Recovery of Soul After 22 Years on Antipsychotics

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After 22 years and many attempts I finally stopped taking antipsychotics. I still feel weak and quite injured by the accumulated doses of numbing drugs, though I feel brighter, and love life more than ever.

Grant, Interrupted: An Introduction and Report Back from Oregon

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We hope the Oregon Health Authority can overcome its critics and get back on track to doing what it set out to do: creating peer support respites led by grassroots groups.

Branding Diseases—How Drug Companies Market Psychiatric Conditions: An Interview with Ray Moynihan

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MIA’s Ayurdhi Dhar interviews Ray Moynihan about the marketing of disorders, broadening of diagnoses, and harmful treatments.

Reality According to Whom? Listening to My Wife—and The Problems with ‘Psychosis’

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Sam Ruck shares an excerpt from his book "Healing Companions," which describes his life with, and love for, his wife and her “alters.” 
A finger flicks a wooden meeple out of a row of them

Critical Psychiatry Textbook, Chapter 16: Is There Any Future for Psychiatry? (Part Two)

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Peter Gøtzsche discusses how critics of psychiatry are silenced in top medical journals and in the media.
Prescription pills and red bottle on Rx form

Reflections on the RADAR Study

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We still do not have adequate data to guide us on how to best reduce relapse risk; however, I think there are reasons to taper slowly.

On Psychotherapeutic Literacy

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The counselor, a rather awkward individual, did his best to play the role of an effective psychotherapist. Our sessions continued to be a quiet standoff, a battle of nerves to see who would break the silence first.

Survivors and Families Working Together For Change: A New Project 

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Based on his lived experience, Ron Bassman describes his efforts to create an educational and support program that links families with survivors.

Mental Health Staff Reluctant to Support Service Users in Tapering Antipsychotics, Study Finds

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Study reveals schizophrenia patients find little support from mental health staff in reducing side effects-heavy drugs.

How Mad Studies and the Psychological Humanities are Changing Mental Health: An Interview with...

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In this interview with MIA's Justin Karter, psychiatrist Bradley Lewis discusses the value of art, the humanities, and mad studies in shaping a richer understanding of psychological experiences.

Medication Overload, Part II: The Explosion of Drugs for Kids

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An analysis of the huge increase in drugs for children, the role of Big Pharma, and a look at the impact on families and communities.
Dark, vignetted black and white illustration: a lighthouse on an island. Below the water, the island becomes a skull.

Critical Psychiatry Textbook, Chapter 16: Is There Any Future for Psychiatry? (Part One)

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Peter Gøtzsche discusses the myths perpetuated by mainstream psychiatrists and the dishonest way they respond to critics.
Illustration from above of a group of people in circle from diverse culture holding hands

Not Before Time: Lived Experience Led Justice and Repair

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A landmark report has been released exploring possibilities for acknowledging the harms people experience in mental health systems.

What Happens When There Is No Help?

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My family and my rapists, abusers and psychiatrists all had it in common that they wanted me to “take something” to become more obedient and quiet.
UN flag against cloudy background

Global Psychiatry’s Attempt to Excommunicate the Former UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to...

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The UN reflected a middle-ground position for human rights-based mental health, but the response from psychiatric organisations was hostile.
A wooden mousetrap against a red background. Pills are the bait.

Ten Years Later: Still Shooting the Odds

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Unfortunately, the problems that sometimes occur when people try to stop an SSRI antidepressant are still severe and long-lasting.
Artwork magazine collage picture of shocked guy running away eyes control isolated drawing background.

Students Don’t Need Spying, They Need Trust

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Surveillance exacerbates anxiety, destroys trust in relationships, and diverts money away from effective treatment.
Pills spilling out of a white bottle on a blue background

Critical Psychiatry Textbook, Chapter 15: Withdrawal of Psychiatric Drugs

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Peter Gøtzsche discusses withdrawal and how to taper off psychiatric drugs.
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What the RADAR Trial Tells Us About Antipsychotic Reduction and Discontinuation

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Although the trial showed that you are more likely to relapse if you stop or significantly reduce your antipsychotic medication, it did not show that relapse is inevitable.

Remembrances of Linda Andre, Leader in the Fight Against ECT

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Psychiatric survivors and allies mourn ECT activist and author Linda Andre and vow to continue her legacy.

Embracing the Shadow—Charlie Morley on Lucid Dreaming as Therapy

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On the Mad in America podcast, we hear about the potential of lucid dreaming therapy to aid those struggling with post-traumatic stress.
Illustration: Birds on lines organizing into the shape of a bar graph

Report on Improving Mental Health Outcomes

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The report is intended to be used to advocate for the elimination of unwanted psychiatric interventions and to promote humane, effective, voluntary approaches.

Awais Aftab Responds to the STAR*D Scandal . . . And Digs a New Hole...

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The STAR*D scandal is about how psychiatry peddled a fabricated result to the public, and now Aftab, in his latest post, has added a whopper of his own to the STAR*D story.

The Strength in Sensitivity: Becoming a “Borderline” Psychotherapist

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I'm a licensed psychotherapist in private practice. I'm also diagnosed with borderline personality disorder.

Giving Caregivers a Platform: Chandra, Mother of Sophia

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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.