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.

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.

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 PÅ«ras, calls for a move away from the biomedical model and ā€œexcessive use of psychotropic medicines.ā€

The Scarlet Label: Close Encounters with ā€˜Borderline Personality Disorderā€™

To help my non-recovery oriented colleagues understand the stigma/resentment associated with ā€˜borderline personality disorder,ā€™ I simply mention this: ā€œLetā€™s say I call you and say, ā€˜Hey, Iā€™ve got a referral for you. Sheā€™s been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder . . .ā€™ā€ 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 doesnā€™t even have to be mentioned; it is a given.

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 didnā€™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.

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.

Top Ten Things You May Not Know About the ICD-10

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In this piece forĀ Psychology Today, Dr. Jonathan D. Raskin lists 10 facts about the current version of the International Classification of Diseases, which is...

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.

How Complex Trauma Changes a Person

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

NARPA Reflections: The Necessity of Disability

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I think it is time to reclaim the word disability. Disability needs to be appreciated. To the extent we value community over isolation, anything anyone cannot do, or needs help with, builds community. There are infinite examples in every career and walk of life of how necessary ā€œdisabilityā€ (since we're calling it that) is for connection, service and meaning in life. Without it we'd have absolutely no need for each other. And the fastest way to despair is to feel unnecessary.
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.

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."

Overlap Between Borderline and Bipolar

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Researchers in Australia investigate the growing evidence that childhood trauma predisposes individuals to both bipolar and borderline syndromes, with the intention of examining areas...

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 ā€œAmerican Psychiatric Associationā€™s practice guidelines endorsement of SSRIs as first-line therapies for BPD,ā€ the results of the meta-analysis reveal that pharmacotherapy in BPD is ā€œnot supported by the current literature,ā€ and ā€œshould be avoided whenever possible.ā€

Femme Fatales, ‘Female Psychopaths,’ and Narrative ‘Science’

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In this piece for Repeater Books, Tristam Vivian Adams discusses the ways sociopaths and psychopaths are portrayed in the media, and the ways we...

Childhood Stress Subtypes Predict Adult Psychiatric Subtypes

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A review of the literature from 2001 to 2011 on child abuse, neglect, and psychiatric disorders finds that early life stress subtypes can predict...

Omega-3 Screening for Psychiatric Symptoms?

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There is a substantial body of evidence suggesting that not getting enough omega-3 fatty acids in your diet may be connected to a diverse array of psychiatric symptoms. In a new study published this month, psychiatrist Robert McNamara and Erik Messamore provide an overview of the evidence and call for screening of omega-3 deficiency in people experiencing symptoms associated with ADHD, depression, mood disorders, and psychosis.

Unhelpful Utterances: 6 Comments We Should No Longer Hear From Mental Health Professionals

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Professionals are paid to share their wisdom with those who are, typically, less informed. But, when dealing with mental health professionals in the psychiatric arena, it is wise to retain a degree of skepticism about the words spoken by the doctors and nurses commissioned to help reduce human misery and suffering.

Review of the Evidence: Childhood Adversity High in Schizophrenia and Other Disorders

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Researchers from Australia and the UK found thatĀ people with a schizophrenia diagnosis almost four times more likely than controls to have a history of...

This is the Truth About Personality Disorders

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

Deconstructing Psychiatric Diagnoses: An Attempt At Humor

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Based on my experience both as a therapist and client in the mental health field, I have learned that when therapists or psychiatrists give you the following diagnoses all too often here is what they really mean:

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.

An Eminent Psychiatrist Demurs on Trump’s Mental State

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

Labels Initiates Core Social Support, Lose Peripheral Ties

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Article Abstract: Although research supports the stigma and labeling perspective, empirical evidence also indicates that a social safety net remains intact for those with mental...

Disease Theory of ā€˜Mental Illnessā€™ Tied To Pessimism About Recovery

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Researchers recently completed a first of its kind, large-scale international survey of attitudes about mental health and they were surprised by the results. According to their analysis published in this monthā€™s issue of the Journal of Affective Disorders, people in developed countries, like the United States, are more likely to assume that ā€˜mental illnessesā€™ are similar to physical illnesses and biological or genetic in origin, but they are also much less likely to think that individuals can overcome these challenges and recover