A teenage girl writing

A Developmental Response to Trauma and Trauma Language

47
Understanding life events (and/or our responses to them) as trauma has transformed how we suffer and how we relate to pain.
Colorful drawing of protesters' hands holding signs

Top 10 Myths About the Critics of Psychiatry

75
Service-users' experience was at the heart of everything the critics spoke about, as well as the importance of relying on the most up-to-date and accurate evidence.

I Had No Idea That Gabapentin Could Do This…

100
I am now a few months off of Gabapentin, and my withdrawal problems have not passed. I still deal daily with internal tremors throughout my head and back.

Call for Teen Art in All Media!

16
MIA's Family Resources and Arts sections are co-sponsoring an online teen multimedia art exhibition with the theme “Beyond Labels and Meds: What It Feels Like to Be Me.”
DNA particles and diffused glowing lines, 3d rendering

Major Depression: The “Chemical Imbalance” Pillar Is Crumbling—Is the Genetics Pillar Next?

20
A more detailed critical evaluation of molecular genetic studies, which have failed to discover genes shown to cause depression.
A hand chained in a chain holds pills

Behavior Therapy Helped My Patients Through Antidepressant Withdrawal

5
In behavior therapy, enduring psychological discomfort is an essential aspect of therapy leading to recovery. This may have implications for withdrawal experiences.

Mad Parenting: On Becoming an Unlikely Family Man

8
I’ve often been told I shouldn’t have kids because I’m “bipolar.” But since my twins’ birth, I’ve been way more stable than I thought I would be, and I’ve found what I’ve always been looking for.
A black man stands with fingers in his ears as if pretending not to hear

The Phobic Avoidance of Attending to Real World Mental Health Outcomes

26
The avoidance of real-world outcome measures in research seems almost phobic. Yet this type of outcome should be considered the most important.
Stock photo of unhappy little girl; adult woman is trying to make her do worksheets

A Therapist Tried to Explain CBT When I Was 11 Years Old, Ineffectively

12
As a therapist, I feel that CBT is offered best on a voluntary basis. The therapist must move away from CBT-like interventions when it is not helpful.

The Mad in the World Network: A Global Voice for Change

10
Mad in Ireland is the newest Mad in America affiliate. The network of affiliate sites is becoming a global voice for change.
withdrawal

If We Knew What We Know Now

12
I never questioned the adults around me or wondered if the medications were necessary. Of course they were necessary. A doctor said so.

Beverley Thomson–Antidepressed: Antidepressant Harm and Dependence

5
We talk with author Beverley Thomson about her latest book, entitled Antidepressed: A Breakthrough Examination of Epidemic Antidepressant Harm and Dependence.

Ken Burns’ “Hiding in Plain Sight…”: Candid Interviews, Canned Conclusions

15
I was hoping for more accurate representation of youth mental health challenges. What I saw instead was a glossy patchwork of mixed messages.
A set of folders, one labeled "Conclusions"

Condensing “Anatomy of an Epidemic” into a High-Level Summary Document

13
After reading "Anatomy of an Epidemic," I needed something that could be read quickly, summarizing the material at a high level, to share with the general public.

Antidepressants No Better Than Placebo for About 85% of People

25
Researchers can’t predict the 15% who benefit from antidepressants, and the other 85% are unnecessarily exposed to the harms of the drugs.
against DBT

Trauma Survivors Speak Out Against Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT)

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Despite the majority of the individuals being sent to DBT having histories of severe childhood trauma, little about DBT treatment is “trauma-informed.”

Away From Psychiatrization: Towards Socio-Ecological Wellbeing in the Community

4
The modern notion of poor mental health and how to respond to it is an escalating series of biomedical interventions that don’t actually solve the underlying problem.

John Read and Jeffrey Masson – Biological Psychiatry and the Mass Murder of “Schizophrenics”

38
On the Mad in America podcast this week, we hear from the co-authors of a paper published in the journal Ethical Human Psychology and...

Loss, Grief, and Betrayal: Psychiatric Survivors Reflect on the Impact of New Serotonin Study

51
Loss, grief, and betrayal are felt deeply by many who have been affected by the myth of the chemical imbalance, especially now that it has been debunked.
A man, silhouetted, seen from the back, standing in a dark city street overpass

Inside A Forensic Psychiatry Unit: Where I’ve Come From and Where I’m Going

9
I will begin with a story of my youth. Then I will explore what my life has looked like since my release from custody. Finally, I will offer my own perspective on the country’s problems with gun violence, articulated from my unique positionality.
medication side effects

How the Internet Helped Save My Mental Health

13
My experience has shown me that if you have enough pain in your life, you will look anywhere for the truth, even if this truth goes against what the medical system is telling you.
Close up of fingers putting a pill into a mouth. Colored lights all around

The Powerful Allure of Psychedelics in Today’s Disenchanted World

14
As a psychiatrist and psychedelic researcher in Melbourne, I’ve reached the conclusion that we are in for a wild ride with psychedelics over the next few years.

How Grief Became a Disorder and What This Means About Us: An Interview with...

37
MIA’s Zenobia Morrill interviews psychologist Kaori Wada about what the creation of Prolonged Grief Disorder reveals about our culture and the current status of psychology.
Close-up photo of two textbooks, open, one on top of the other

Psychiatry Textbooks Are Filled with Errors and Propaganda

43
The coming generations of healthcare professionals are being taught information that is incorrect, to the detriment of their patients.

Books Under Review: Summer 2022

2
Reviews of five recent books reflecting various perspectives on the mental health system.