20 Concrete Steps to Achieving System Change
I offer the following 20 suggestions for advocates who want to get something done and not just vent their quite justifiable criticisms of the mental health system.
An Illness, or Risky Experimentation?
Questioning is what I did, but once I started questioning so much of what I had learned and of what my identity had been, it wasn’t obvious to me where I should stop.
A Return to Dignity from Psychiatric and Childhood Abuse
Homebirth was a reflection of how the mental health system should work: Informed person-centered care while respecting your agency.
Why We Urgently Need New Approaches to Mental Health
Emotions function like a guidepost to what we need. But if we are not aware this, we cannot understand what they are trying to convey.
What Video Games Can Teach Us About Effective Parenting
There is a secret to the programming of these games that seems to stir children to a level of greatness. Fortunately, that magic is completely transposable to our interactions with them.
Meaningless Distractibility, or Meaningful Mind-Wandering?
What do we lose when we view boredom and curiosity as "symptoms" of ADHD? It can rob us of intuitions that crucial life changes desperately need to be made.
Understanding the Limits of the Beneficial Effect of Antidepressants Reported in the Meta-analysis by...
Stone, M. B., Yaseen, Z. S., Miller, B. J., Richardville, K., Kalaria, S. N., & Kirsch, I. (2022). Response to acute monotherapy for major...
The Psychiatrist’s Dilemma: In Defense of Placebo Psychiatry
Telling stories they know are or may be untrue has become standard practice in psychiatry. It is a small step to set aside the need to provide truly informed consent.
“Beware, Scientology Related”: How ADHD Experts Silence Criticism
We do not belong to the scientology movement, but this false accusation triggered an email correspondence that exposed the problematic happenings usually behind closed academic curtains.
#RestoreTheirRights: An Update on Guardianship Action
It’s time to change the conversation around guardianship. The question is not “When do we remove someone’s rights?” but “How can we best support them?”
The Culture Is the Poison: Why Psychedelics Are Dangerous Medicine in a Neoliberal Society
Extraction of psychedelics from the ritual process has dissociated them from community, connectedness, and responsibility, which used to define psychedelic drug use.
A Developmental Response to Trauma and Trauma Language
Understanding life events (and/or our responses to them) as trauma has transformed how we suffer and how we relate to pain.
Call for Teen Art in All Media!
MIA's Family Resources and Arts sections are co-sponsoring an online teen multimedia art exhibition with the theme “Beyond Labels and Meds: What It Feels Like to Be Me.”
Major Depression: The “Chemical Imbalance” Pillar Is Crumbling—Is the Genetics Pillar Next?
A more detailed critical evaluation of molecular genetic studies, which have failed to discover genes shown to cause depression.
Behavior Therapy Helped My Patients Through Antidepressant Withdrawal
In behavior therapy, enduring psychological discomfort is an essential aspect of therapy leading to recovery. This may have implications for withdrawal experiences.
The Phobic Avoidance of Attending to Real World Mental Health Outcomes
The avoidance of real-world outcome measures in research seems almost phobic. Yet this type of outcome should be considered the most important.
A Therapist Tried to Explain CBT When I Was 11 Years Old, Ineffectively
As a therapist, I feel that CBT is offered best on a voluntary basis. The therapist must move away from CBT-like interventions when it is not helpful.
The Mad in the World Network: A Global Voice for Change
Mad in Ireland is the newest Mad in America affiliate. The network of affiliate sites is becoming a global voice for change.
Ken Burns’ “Hiding in Plain Sight…”: Candid Interviews, Canned Conclusions
I was hoping for more accurate representation of youth mental health challenges. What I saw instead was a glossy patchwork of mixed messages.
Condensing “Anatomy of an Epidemic” into a High-Level Summary Document
After reading "Anatomy of an Epidemic," I needed something that could be read quickly, summarizing the material at a high level, to share with the general public.
Away From Psychiatrization: Towards Socio-Ecological Wellbeing in the Community
The modern notion of poor mental health and how to respond to it is an escalating series of biomedical interventions that don’t actually solve the underlying problem.
Loss, Grief, and Betrayal: Psychiatric Survivors Reflect on the Impact of New Serotonin Study
Loss, grief, and betrayal are felt deeply by many who have been affected by the myth of the chemical imbalance, especially now that it has been debunked.
The Powerful Allure of Psychedelics in Today’s Disenchanted World
As a psychiatrist and psychedelic researcher in Melbourne, I’ve reached the conclusion that we are in for a wild ride with psychedelics over the next few years.
Psychiatry Textbooks Are Filled with Errors and Propaganda
The coming generations of healthcare professionals are being taught information that is incorrect, to the detriment of their patients.
Catherine’s Story: A Child Lost to Psychiatry
A year ago today, our youngest child died, thanks to the adversarial actions and toxic treatments foisted on her by medical-model psychiatry. By telling her story, we hope to promote systemic change.
