Added Evidence for Yoga for Major Depression
Randomized controlled trial finds yoga intervention reduces depression severity.
Reducing Overuse of Low-Value Treatments
Researchers provide an action-planning framework to engage providers in the reduction of low-value healthcare.
Physical Activity Predicts Fewer Symptoms of Depression in Children
An article published in Pediatrics is the first to examine the relationship between physical activity and depression in middle childhood (years 6 to 10) longitudinally.
The Best Medicine
Today I am not only medication-free but also thriving. While many people in my life are delighted by my transformation, most did not think it possible. How did I transition from being a chronic, "seriously mentally ill" psychiatric patient to a vibrant being?
Researchers Make a Case for a “Theory of Nothing” in Psychology
What meaning do psychological constructs really hold, and how are they operationalized and statistically modeled within psychology research?
Dear Boston Globe, Part VI: Congratulations. Bad Things Happen.
Yes, people are dying, but not typically in the manner you so salaciously describe in every blood-lusting Globe article you write. They're entering the system when they’re younger, getting stuck in that service, and then dying early (or transferring to nursing homes), unseen by the public eye.
From One Parent to Another
In the couple of years since my daughter Rebecka and I published our book, I have received many emails, Facebook messages and phone calls from despairing parents. They want to know, how did you get through it? What do you suggest? What else can we try?
Danish Study Finds Better 10-year Outcomes in Patients Off Antipsychotics
Study finds that 74% of patients with a psychotic disorder off antipsychotics at end of 10 years are in remission.
When Modern Medicine Made Me More Autistic
I think future research will reveal that autism is more complicated than neurodiversity advocates would like to admit. Environmental factors affecting our microbiomes can very clearly influence the extent to which people’s behaviors correspond with the current diagnostic criteria for autism.
Celebrating Dorothea Buck’s 100th Birthday
Mainstream psychiatrists celebrated the 100th birthday of their hero Kraepelin. Let us celebrate the 100th birthday of our Dorothea Buck, remember the many victims of psychiatric treatment, and stay together against violent psychiatric behavior and for humanistic support for people in distress.
Finding the Way to Mental Health
I love counseling, and helping people deal with their emotional and relational problems. But in addition, I encourage anyone suffering from mental issues to consider that nutritional issues are also involved in their distress.
The Third Director: Interrogating the Mental Health Discourse in Marat/Sade
Written at a time when advocates for mental health reform were pushing for deinstitutionalization, the play forces the audience to confront the ways that society constructs the definition of insanity and its treatment, and the systems of power involved in that construction.
A Healthier Diet Reduces Depressive Symptoms
The “Mediterranean diet” has been associated with reduced risk of depressive symptoms, and a new study demonstrates that dietary changes may be an effective treatment intervention.
The Torture in Treatment
In psychiatric hospitals we have set up the same environment as the Stanford Prison Experiment, but without a professor watching who has the authority to shut it down when things go horribly wrong. As a patient, there wasn’t any protection from the inescapable abuse of limitless power.
Professionals Push Back on Psychiatric Diagnostic Manual, Propose Alternatives
Criticisms of the DSM-5 spark alternative proposals and calls to reform diagnostic systems in the mental health field.
Two Thirds of Patients See Physicians Who Receive Payments From Pharma
Study finds more patients are visiting physicians who have ties to industry than previously thought.
Why I Don’t Like the Idea that Mental Disorder is a Disease
What we need to try and understand extreme and unusual states of being are not the specialised methods of natural science. In contrast, it is the ways in which we understand ordinary, everyday behaviour that can help to reveal the nature and meaning of madness.
‘CRAZY’: New Documentary about Forced Psychiatric Treatment
Lise Zumwalt’s new documentary “CRAZY” follows Eric, a young adult diagnosed with serious mental illness, and his father, who together want to change Eric’s treatment. However, the county does not want to give them a say.
Mainstream Western Psychiatry: Science or Non-science?
Because it is such an important question, because people's lives depend on this and psychiatry has a record of getting it seriously wrong, we need to be sure we can trust their claim. In practice, is it true that biological psychiatry has the science?
What Role Does Talk Therapy Have in Recovery from Psychosis?
In my graduate education, we were taught how to deal with a wide variety of human troubles — but one big exception was psychosis! For that, we were told to send our clients to the psychiatrist.
Not Going Quietly
A few years ago, I was asked to see a man called Chris Rushworth. He was referred to me for anger issues. Chris had a restlessness about him, frequently shifting his legs from side to side. He had been on antipsychotic medication for 25 years.
‘Do Antidepressants Work?’ is the Wrong Question
“This research points to the inadequacy of asking the simple question: ‘Do antidepressants work?’ Instead, the value or otherwise of antidepressants needs to be understood in the context of the diversity of experience and the particular meaning they hold in people’s lives.”
Eternal Sorrow: My Unexpected Descent into the Mental Health System
In searching for answers as to what went wrong with my treatment, my family and I discovered that there is already much scientific evidence demonstrating the dangers of antipsychotic medications and why they should not be used to treat illnesses such as Tourette Syndrome.
Animal Study Supports Influence of Probiotics on Resilience to Stress
Researchers experimenting on mice found that Lactobacillus—the probiotic commonly found in yogurt—may help reduce depressive symptoms in reaction to chronic stressors. But human studies have found mixed results.
Discussing Nutrient Formulas Without Naming Them: Who Benefits?
Do we not want our public to pay attention to the quality of science behind a treatment? By constantly dancing around the product names of nutrient formulas, we are doing a disservice to those who need accurate information.
