A Tribute to Dr. Dean K. Brooks: The Fire Still Burns
Stories of a state hospital leader who challenged the mental health system by placing patients as the most important people: Dr. Dean K. Brooks of Oregon State Hospital.
It’s All About Rights—or Should We Say “Unequal Privileges”
On May 26, MindFreedom will partner with “I Love You, Lead On” to host the fifth in an educational series to create cross-disability understanding of common themes and initiatives.
Roll-out of 988 Threatens Anonymity of Crisis Hotlines
Even after their own advisory committee criticized call tracing, leaders of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline have been lobbying government for cutting-edge mass surveillance and tracking technology. Privacy experts are raising concerns.
Andrew Scull—Desperate Remedies: Psychiatry’s Turbulent Quest to Cure Mental Illness
Sociologist and author Andrew Scull discusses the history of psychiatry's "Desperate Remedies," from lobotomy and the asylum to the failures of today's drugs and the fads of ketamine and deep brain stimulation.
So Long, Pill Mill: A Letter to My Former Patients and Their Families
I love being a psych nurse practitioner, and I never want to feel that my only role is pushing pills. The private practice I started is my effort to move away from this dysfunctional system.
The Visual Illusion of Efficacy in Psychiatric Drug Trials
Published reports of clinical trials of psychiatric drugs typically include a graphic showing the efficacy of the study drug in reducing symptoms of the...
WHO and the Sea Change in Mental Health: Interview with Michelle Funk
MIA's Ana Florence interviews Michelle Funk about her leadership of the new WHO guidelines on rights-based mental health.
Trusting People as Experts of Themselves: Sera Davidow on the Wildflower Peer Support Line
Sera Davidow is a filmmaker, activist, advocate, author, and mother of two very busy kids. As a survivor of physical, sexual, and emotional abuse...
Inside a Forensic Psychiatry Unit: Here’s How to Survive
Sean Gunderson, who was detained by the criminal justice system for 17 years after receiving an NGRI verdict, documents the life of a forensic psychiatry inmate.
Responsibility Without Blame in Therapeutic Communities: Interview with Philosopher Hanna Pickard
Hanna Pickard on the elusive middle ground between personal responsibility and systemic factors in our understandings of addiction.
Psychiatric Drugs Do Not Improve Disease or Reduce Mortality
Nassir Ghaemi: “Most psychiatric medications are purely symptomatic, with no known or proven effect on the underlying disease. They are like 50 variations of aspirin, used for fever or headache, rather than drugs that treat the causes of fever or headache.”
“Getting to the Root Causes of Suffering”: An Interview with Patricia Rush, M.D.
Dr. Rush talks about the THEN Center and the links between childhood trauma, inequality, human development, and chronic illness.
Ending The Silence Around Psychedelic Therapy Abuse
All the new hype about miracle psychedelic treatments as the next wave of cures for mental disorders leaves out the risk of therapy abuse.
Antipsychotics Worsen Cognitive Functioning in First-Episode Psychosis
Withholding antipsychotics may be beneficial for memory, the researchers write.
Minimal Medication Alternatives for Psychosis Needed
Researchers question the long-term use of antipsychotics and suggest increased research and investment in psychosocial interventions.
Lead Exposure in Childhood Impacts Personality and Mental Health
A study of over 1.5 million people in Europe and the US links the development of less adaptive personalities with childhood lead exposure.
In Memoriam: Paula Joan Caplan
Paula Caplan, known for her fierce criticism of psychiatry and its diagnostic manual, died Wednesday at age 74.
Overuse of Psychiatric Drugs is Worsening Public Mental Health, Doctor Argues
A new research article asserts that the overuse of psychiatric drugs may create neurobiological changes that hamper long-term mental health recovery.
Point/Counterpoint: What Is the Importance of Nassir Ghaemi’s Conclusion that Psychiatric Drugs Do Not...
A dialogue between Jim Phelps and Robert Whitaker about Nassir Ghaemi's latest article, which concluded that psychiatric drugs, except for lithium, do not provide a long-term benefit.
Tara Thiagarajan: Mental Well-being Better in Venezuela than in United States: Why?
Tara Thiagarajan is founder and chief scientist of Sapien Labs, a nonprofit organization that runs the Mental Health Million Project, we discuss its annual Mental State of the World Report, which uses an online survey to track mental wellbeing among internet-enabled populations around the world.
How Western Psychology Can Rip Indigenous Families Apart: An Interview with Elisa Lacerda-Vandenborn
An interview with Elisa Lacerda-Vandenborn about the consequences \psychology and mental health treatment can have for indigenous children.
No, the FDA’s Black Box Warning Did not Increase Suicides
Researchers again debunk the claim that the FDA black box warnings on antidepressants led to more suicides.
The Year Of Potentiality
I lost three years of my life to my first psychosis. I am living proof that your entire world can be smashed into a trillion pieces and you can recover and turn the broken pieces of glass into a kaleidoscope.
Suicidality: When Your Feelings Are Too Dangerous
After finding a cop at my door, I learned it wasn’t safe to talk about my feelings of wanting to die. As a result, I spent the better part of the next decade not telling anyone when I was suicidal.
The Worst Thing: How My Mother’s Death Pushed Me to Overcome OCD
The goal of creating a legacy for my mother required that I go beyond managing my symptoms to confronting my OCD at its roots. I had to fundamentally change my understanding of anxiety.
