Committed at 16: Memories of a State Hospital
While most of the sting is gone, even now â almost sixty years on â I canât get through a single day without thinking about shock treatment and the state hospital. I regularly have dreams or nightmares about being lost in a strange place and someone making me feel like dirt.
The Real Myth of the Schizophrenogenic Mother
Acknowledging the role of trauma inflicted by a given individualâs mother is not the same as laying all blame for âmental illnessâ at the feet of motherhood. Meanwhile, a mountain of evidence has accumulated linking schizophrenia to sexual, physical, and emotional abuse and many other categories of adverse childhood experiences.
Zel Dolinsky: I Have a Right to âDeath With Dignityâ
Researcher Zel Dolinsky once taught at medical school and worked as a medical writer in the pharmaceutical industry. In his last emails, he told of how the adverse effects of psychiatric drugs led him to choose to end his life.
What Does ‘Relapse’ Mean? Definitions Used in Antipsychotic Trials Are Unclear
Antipsychotic drugs are prescribed on the basis of trials that demonstrate a higher rate of ârelapseâ in people who are withdrawn from these drugs compared to those who continue to take them. Yet, incredibly, there is no consensus about what ârelapseâ means in this situation.
Involuntary Hospitalization More Likely With Psychosis Diagnoses and Few Resources
New study links involuntary hospitalization with psychotic diagnosis, previous involuntary hospitalization, and economic deprivation.
How Race and Class Impact Schizophrenia and Substance-Use Diagnoses
A new article explores how psychiatric diagnoses are differentially applied to people of different racial and class backgrounds.
Parachute NYC Peer Support Program Presents Challenges and Opportunities
Anthropologists study Parachute NYC to identify challenges and opportunities for implementing peer support and Open Dialogue practices.
Relapse in Antipsychotic Drug Trials is Poorly Defined
There is a lack of consensus in the definition of ârelapseâ across randomized controlled trials of antipsychotic maintenance treatment for schizophrenia and psychosis.
Hereditary Madness? The Genain Sisters’ Tragic Story
The story of the Genain quadruplets has long been cited as evidence proving something about the supposed hereditary nature of schizophrenia. But who wouldnât fall apart after surviving a childhood like theirs? The doctors attributed their problems to menstrual difficulties or excessive masturbation â anything except abuse.
Psychiatrist Describes Role in Open Dialogue Model of Care
Psychiatrist outlines varying roles in Open Dialogue model, fostering service-user and family agency through meaningful conversations with a team of providers.
Recovery Is Resiliency
Recovery is not a bridge we cross and never return to. Rather, it is more like crossing a stream we ford by side-stepping on different stones. Not all of the stones are as sturdy as some of the others. Yes, we slip at times, only to regain our footing and forge ahead.
Against the Odds: âUnimproved Schizophrenicâ to Yale PhD
Forty years after I had first been admitted to the hospital, I was ready to confront my past. So, I sent for my hospital records, and I read them. As an experienced clinician, I recognized immediately what the doctors hadnât been able to see in 1960: my problem wasnât âschizophreniaâ but PTSD, connected with incest.
De-Othering “Schizophrenia” by Placing it in Socio-Historical Context
Understanding schizophrenia as a non-enigmatic, understandable human experience goes against a history of institutional âotheringâ that has sustained psychiatric legitimacy and further marginalized service-users.
Fighting for the Meaning of Madness: An Interview with Dr. John Read
Akansha Vaswani interviews Dr. John Read about the influences on his work and his research on madness, psychosis, and the mental health industry.
Service-Users See Long-Term Antipsychotic Use as Compromising Recovery, Review Finds
A new meta-review examines the experiences of antipsychotic drugs use among people diagnosed with a psychotic disorder.
Sodium Nitroprusside Shows No Efficacy in Schizophrenia Treatment
Researchers question biases of preliminary trials that found that sodium nitroprusside, an antihypertensive drug, has positive effects on schizophrenia symptoms.
The Role of Racial Bias in the Overdiagnosis of Schizophrenia
Researchers detect disparity between white and African American patients diagnosed with schizophrenia when symptoms of a mood disorder are present.
Valuing Posttraumatic Growth in Psychosis
Individuals who experience psychosis can also experience posttraumatic growth, which can be a central component of the recovery paradigm.
Psychiatrists View Drug-Free Programs for Psychosis as âUnscientific,â Study Finds
A new study provides an insiderâs look into how psychiatrists view the establishment of drug-free programs in Norway.
A Faux Test for a Faux Disease Promoted by Real Psychiatrists
Influential psychiatrists recently called on the NHS to make a faux schizophrenia test available to patients and their families. What is most astounding about this is the complete lack of pretense. "We are so certain of our power and righteousness that we are going to tell you to your face that we are lying, and yet, we will still get our way."
Adderall Use Associated with Increased Risk of Psychosis
Twice as many teenagers with ADHD experienced severe psychosis when taking Adderall, as compared to Ritalin, according to a new study.
The Role of Context, Language, and Meaning in Hearing Voices
Sociocultural context, language, and sense-making process are among concepts that can help hearers and providers better understand the phenomenon of hearing voices
First-Person Accounts of Madness and Global Mental Health: An Interview with Dr. Gail Hornstein
Dr. Gail Hornstein, author of Agnesâs Jacket: A Psychologistâs Search for the Meanings of Madness, discusses the importance of personal narratives and service-user activism in the context of the global mental health movement.
Stigmatizing Effects of the Psychosis-Risk Label
Study examines the effects on participants of being told they are at risk of developing psychosis.
Researchers Make the Case to Rename Schizophrenia
The authors outline reasons for renaming schizophrenia and the way a change can reform practice.
