Researchers Call for Structural Competency in Psychiatry
Structural competency in psychiatry emphasizes the social factors shaping patient presentations and encourages physician advocacy.
Dickensā Christmas Carol: A Psychiatric Primer of Character and Redemption
Scroogeās character was forged from his own emotional pain. Indeed, we can change the course of our lives through facing and mourning that pain. Want, deprivation and cruelty create the evils of the world. Mourning and trust, in the context of love, are its antidotes.Ā
Professor Sir Robin Murray: Reframing Psychotic Illness
An interview with Sir Robin Murray, who is a Professor of Psychiatric Research at the Institute of Psychiatry. He is perhaps best known for helping to establish the neurodevelopmental hypothesis of schizophrenia, and for his work on the environmental risk factors relating to schizophrenia.
When Minds Crack, The Light Might Get In: A Spiritual Perspective on Madness
You canāt go back to mundane ways of seeing the world after very dark things happen. Trauma cracks open a hole in our lives and in our minds, throwing us into the zone where we face the big spiritual questions. Bad ideas can get in when things open up like that. But itās also possible that something new and positive can get in.
Human Connection is the Antidote to a Culture of Isolation
We need to burn through some darkness before we collectively see the light. The light is a palpable shift toward reaching for human connection; toward opening our hearts and our minds and intentionally focusing on the positive future that wants to emerge.
Speaking, Not Texting, May Prevent Dehumanization in Disagreements
Researchers found participants were less likely to dehumanize those with whom they disagreed when they heard their voices.
Anticholinergic Medications Linked to Dementia Similar to Early Alzheimerās
A new study, published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, investigates the effects of anticholinergic medications, such as antidepressants and antipsychotics, on cognition in older adults diagnosed with schizophrenia.
Moving On
Although I saw a number of counselors and therapists for my dependency issues, they were unable to help me. Therapists saw my unhappy childhood experiences as part of me, part of who I was, but I did not see it that way. I imagined the experiences circling around outside of āthe real meā like moons around a planet, standing between me and the outside world.
Antidepressants During Pregnancy Increase Risk of Psychiatric Diagnosis in Children
New research, based on data from almost a million children in Denmark, suggests that children of mothers who use antidepressants during pregnancy are more likely to be diagnosed with autism and psychiatric disorders.
International Study Examines Environmental Factors Associated with Psychosis
Study finds the incidence of āpsychosisā to vary by person and place, corresponding to factors such as race, ethnicity, age, and environment.
Launch of Online Forum for Young People Who Hear Voices
I amĀ very excited to announce thatĀ Voice Collective,Ā aĀ UK-based project supporting children and young people who see, hear or sense things others donāt, has launched the first-everĀ online forumĀ dedicated to supporting young people who hear voices, as well as their parents, carers and supporters.
Freud: The First Anti-Psychiatrist
Freud showed disdain for psychiatrists ā he saw their untruthfulness and harmfulness. An antidote for the medical modelās infestation of our culture would be to reintroduce some of Freudās theories to the public. After all, wouldnāt the medical modelās opposite be the best means of counteracting it?
The Three Most Important Facts About Psychiatric Drugs
Psychologist and educator Michael Corrigan was a guest on my radio show and brought up some questions about how to communicate with people about psychiatric drugs. Specifically, he asked, āWhat are the three most important things for anyone to know about psychiatric drugs?ā Here is my answer.
Intergenerational Impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences
The daughters of children evacuated from Finland during World War II show an increased number of psychiatric hospitalizations.
How Would We Know If We Really Reformed the Mental Health System?
It is true that there are manyĀ great programs and initiatives out there, but when a system leaves so many without recovery-oriented supports it's like swimming upstream. Here areĀ 20Ā indicators that if fully implemented would represent a complete system reform.
New Research on Prenatal SSRI Exposure and Autism
Does maternal SSRI exposure increase the chances that a child will develop characteristics associated with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)?
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy Halves the Risk of Repeated Suicide Attempts
A new study suggests that cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) may halve the likelihood of re-attempting suicide, for those who have attempted in the past.
My Daughter’s Story
I am now haunted by guilt that my daughter never really had a chance for anything like a normal life, because of the choices that were made for her. Choices made with the 'best' medical advice of the day, which I had never quite accepted as correct, but in the end largely complied with for lack of any clear alternative.
Study Examines the Difficulty of Withdrawing from Antidepressant Drugs
Correcting unnecessary long-term antidepressant use is difficult and met with apprehension by providers and service-users.
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.
Chris Hansen: Making Connections Through Intentional Peer Support
This week on MIA Radio, we interview Chris Hansen. Chris works as Director for Intentional Peer Support and in this interview, we talk about Chrisās personal experiences of the mental health system and how Intentional Peer Support approaches contrast with mainstream psychiatry.
Reexamining Schizophrenia as a Brain Disease
Schizophrenia has occupied, and continues to occupy, a position of great import in psychiatry, and it is frequently used to assert the supposed biological nature of the field. What evidence is there to suggest that what we call schizophrenia is a disease of the brain? Surprisingly, very little.
The Need to Address Suicide in Prisons
Rates of suicide in prison are significantly higher than in the general population.
Psychotherapy is THE Biological Treatment
Psychotherapy addresses the brain in the way it actually develops, matures and operates. The process for brain change involves deactivationĀ āĀ disuse, not utilizing the old brain map; and then creating a new one. Psychotherapy can deactivate maladaptive brain mappings and foster new and constructive pathways.
Police Violence Victims at Increased Risk of Psychotic Symptoms
Researchers examine links between police victimization and psychotic symptoms in a topical new study.
