Researchers Can’t Predict Whether Childhood ADHD Will Impact Adult Functioning
New research has found that a childhood ADHD diagnosis is not predictive of adult functioning in boys.
Memoirs of a Dissident Psychiatrist
For years I had hoped that psychiatry would free itself from the psychoanalytic doctrine, and when my wish finally came true, my profession went from the frying pan to the fire. My main goal, currently, is to convince professionals as well as the public that most child psychiatric problems can be handled effectively without medication.
How Pain is Treated Depends on Socioeconomic Status
A new international study reveals how healthcare providers treat patient’s pain may depend on that patient’s socioeconomic status.
Treating Schizophrenia Before Children Have It
NPR Shots discusses the plethora of new programs for early intervention for psychosis, with a focus on Ventura Early Intervention Prevention Services, operated by...
Researchers Question the Utility of an ADHD Diagnosis
A new article examines the usefulness of the ADHD diagnosis and suggests alternatives
Half of Us are Mentally Ill — Or are These Numbers Finally Going Too...
The Australian Bureau of Statistics states that some 45 per cent of Australians aged 16 to 85 have been mentally ill at some point...
Differing Depression Diagnostic Tools May Influence Research Findings
The type of diagnostic assessment used in research settings, either fully structured or semi-structured interview, may affect which participants in receive a diagnosis of major depression.
“How Our Compulsion for Diagnosis May Be Harming Children”
A team of American pediatric physicians has published an article in the journal Pediatrics examining the many ways in which medical overdiagnosis may be...
APA: Drop the Stigmatizing Term “Schizophrenia”
I believe that the American Psychiatric Association and the World Health Organization should follow the lead of several countries that have already retired the term "schizophrenia" from their vocabularies. The time is now to drop this stigmatizing, hope-disabling, scientifically controversial term.
High-profile Psychiatrist Criticized for Remote, Politicized Diagnosing
The Associated Press reports on Fox television and Tufts University psychiatrist Keith Ablow, who routinely diagnoses President Barack Obama without ever having met him,...
“Kids in Foster Care Three Times More Likely to be Diagnosed with ADHD”
PsychCentral presents a new study from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that found that foster care children are three times more likely than other children on Medicaid to receive a diagnosis of ADHD. Overall, more than one in four children in foster care receive such a diagnosis. CDC statistician Melissa Danielson interpreted these results as revealing a “substantial need” for more medical and behavioral services for kids in foster care.
“Misdiagnosed Bipolar: One Girl’s Struggle”
The San Jose Mercury News tells the story of Tessa Gallo, who was wrongly diagnosed with bipolar disorder in sixth-grade when she actually had...
43% Increase in ADHD Diagnoses among School-Aged Children in US
Citing a 43 percent jump since 2003, researchers estimate that 5.8 million school-aged children and teens in the US now have an ADHD diagnosis, a staggering 12 percent of this population. The new NIH-funded analysis also found that the percentage of girls diagnosed with ADHD was up 55% and that the percentage of Hispanic children diagnosed shot up 83% over the same timeframe.
Kick Big Pharma Out of the Classroom
School-based strategies such as the “talk to your doctor” campaign about any childhood problem have been extremely effective in helping the pharmaceutical industry to marginalize traditional child-rearing practices and replace them with advice from mental health “experts” and the use of dangerous drugs. These campaigns are reminiscent of now-illegal vintage tobacco ads in which doctors endorsed cigarette smoking.
Call for Client Inclusion in Recovery-Focused Psychiatric Diagnosis
A new review, published in The Lancet Psychiatry, examines the perspectives of clinicians and service-users on psychiatric diagnosis.
Time for a Paradigm Shift in School Psychology Interventions
Why do ineffective classification and intervention processes linger in school psychology, and what’s the alternative?
Despite Increase in Treatments, Prevalence of Mental Health Issues Climbs
Findings show that despite increases in treatment availability, the prevalence of mental health issues has not decreased.
Members of FDA Advisory Committee Offer Perspectives on Flibanserin Approval in JAMA
In the September issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) three FDA advisory committee members describe the convergence of factors that made the committee’s recommendation to approve flibanserin especially challenging and politically charged.
BPS Releases Review of Alternatives to Antipsychotics
BPS releases report encouraging behavioral interventions for people with dementia, rather than antipsychotics
Primary Care Practitioners May Mistake Irritability as Bipolar Disorder in Youth
Family medicine and pediatric providers are less confident in their assessment of irritability in youth than psychiatric providers, which may lead to overdiagnosis of bipolar disorder.
ADHD Drugs Linked to Psychotic Symptoms in Children
Stimulant medications like Ritalin and Adderall, often prescribed to treat children diagnosed with ADHD, are known to cause hallucinations and psychotic symptoms. Until recently these adverse effects were considered to be rare. A new study to be published in the January issue of Pediatrics challenges this belief, however, and finds that many more children may be experiencing psychotic symptoms as a result of these drugs than previously acknowledged.
Daydream Disorder Stirs Controversy
"The name of a 'new attention disorder' sounds like an Onion-style parody: sluggish cognitive tempo," writes Slate. "It also sounds like a classic case...
“Pass on the Pill or Pass Out” Campaign Warns Women About Addyi
“The National Women’s Health Network launched the 'Pass on the Pink Pill – Or Pass Out' campaign, to warn women of the marginal benefits...
Case Study of Liberation Approach to International Mental Health Care
Study in Brazil demonstrates how the exploration of contextual determinants of distress in mental health care can inform therapeutic change.
Omega-3 Screening for Psychiatric Symptoms?
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.
