Can a Conceptual Competence Curriculum Bring Humility to Psychiatry?

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Training for conceptual competence in psychiatry provides a new way forward to address theoretical and philosophical issues in mental health research and practice.

Stopping SSRI Antidepressants Can Cause Long, Intense Withdrawal Problems

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In the first systematic review of withdrawal problems that patients experience when trying to get off SSRI antidepressant medications, researchers found that withdrawing from SSRIs was comparable to trying to quit addictive benzodiazepines.

Did Psychiatry Ever Endorse the Chemical Imbalance Theory of Depression?

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With the chemical imbalance theory falling out of fashion, researchers examine the claim that psychiatry never truly endorsed it.

Gradual Tapering Recommended for Antidepressant Discontinuation

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A new literature review reinforces the need to “down-titrate” or taper antidepressants, especially drugs like Celexa and Paxil.

Benzodiazepines Linked to More Emergency Department Visits

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Recent research implicates benzodiazepines as being involved in a high rate of emergency department visits in the US.

Researchers Set the Record Straight on Controversial Zoloft Study

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An issue of Lancet Psychiatry is devoted to clarifying the lack of efficacy for Zoloft (sertraline).

First-Person Accounts of Madness and Global Mental Health: An Interview with Dr. Gail Hornstein

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Dr. Gail Hornstein, author of Agnes’s Jacket: A Psychologist’s 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.

How Psychotherapists Talk About Politics in the Trump Era

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Politics play an important role in the therapeutic relationship and political disclosure now common for psychotherapists.

Canadian Study Links Cannabis and Psychosis in Youth

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The Cannabis and Psychosis Awareness Project, a four-year study from Canada that was released on Tuesday, finds that smoking marijuana - particularly heavy use in...

Use of Antidepressants Linked to Diabetes

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Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (such as Prozac and Zoloft) are the most commonly prescribed medication for depression. SSRIs have long been associated with an...
A bottle of pills. Some are spilled out.

Antidepressant Use More Than Doubles Risk of Suicide Attempts

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Throughout the past two decades, studies have warned of increased suicide rates in those taking antidepressants, especially in children and adolescents. Researchers also documented...

Zoloft Does Not Improve Depression, Even in Severe Cases, Study Finds

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Despite their finding, the researchers suggest that SSRIs be given to people who do not meet criteria for depression or anxiety.

Researchers Call for Reappraisal of Adverse Mental Effects of Antipsychotics, NIDS

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In a study published yesterday, researchers from the Nippon Medical School in Tokyo bring attention to a condition known as neuroleptic-induced deficit syndrome (NIDS)...

Global Survey Leads to New Recommendations for Deprescribing Psychiatric Drugs

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Growing rates of long-term psychiatric drug prescriptions and documented issues with withdrawal demonstrate a need for safe deprescribing practices.

Researchers: It’s Time to Stop Recommending Antidepressants for Depression

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Researchers review a new synthesis of the existing evidence and conclude that the harms of antidepressants outweigh any benefits.

Researchers: Antidepressant Use in Children Increases Suicide, No Evidence of Benefit

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Noted antidepressant researcher, Michael Hengartner, summarizes the latest research on the use of antidepressants in children and adolescents.

Very Slow Taper Best for Antipsychotic Discontinuation

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An article in JAMA Psychiatry advises very slow tapering for best results when discontinuing antipsychotic drugs.

Therapy Beats Drugs for Depression for Long-Term Outcomes

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Combining drugs and therapy also did not lead to better depression outcomes than therapy alone.

Kenneth Kendler: “Implausible” That Psychiatric Diagnoses Even “Approximately True”

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In JAMA Psychiatry, prominent psychiatrist Kenneth Kendler writes that psychiatric diagnoses are “working hypotheses, subject to change.”

Poverty, Pathology and Pills: An Interview with Dr. Felicity Thomas and Dr. Richard Byng

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MIA’s Tim Beck interviews Dr. Felicity Thomas and Dr. Richard Byng about their report, Poverty, Pathology, and Pills, which situates increasing rates of mental health diagnosis and psychiatric prescriptions within socioeconomic and policy trends across the UK.

Service-Users Who Found CBT Unhelpful Offer Their Perspectives

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Counseling clients in the UK who found CBT unhelpful were interviewed about their experiences.

Psychiatry’s Top Experts Acknowledge Lasting Harms of Antidepressant Withdrawal

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Royal College of Psychiatrists’ former president demands support for patients coming off antidepressants.

Stimulants Don’t Improve Academic Performance in Kids with ADHD

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“Efforts to improve learning in children with ADHD should focus on obtaining effective academic instruction rather than stimulant medication.”

Fear and Belief in “Chemical Imbalance” Prevent People from Coming Off Antidepressants

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Researchers interviewed people who were given medical advice to discontinue antidepressants.
Question mark inside a maze in the shape of human head.

New Study: The Clinical High Risk for Psychosis (CHR-P) Model Is Flawed

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The CHR-P model focuses on “attenuated psychosis” to predict “transition” to schizophrenia and ignores other factors. But new research shows that the model is a poor predictor.