And Now They Are Coming for the Unhoused: The Long Push to Expand Involuntary...
Mayor Adams' plan to "involuntarily remove" unhoused people has met with backlash from activists and the unhoused, who say it violates their rights and further entrenches systemic racism.
What Psychiatry Has Done for Me
The stigma and discrimination I have had to endure due to my ‘diagnosis’ crushed my spirit and the dreams I had for my life. But the most devastating part of all is how it altered my relationship with my two sons.
On the Brink of Psychosis
Most available narratives are sad stories centred around the aspect of a disease, or terrifying tales about psychiatric treatment. But what if there is also something in between?
Adults Treated for ADHD Report Low Quality of Life
Adults receiving ADHD medications and therapy frequently experience adverse events that interfere with employment and daily life.
Interview: The Need for Trauma-Informed Schools
CTIPP Executive Director Jesse Kohler answers our questions about the organization's new report and what the findings mean for families and communities.
Still Looking For Answers
What is happening in my body? And has being on medication caused long-term side effects or damage? I’ll forever be searching for answers; I want to feel “normal” again and live a life of enjoyment vs fear and anxiety.
The Mental Health Industry Speaks Volumes About Our Society’s Priorities
An educated public has a much better chance of advocating from the grassroots for safe and effective treatments in the face of a pharmaceutical industry more interested in profits than people.
Gradual Tapering Recommended for Antidepressant Discontinuation
A new literature review reinforces the need to “down-titrate” or taper antidepressants, especially drugs like Celexa and Paxil.
Shedding the Limits of “Severe Mental Illness” Labels
When people seeking help are relegated to “the Other,” how can they ever form a “therapeutic alliance”? Without collaboration, treatment devolves into coercion and oppression. We must change our language and relationships so new narratives can be born.
Books Under Review: Fall 2022
Reviews of three recent books reflecting various perspectives on the mental health system.
Negatively Charged: ECT and the Truth I Could Never Forget
I live with the changes every day, even now, four years later. It often feels as though the shocks have rendered me one-handed, only ever capable of dealing with one thing at a time.
Art and Transformation: Creating Justice in Mental Health
An upcoming conference focuses on the perspective of artists and activists in answering what it means to have a just mental health care system: Who decides who is labelled as mad?
New App Aims to Predict Whether People with Psychosis Are Worth Hiring
“Unfortunately, the ethical considerations of incorporating these tools are rarely acknowledged in published prediction articles,” the researchers write.
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).
Feel Hopeless About Reforming a Broken System? Incremental Change Is Still Change
Despite all our efforts, it seems that a radical transformation of the system has not yet occurred. However, incremental changes can directly improve the lives of thousands.
Inadequately Trained Therapists Pose a Risk to Childhood Trauma Survivors
Mental health professionals must be trained in the dynamics of addiction and abuse if they are to help survivors of childhood trauma.
Improving Therapy Outcomes: The Case for Deliberate Practice
With Deliberate Practice, I doubled the number of sessions I had with my clients, cut the amount of unplanned dropouts in half, and improved the number who experienced clinical change.
David Healy – Polluting Our Internal Environments: The Perils of Polypharmacy
On the MIA Podcast, Dr David Healy discusses World Tapering Day, antidepressant treatment and sensory neuropathy and the difficulties that can be encountered when trying to deprescribe.
Growing Good Mental Health with Choice Theory
On those days when I’m experiencing discomfort, anger or frustration, I ask myself: Which need is not being adequately met and which is driving my discontent?
Lithium Use Leads to Chronic Kidney Disease
New evidence suggests that lithium, commonly prescribed for bipolar disorder, can increase the risk of chronic kidney disease.
The Nurtured Heart Approach Goes Mainstream: Research and Experience Support “Celebrating Greatness in Every...
The Nurtured Heart Approach represents a massive shift in thinking—about schooling, about children and how to raise them, about how we regard those with intensity, and about the medical model pathologizing them.
A Troubled Teen With a Pocket Full of Lithium and Nowhere to Go
Despite the full awareness of Congress and hundreds of deaths in these facilities, little has been done to enact standards in private pay facilities that house troubled teens.
6 Good Things That Happened When I Stopped Believing in ‘Mental Health’
The pursuit of mental health had made me mad. After 12 years, I quit Prozac and found a new psychoanalytic therapist. Life changed, almost overnight.
Breaking Academia’s Silence on Inpatient Psychiatry: An Interview with Researcher Morgan Shields
Morgan Shields discussed her experiences in inpatient psychiatry and her efforts to bring patient-centered care to this oft-neglected field.
Are We Witnessing the Emergence of a New Paradigm?
Increasing numbers of people are finding the perspective that sees mental distress as an isolated, static category, fixed within a biological predisposition or malfunction, to be insufficient.
