Committed: The Battle Over Involuntary Psychiatric Care
Dinah Miller and Annette Hanson are psychiatrists who blog at Shrink Rap. On one topic we agree — the subject of involuntary care is the most contentious and troubling topic for psychiatry. To their credit, they have directed an enormous amount of attention to this subject in their latest book.
Prescription for Murder ABCD
The Anything But the Company Drug playbook involved digging deep into the medical records of the person reporting a problem in order to find the ingrown toenail at the age of two that was possibly the cause. And of course if something else was possibly the cause, then we can’t conclude that our drug did it.
What Does it Mean to be Anti-Psychiatry? Thoughts of a Cartoon Anteater
How did I get here? What turned me from loyal acolyte into fearsome-clawed rebel, itching to take on the high priests of psychiatry? Well, there is nothing like being given a taste of psychiatry’s vile medicine for igniting the revolutionary furnace and getting it glowing white hot.
Researchers Challenge Interpretation of Antidepressant Meta-analysis
Researchers question the overstated results of a large antidepressant meta-analysis and point to cultural pressures to turn to these drugs for a quick fix.
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, “What are the three most important things for anyone to know about psychiatric drugs?” Here is my answer.
System Change Toward a Green Movement in Mental Health
As a counter narrative, I believe that understanding system change and reform in mental health with a "green" lens makes use of a powerful theme which is increasingly accepted — and it lays out a road map to make innovative programs and initiatives the new norm for system-wide responses to mental health challenges.
Psychology and Poverty: An Interview with APA President Rosie Phillips Davis
MIA’s Gavin Crowell-Williamson interviews psychologist Rosie Phillips Davis about her presidential initiative to address deep poverty.
About 1 in 100 Children Treated with Ritalin Experience a Serious Adverse Event
A recent Cochrane review has found that serious adverse events occur for about 1% of children and adolescents treated with Ritalin.
“I’m Not Going, You Can’t Make Me!”: A Community Approach to School Refusal
Consider an imaginary child called Jack who has been avoiding school as much as possible for a month. Standard practice would be cognitive-behavioral therapy or psychoactive drugs to help Jack deal with his anxiety. But what if Jack's social network instead mobilized to help him regain the role of student?
Much of U.S. Healthcare Is Broken: How to Fix It (Chapter 2, Part 3)
Les Ruthven addresses the lack of evidence for antidepressants being better than placebo, as well as a note about ECT.
The Unintended Consequences of Colorado’s “Social Experiment”
The lack of any regulations on the potency of THC in marijuana has allowed the cannabis industry to increase the potency to astronomical proportions, resulting in a burgeoning public health crisis. Many people seem to lack a true understanding of the potential negative consequences of the higher-potency THC.
Self-Compassion Course Supports College Students to Support Themselves
New research on a brief self-compassion focused course aimed at the college students.
Psychological Research Fails to Capture Human Diversity, Researchers Call for Action
Data demonstrate an overreliance of non-representative and non-diverse sampling biases in psychological research.
Tough Love for Thomas Szasz: A Book Review
Dr. Thomas Szasz (1920-2012) was one of the greatest thinkers and prose stylists of the last 100 years. Enough time has passed since he died that we can start to take stock of his legacy. This important new collection of essays by former colleagues, psychiatrists, philosophers, and legal experts does just that.
The Revolt Against Psychiatry: A Book Review
The focus of Bonnie Burstow’s new book, The Revolt Against Psychiatry, “is not the problems that psychiatry presents but the attempt to counter them.” Burstow asks, “What pressures might we bring to bear to loosen the grip of psychiatry? We habitually seem to be losing the battle; so how do we turn the situation around?”
My Beautiful Psychosis: A Soul Process
To say a person is out of touch with reality is to ignore the validity of the reality that they are in touch with. This is not only disempowering, but also fails to celebrate the journey that the person is on.
2017: A Wake-up Call on Mental Health and Human Rights
At Mental Health Europe, we see 2017 as having been a crossroads for mental health and human rights. Let’s ensure that this yields concrete change in 2018 with the support of like-minded communities ready to take the discussion to the next level and truly enact this as a civil rights movement.
Michael Hengartner – Evidence-biased Antidepressant Prescription
We talk with Dr. Michael Hengartner about his new book which addresses the overprescribing of antidepressant drugs and critically examines the scientific evidence on their efficacy and safety.
Killing “Schizophrenics”: Contemporary U.S. Psychiatry Versus Nazi Psychiatry
In any society that prioritizes economic efficiency, productivity and order above life and all of life’s varieties, people experiencing altered and extreme emotional states will be seen as defective and as burdens—monkey wrenches that disturb the societal assembly line.
Grant, Interrupted: An Introduction and Report Back from Oregon
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.
Maryland Enacts a “Draconian” Assisted Outpatient Treatment Program
Advocates vow to keep resisting psychiatric force, fighting for rights-based supports
Breaking Blind: Antipsychotic Drug Efficacy May Be Overestimated
Only 4 of 188 antipsychotic trials assessed blinding, and in all 4 cases, the blind was broken, potentially leading to an overestimation of the drug effect.
Turning the Corner: How Are We Educating Psychiatrists in Medical Schools?
In response to critics of psychiatry, doctors sometimes argue that medication is just a part of care, not everything. But if a grand rounds presentation intended to educate the profession doesn’t mention anything at all except medication, what are we teaching young therapists and doctors?
Jock McLaren – The Biopsychosocial Model is a Mirage, Time for a Biocognitive Model?
Dr. Niall McLaren joins us to talk of his experiences working in Australian psychiatry and explains why the models that purport to guide psychiatric diagnosis and treatment are not what they seem.
Chosen Name Use in Transgender Youth Linked to Reduced Depression and Suicide
The ability of transgender youth to use their chosen name is connected to reduced depressive symptoms and suicidal thoughts/behaviors.
