Monday, March 27, 2023

The Persistence of the Radioactive Bogeyman

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From Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists: Since 1950, a noteworthy number of American and European horror movies have used radiation as a plot device. The...

“No More, We Have a Counselor…Let’s Get Real”

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In this piece for Medium, Karen Kilbane critiques the way the foundational theories of psychology ingrain children and adolescents with self-doubt and self-criticism. "Our psychological theories...

“More Patients in Scotland Given Antidepressants”

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The BBC reports that the number of people in Scotland taking antidepressants has increased by 5% in the past year with most of the patients being women and those in the poorest parts of the country. “We are now looking at the flabbergasting statistic of more than one in seven people in Scotland being prescribed antidepressants this year,” Conservative health spokesman Jackson Carlaw said. “We urgently have to look at better alternatives than simply parking people on medication in the hope things don't get any worse, with no aspiration for complete recovery."

Our Obsession with Wealth and Youth is Making Us Insane

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In this interview for Broadly, Lauren Greenfield speaks about her new documentary, "Generation Wealth," which takes a sobering look at our societal addiction to the...

Descartes was Wrong: a Person is a Person through Others

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From Aeon: For the most part, the field of scientific psychology has adopted a Cartesian, individualistic understanding of the self. However, it is more likely...

Treating Depression with Exercise and an Internet-Based Intervention

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A new study compares exercise, Internet-based cognitive-behavioral therapy (ICBT) and usual care for treating individuals with depression.

The Demoralized Mind

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From openDemocracy: The distress, boredom, and disillusionment so commonly diagnosed as depression may actually result from the demoralization people experience in consumerist cultures. Large-scale cultural change,...

Debate Ensues Over Rights-Based Approach to Mental Health

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Debate ensues as scholars and policymakers discuss how to bring a rights-based approach to mental health policy.

Scales Assessing Child and Adolescent Psychopathology Lack Cross-Cultural Validity

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Researchers find few existing "psychopathology scales" are appropriate for global utilization.

Is Your Job Bullshit? David Graeber on Capitalism’s Busy Work

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From In These Times: Over a third of British workers believe their job makes no meaningful contribution to the world. The rising number of people who have...

“Capitalism and Mental Health: How the Market Makes Us Sick”

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In this viral video from “Libertarian Socialist Rants,” the idea is put forward that the financial stress and social isolation inherent to life in...

Drop the Stigmatizing Term “Schizophrenia”

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Dr. Brian Koehler is petitioning the American Psychiatric Association and the World Health Organization to drop the stigmatizing term "schizophrenia." Click here to sign the...

Researchers Find that Textbooks Include Biased Information About ADHD

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A review of academic textbooks finds that they often leave out effect sizes and molecular genetics findings, both of which suggest minimal impact of genetics on ADHD. Instead, textbooks focus on overblown conclusions from behavioral studies.

Psychologists Suggest Mental Health is Based on Environment

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In a new review for Molecular Psychiatry, psychologists Elaine Fox and Chris Beevers examine the connection between mental health genetics and cognitive biases. “'If...

Stand Firm: Resisting the Self-Improvement Craze

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From ABC: The self-help and self-improvement industry are more popular and widely accepted than ever. However, the moral imperative to constantly think positive and always...

Reflections on How We Think About and Respond to Human Suffering, Existential Pain, and...

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Any attempt to establish an alternative diagnostic system to the predominantly biologic DSM-5 classifications or to initiate a transformation of the individually oriented mental health treatment systems needs to critically explore how, not only what, we think about health and healing, about mental and emotional suffering, about traumatic experiences and injustices, and the multiple forms of pain that are part of our human existence. The broad critique of the DSM-5 by so many national and international organizations and individual colleagues will in the end not be powerful and far reaching enough without this inquiry into the foundations of our thinking and without reflection about our ways of thinking.

More Critiques of the Lancet Antidepressant Study

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Researchers and advocates have continued to critique The Lancet's recent study claiming to prove definitively that antidepressants are more effective than placebo. Below are a...

Psychotherapy Less Effective for People in Poverty and Those on Antidepressants

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A new study finds poorer depression and anxiety outcomes in psychotherapy for people in economically deprived neighborhoods and those on antidepressants.

Duty to Warn – 14 Lies That Our Psychiatry Professors in Medical School Taught...

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Revealing the false information provided about psychiatry should cause any thinking person, patient, thought-leader or politician to wonder: “how many otherwise normal or potentially curable people over the last half century of psych drug propaganda have actually been mis-labeled as mentally ill (and then mis-treated) and sent down the convoluted path of therapeutic misadventures – heading toward oblivion?”

Neuroscientists Consider the Effect of the Gut on the Brain

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A review article published in the International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology summarizes the latest research on the role that microbiota in the gut play in...

Lancet Psychiatry’s Controversial ADHD Study: Errors, Criticism, and Responses

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Amid calls for a retraction, Lancet Psychiatry publishes articles criticizing the original finding and a response from the authors.

Study Explores Professional Help-seeking Among Persons with Depression

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A large review of studies finds that men, young and elderly adults, ethnic minorities, and individuals with lower education status are most at risk for not seeking help.

New Bill Targets Asian-American, Pacific Islander Community

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From NBC News: Representative Judy Chu recently introduced the Stop Mental Health Stigma in Our Communities Act, a bill to reduce mental health stigma in...

Psychics Who Hear Voices Could Be on to Something

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In this piece for The Atlantic, Joseph Frankel compares and contrasts the voice-hearing experiences of self-described psychics and mediums with the experiences of people diagnosed with...

Is an Ominous New Era of Diagnosing Psychosis by Biotype on the Horizon?

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When former NIMH chief Dr. Thomas Insel speaks, people listen. Dr. Insel famously criticized the DSM a couple of years ago for its lack of reliability. He notably broke ranks with the APA by saying there were no bio-markers, blood tests, genetic tests or imaging tests that could verify or establish a DSM diagnosis of schizophrenia, bipolar or schizoaffective disorder. However in a new article he announces research that claims to have found bona-fide physiological markers that identify specific "biotypes" of psychosis. This system could, purportedly, identify a person as possessing a specific biotype of psychosis, instead of a DSM-category diagnosis.