face, negative sign showing dislike with thumbs down, rejection concept

Self-test for Adult Symptom Deficiency Disorder (ASDD)

12
In the spirit of the thinking behind the DSM, I have worked out a test for a new disorder for those who don't meet criteria for anything else.
Black and white illustration of a skull with a brain shape visible inside.

Can Listening to Heavy Metal Be Therapeutic?

24
Many enthusiasts of heavy metal will say things like "Heavy metal saved my life," and there is a fairly established narrative amongst fans of the wellbeing benefits.
Illustration of a hand erasing part of a person's brain

Critical Psychiatry Textbook, Chapter 7: Psychosis (Part Six)

4
Discussing the damage psychosis pills cause to the brain, and how that manifests in many clinical harms, like tardive dyskinesia.
Group Of Happy Excited Doctors Raising Arms

In Defense of Incoherent Psychiatry

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In JAMA Psychiatry, the authors claimed we have no way to assess outcomes, and no way to know whether outcomes are "continuing to improve."
A hand holding a toy plane with sunset light

Can’t Be Trusted: A Book Review Review

9
My book is a memoir written around the denial of my medical certificate required to fly light aircraft for mental health reasons.

Q&A: What Is Informed Consent, and What Should I Know to Help My Child?

5
My experience caused me to look into the origin of including the patient in decision-making about treatment and informed consent.
Black and white photo of a man looking sad with his fingers clinging to a chain-link fence

The Hidden Injuries of Oppression

51
Oppression is the single greatest factor contributing to human suffering. To treat it as an individual problem amounts to blaming the victim.

Listen to the Victims: Senate Holds Hearing on Guardianship

13
I have seen the exploitation wreaked by court-appointed guardians. It is up to us to use our voices for those who cannot speak out.
Hand of doctor holding many different pills

Critical Psychiatry Textbook, Chapter 7: Psychosis (Part Five)

4
Discussing the studies that have compared the different psychosis drugs, as well as the harms of adding more psychosis drugs to the regimen.