Better Mental Health Care Needed for Pilots
A new study shows that airline pilots are at elevated risk for depression, yet encounter barriers to accessing mental health services.
“Benzo Blue”: a Song of Protest and a Search for Liberation
In commemoration of World Benzodiazepine Awareness Day coming on July 11th, I am providing an early first time debut at Mad in America of a new song and music video titled “Benzo Blue,” along with a brief commentary on the evolution and significance of this song.
How the Medical Profession Pathologizes Emotions and the Damage to Patients
Doctors’ diagnostic inflexibility and unwillingness to take an integrative approach limits patients’ autonomy in their own treatment.
Vitamin B6 Effective in Reducing Antipsychotic Induced Akathisia
A recent RCT showed that vitamin B6 is as effective as propranolol for the treatment of akathisia.
A Guide to Long-Acting Neuroleptics: Education or Promotion?
The National Council for Behavioral Health has released a new pamphlet titled “Guide to Long-Acting Medications for Providers and Organizations.” By downplaying some aspects of the available science, the pamphlet implicitly acts as a promotional tool for the pharmaceutical industry.
New Meta-Analysis: Mindfulness Interventions Effective for Psychiatric Disorders
A meta-analysis of mindfulness-based interventions shows efficacy for treating depression, physical pain, smoking, and addictive disorders.
Busting 7 Myths About the Practice of Psychotherapy
All in all, it is not enough that public policy pundits push for greater access to mental health services. Alongside improving access, there needs to be renewed focus on the quantity and quality of psychotherapy the average American currently receives. Health insurers need to reexamine their false assumptions about the effectiveness of short-term, quick-fix therapies.
The Unsung Psychiatric Impact of Strep Throat
A sea change is needed in the evaluation of children with perceived psychological disturbances. Parents are told that their child has a fictitious biochemical imbalance in the brain while real medical disorders are overlooked. In our family's case, it was Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorder Associated with Strep (PANDAS).
A Personal Perspective on the Development of the Survivors’ Movement in Israel
In order for there to be a real chance for significant positive changes, a strong and independent advocacy organization of our people must be established. There is no such body right now in Israel. Our deep hope is that the younger generation will establish an advocacy organization that will act on policy issues and promote rights.
Thought About Killing Yourself Lately? It’s Not All In Your Head
As the world economic leader in GDP at $24 trillion per year, the United States has had steadily rising suicide rates for nearly two decades, though when compared to other economic leaders such as France, Germany, Japan, India, the UK and Italy, it remains the outlier; the rest have dropped. Why is the United States unique in its degree of misery?
New Study Asks Doctors About Barriers to Deprescribing
Researchers interviewed doctors about the barriers that prevent them from being able to decrease excess medications.
Denmark Is the Only European Country Where the Usage of Depression Pills Has Dropped
Between 2010 and 2020, the consumption of depression pills increased by 37% in 24 European countries. Denmark was the only country where usage dropped (a 4% drop).
Trauma-Ignored Care? Going to the MAT on Opioids
Our current, reductionistic approach to mental health issues doesn’t offer any insights or explanations on the etiology of most mental disturbances. Similarly, medication assisted treatment (MAT) focuses on the surface symptoms of opiate abuse without addressing the underlying causes of overwhelming distress and pain.
How Academic Psychiatry Minimized SSRI Withdrawal
If academic psychiatry is evidence-based, why did it take two decades to recognize SSRI withdrawal as widespread and chronic among patients?
Depression: Psychiatry’s Discredited Theories and Drugs Versus a Sane Model and Approach
Psychiatry’s depression outcomes are poor because its bio-chemical-electrical treatments are based on a depression model that science has flushed down the toilet.
Researchers Call for Structural Competency in Psychiatry
Structural competency in psychiatry emphasizes the social factors shaping patient presentations and encourages physician advocacy.
Psychology Textbooks Promote Misinformation About Intelligence
In a new study, researchers examined 29 popular introduction to psychology textbooks and found that almost 80% included misinformation about intelligence.
Anesthetized
At times I dream about meeting those doctors, and telling them how wrong they were when they told me I would always be a very sick person, needing medication my whole life.
Patients With Schizophrenia Show Better Work Functioning Off Antipsychotics
20-year follow-up study finds that after four years, patients not prescribed antipsychotics have significantly better work functioning.
Review Finds FDA Approval of Digital Antipsychotic Misguided
The approval of the digital antipsychotic may open the door for more pharmaceutical company profits without evidence of benefits to patients.
Anthropologists Contemplate the Future Role of Psychiatry
Anthropologists who study the psychiatric field recently had papers published in two highly influential journals. While they both call for or describe reform initiatives, they point us in different directions with regard to the future role of psychiatrists. With a shift in resources, might psychiatry finally get it right?
Antidepressants Blunt Ability to Feel Empathy
A new study suggests that taking antidepressants impairs empathy, while the experience of depression itself does not.
Integrative Mental Health: 27 Non-drug Options that Work
Four years ago I dove into a deep and murky pond: the bottomless depths of medical databases that hold mental health research. After examining over 4000 studies, and hundreds of meta-analyses, I surfaced from my research and was hit with a startling “Aha” moment: non-drug approaches really work.
Giving Caregivers a Platform: Chandra, Mother of Sophia
This is the story of Chandra and her daughter Sophia (not their real names), who has been in the mental health system since the age of 10.
Data on Your Mind: Good Public Health or Mental Health Surveillance?
The ethics of data harvesting are murky and echo global concerns around the ways in which profiling technologies can be used to perpetuate discrimination.
