United Nations Report Calls for Revolution in Mental Health Care

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In a new report, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to health, Dr. Dainius Pūras, calls for a move away from the biomedical model and “excessive use of psychotropic medicines.”

Psychodynamic Therapy Revealed to be as Efficacious as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

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Meta-analytic study finds that psychodynamic therapy outcomes are equivalent to those of CBT and other empirically supported treatments.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy Reduces Self-Harm and Suicide Attempts

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A new meta-analysis finds that DBT reduces self-harm, suicide attempts, and reduces the frequency of psychiatric crisis service utilization.

Risk of Suicide After Hospitalization Even Higher Than Previously Estimated

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New analysis of post-discharge suicide rates finds estimates 6 times higher than recent studies.

This is the Truth About Personality Disorders

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From The Independent: Armchair diagnoses of personality disorders are a rising trend, from speculations that President Trump has narcissistic personality disorder to viral articles about discerning...
bad behavior

Mental Illness Vs. “Bad” Behavior

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Allen Frances has claimed that "It's a great mistake to confuse bad behavior with mental illness." Yet two of the so-called mental illnesses (conduct disorder and antisocial personality disorder) consist essentially of "bad" behavior, while in at least six others, "bad" behavior is an integral part of the problem.

The Scarlet Label: Close Encounters with ‘Borderline Personality Disorder’

To help my non-recovery oriented colleagues understand the stigma/resentment associated with ‘borderline personality disorder,’ I simply mention this: “Let’s say I call you and say, ‘Hey, I’ve got a referral for you. She’s been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder . . .’” I need to go no further; without fail, my colleague will smile or laugh. We both know that such a referral is a no-no, so much so that it doesn’t even have to be mentioned; it is a given.

The Role of Intergenerational Trauma in the Perpetuation of Childhood Maltreatment

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A new study examines the role parent borderline pathology plays in the perpetuation of childhood maltreatment.

Neoliberalism Drives Increase in Perfectionism Among College Students

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Meta-analytic study detects upsurge in patterns of perfectionism in young adults and explores how neoliberalism contributes to this trend.

Testimonial Injustice and Borderline Personality Disorder

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From The Huffington Post UK: The diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder frequently serves to invalidate the trauma of women who have experienced abuse. "‘BPD’ is so...

How Complex Trauma Changes a Person

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From GoodTherapy.org: Although not currently listed in the DSM, the diagnosis of complex post-traumatic stress (C-PTSD) has gained widespread acceptance in the mental health community. The...

Renowned Psychiatrist Warns That Trump is a Danger to Us All

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From Alternet: A new book, The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump, written by 27 psychiatrists, psychologists, and mental health experts to warn the public of President Trump's...

Study Identifies Psychiatric Patients at Greatest Risk of Coercion

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In an effort to reduce coercion, researchers isolate associated factors including age, relationship status, location, and diagnosis.

Drug Treatment for Borderline Personality Disorder Not Supported By Evidence

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New research published in the August issue of Psychiatric Annals evaluates the results of randomized control trials on the use of various psychotropic drugs for patients diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD). Despite the “American Psychiatric Association’s practice guidelines endorsement of SSRIs as first-line therapies for BPD,” the results of the meta-analysis reveal that pharmacotherapy in BPD is “not supported by the current literature,” and “should be avoided whenever possible.”

An Eminent Psychiatrist Demurs on Trump’s Mental State

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In this opinion piece for the New York Times, Allen Frances, chairman of the task force that wrote the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental...

Sociologists Interrogate Neurobiological Explanations in Criminology

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A discourse analysis conducted by sociologists finds problematic assumptions and practices in the field of neurocriminology.

Crazy Talk: The Dangerous Rhetoric of Mental Illness

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In this piece for Eidolon, Jessica Wright discusses the ways that labeling people as "crazy" and "mentally ill" has served to justify oppression throughout history....

Investigation Reveals Alarming ECT Practices in England

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Audit of ECT usage, demographics, and adherence to guidelines and legislation raises concern over its continued use.

Mirror, Mirror: Study Challenges Notion of a Narcissism Epidemic Among Youth

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One study indicates that pointed fingers incriminating youth for narcissism may be pointed in the wrong direction.

Psychiatry: We Need a Truth and Reconciliation Commission in Mental Health

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My name is Leah Harris and I'm a survivor. I am a survivor of psychiatric abuse and trauma. My parents died largely as a result of terrible psychiatric practice. Psychiatric practice that took them when they were young adults and struggling with experiences they didn’t understand. Experiences that were labeled as schizophrenia. Bipolar disorder. My parents were turned from people into permanent patients. They suffered the indignities of forced treatment. Seclusion and restraint. Forced electroshock. Involuntary outpatient commitment. And a shocking amount of disabling heavy-duty psychiatric drugs. And they died young, from a combination of the toxic effects of overmedication, and broken spirits.

Multisystemic Therapy No More Effective than Standard Care for Antisocial Behavior

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Study counters previous evidence supporting multisystemic therapy, finding adolescents are just as likely to have out-of-home placements when receiving multisystemic therapy versus management as usual.

Study Examines Women’s Experiences of Hearing Voices

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An international group of researchers from multiple disciplines has published a historical, qualitative, and quantitative investigation into voice-hearing in women. The interdisciplinary project, freely available from Frontiers in Psychiatry, explores how sexism, exploitation, and oppression bear on women’s’ experiences of hearing voices.

Personality Disorders Largely Being Treated Inappropriately by Psychiatrists

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Psychiatrists are giving drugs to most people with emotionally unstable personality disorders outside of the best-practice clinical guidelines, and an accompanying editorial stated that the reason is because "therapy takes time."

The Therapist who Saved my Life

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In this creative nonfiction piece for Literary Hub, one woman shares her story of trauma, depression, and suicidality, and recounts the unconventional approach of the...

More Evidence for the Lasting Psychological Impact of Lead Exposure in Childhood

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New research points to numerous harmful effects of high-level lead exposure in childhood on adult mental health and personality characteristics.