The AI Who Helped Me Leave
In quiet desperation, I opened ChatGPT. I didn’t know then that I was about to build the most consistent, emotionally attuned dialogue I’d ever had.
The Three Ages of Treating Madness: Confinement, Conversation, Chemicals
There was a time when therapy did something dangerous—it listened. Suffering wasn’t seen as a malfunction, but as a story worth hearing.
“Progress Only Occurs when People Make Demands”: Paolo del Vecchio Reflects on a Life...
Paolo del Vecchio speaks with Leah Harris about his decades of public service at SAMHSA, what worries him most about mental health in today’s America, and where he sees hope in the recovery movement that he helped create.
Depsychiatrization: Dispelling Harmful, Diagnostical Self-Concepts in Therapy and Community Health Work
Depsychiatrization is a way of reclaiming the right to be understood through a nonpathologizing, rehumanized lens.
Elderly Patients Who Stop Antipsychotics Have Better Outcomes
Older adults are often prescribed antipsychotics off-label for behavioral control in the hospital. But there’s no evidence for antipsychotics helping, and a great deal of evidence of harm.
Screen Time for Children Under Three: A Trigger for Virtual Autism?
"A Stone Unturned" weaves together the research and stories of autism symptoms reversed by removing screens and adding more parent engagement.
You’re Not Crazy
I want others who have PTSD to know that, yes, recovery is tough going, but you can rebuild trust in the world and your future.
Depression: Biological or Psychological?
Scientific evidence tells us that depression is psychological and should be treated by behavior therapy, not by antidepressant drugs.
From EMPOWER to Exercise: What Actually Helps Older Adults Quit Benzos?
Despite clear risks, benzos and z-drugs remain widely prescribed to the elderly. New research explores what helps—and what doesn’t—when trying to stop.
Blindsided by Benzos: Had I Known
Doctors are not disclosing the harrowing truth that discontinuing these medications can plunge patients into relentless mental and physical torment.
Exposure to Antidepressants in the Womb Makes for Sad, Scared Adolescents
SSRI exposure in utero “alters the offspring’s brain structure,” causing a hyperactive amygdala and fear circuits, leading to anxiety and depression.
Mapping Identity Through Moonlight: A Narrative Therapy Reflection
Healing didn’t mean fixing the chaos or wrapping it in a bow, it meant refusing to be erased or silenced by it.
“Life Unworthy of Life”: Historical Amnesia, Ausmerzen and the Rhetoric Surrounding Autism
The idea that human value can be reduced to economic contribution is not merely reductive—it is deeply dangerous.
Life in the Hospital Before Deinstitutionalization
Accounts of deinstitutionalization fail to describe recovery, peer support, or what it was actually like to be in the state hospitals.
How the Troubled Teen Industry Turns Pain Into Profit
These programs, though marketed as "therapeutic," are nothing more than profit-driven enterprises that exploit families at their most desperate.
Fighting Forced Treatment in Court: A Victory to Be Celebrated
It is very difficult to get off a mental health commitment. The counties fight tooth and nail to keep people in the system.
The Poetics and Politics of Our Mental Health Metaphors: An Interview with Laurence Kirmayer
Ayurdhi Dhar interviews influential cultural psychiatrist Laurence Kirmayer on how metaphors, histories, and social structures contour our experiences of suffering and healing.
Family Traditions and the Inheritance of “Madness”
Families are not merely a source of comfort and support but also a breeding ground for dysfunction, unhealed trauma, and emotional neglect.
What Does Consent Mean in Practice? A Lived Experience Perspective
Every time I agreed to 'treatment’, I was told that it was necessary to save my life. I was sold a bunch of lies.
Post-Acute Withdrawal Syndrome (PAWS): Why Don’t We Know More About It?
Persistent antidepressant withdrawal is a debilitating experience, but little research exists about its prevalence and treatment.
Heritability Explains Less About Mental Disorders Than You Think
The focus on diseased brains and genes obscures the significance of social and environmental influences.
The Betrayal of Professionals with Lived Experience
I know that being “out” at work could help challenge stereotypes and reduce stigma but I hide. I have that luxury.
We Can’t Help People With Trauma If We Can’t Say Trauma
Although the medical care Cary received was excellent, no one mentioned “trauma” or counseled us on how it might manifest emotionally.
The Wound That Speaks
In my case, writing was the beginning of healing. It pulled me out of the abyss and gave me structure, voice, and purpose. It gave me a sense of authorship over a life hijacked by memory.
Beyond the Pill Paradigm: Reclaiming Humanity in Mental Health Care
By tackling social causes of distress along with personal support, we prevent suffering rather than just reacting to emergencies.
