Is Curing Patients a Sustainable Business Model?
FromĀ CNBC: A recent report by Goldman Sachs analysts questions whether curing patients, as opposed to providing them with chronic therapies, could pose a financial...
An Opportunity to Walk the Talk — Occupy the American Psychiatric Association May 5th...
On May 5, 2012, Ā MindFreedom InternationalĀ is holding itsĀ Occupy the American Psychiatric Association protestĀ at the APA's annual convention in Philadelphia. Ā Momentum is building for the...
Recovery: Compromise or Liberation?
The 90s were labeled - rather optimistically - as the ādecade of recovery.ā More recently, recovery has been placed slap bang central in mental health policy. Is supporting recovery pretty much good common sense? Or is the term being misused to pressure those suffering to behave in certain ways?
Early Trauma, Social Stress Accompany Psychosis
Researchers at Emory University find that childhood trauma, sensitivity to psychosocial stress and a heightened biological response to stress are associated with the onset...
Three Psychiatrists Attempt to Distinguish Grief, Complicated Grief and Depression
In Medscape, three psychiatrists discuss the new definitions in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders for grief, complicated grief, depression and major depression, and try to explain how to reliably distinguish between them all.
The Deeper Genome: New Research Findings in Genomics and Epigenomics
In our field, there is a significant āmissing heritabilityā between rates of āschizophreniaā in monozygotic twins and the combined reduced influence of genetic variants identified in genome-wide association studies (GWAS). The 80% figure often given as a heritability factor is somewhat misleading for students in our field who do not know how the H2 statistic is derived and various ways of deriving it. Through extensive molecular biological research of the most recent studies on monozygotic twins I have derived a theory which will make a much stronger case for socioenvironmental influences on what was previously though of in classically genetic terms.
New Podcast – is it Really Mental Illness?
From theĀ University of Liverpool News: In a new podcast, Dr. Peter Kinderman, the vice-president of the British Psychological Society, argues that emotional distress is...
Despite Risks, Antidepressant Use among Reproductive Age Women Increases
Accumulating evidence points to serious risks associated with antidepressant use during pregnancy, yet data suggests that prescriptions continue to rise in the US. "Given...
The Lancet Weighs in on DSM-V “Grief-as-Illness.”
In a lead editorial, The LancetĀ took the position that the proposed revision to the DSM that would modify the exclusion for bereavement "is not...
āCan Trauma Help You Grow?ā
For The New Yorker, David Kushner writes about post-traumatic growth, the sense of deepened meaning that many trauma survivors experience. āThe existence of post-traumatic...
Exploring the Role of Community Engagement in School Psychology
New research emphasizes the impact of school connectedness and community engagement interventions on students' mental health.
What Caused the American Child Bipolar Epidemic?
-Psychiatrists analyze why US bipolar diagnoses in children and adolescents increased 40 times over in less than 10 years.
Dehumanization Linked to Poorer Mental and Physical Health
A new review finds that dehumanizing language, including self-dehumanization, is connected to anxiety, depression, and disordered eating.
Childhood Adversity Influences Levels of Distress in Voice Hearers
Research finds that hearing negative voices explains how childhood adversity is related to distress.
13 Reasons to Watch 13 Reasons Why
FromĀ Acting NT: Many mental health advocates have objected to the Netflix seriesĀ 13 Reasons Why, which centers around the suicide of a teenage girl. Here...
The Virtual Couch: Is Online Therapy Going Viral?
FromĀ Alternet: Applications that provide online counseling, such as BetterHelp and Talkspace, are increasing in popularity. While some studies support the effectiveness of virtual therapy,...
How an Ancient Singing Tradition Helps People Cope With Trauma
FromĀ YES! Magazine: Lament singing, an ancient tradition once observed for spiritual purposes duringĀ funerals, weddings, and times of war, is now seeing a revival in...
Situational Schizophrenia
The label of schizophrenia has a chilling ring. It carries with it the suggestion of a wrecked and wretched life. It is also a diagnosis that is notoriously difficult to shed. For this reason, the diagnosis of schizophrenia should not be applied lightly and not without a thorough understanding of the patientās family and wider circumstances.
Series on Anti-Psychiatry and Critical Theory for World Mental Health Day
To coincide with World Mental Health Day on October 10th, 2015, Verso Books, the largest independent and radical publishing house released a series of blogs on mental health and critical and antipsychiatry. The posts include pieces on R.D. Laing, colonialism, womenās oppression, delusions and art, āThe Happiness Industry,ā and social and institutional oppression.
Mad Pride: Making a Truce With the Voices in Your Head
In this piece forĀ Vice, Tess McClure describes New Zealand's Mad Pride movement, a movement that seeks to destigmatize, normalize, and celebrate experiences of voice-hearing...
Third of Men With Poor Mental Health Blame Jobs, Says Mind
FromĀ BBC: According to survey results from theĀ UK mental health charity Mind, a third of men experiencing poor mental health attribute their suffering to workplace...
I Wonder if There is Some Axis II Going on Here? Further Thoughts on...
This blog was prompted by an invitation to do a guest post on the site of one of my favorite bloggers, 1 Boring Old Man. This is my response to the notion that there are certain conditions - Schizophrenia among them - that correspond more directly to biomedical conditions
Is Spanking Harmful? Study Finds Link With Future Mental Illness
FromĀ The Kansas City Star: A new study from the University of Michigan has found a link between spanking andĀ serious problems in adulthood includingĀ mental health...
The Future of Mental Health Interview Series: Eleanor Longden
The following interview with Eleanor Longden, who is well known for her Ted Talk and her activism in the psychiatric survivor movement, is part of a āfuture of mental healthā interview series that Iām currently conducting on my Psychology Today blog Rethinking Mental Health. To see the full interview roster, please visit
http://ericmaisel.com/interview-series.
Despite the Evidence, Overprescription of Stimulants Continues
A new study finds that stimulant prescribing rates to children continue to rise despite the well-established evidence documenting overdiagnosis of ADHD and overprescription of stimulants.