The Biological Evidence for “Mental Illness”
Partners' comment in response to my Carrie Fisher article essentially consists of unsubstantiated assertions, non sequiturs, and appeals to psychiatric authority. Because it comes from, and presumably represents the views of, an extremely large psychiatric practice, it warrants a close look.
Non-Medical Treatments for PTSD Effective, Study Suggests
Group-based MBSR and PCGT therapies effective as a complementary treatment for PTSD.
NY Times to Bonnie Burstow: May You Not Rest in Peace
In its obituary of Bonnie Burstow, the New York Times published a comment from historian Edward Shorter that was both vile and slanderous. Burstow, if she had been alive, could easily have set the record straight.
Rates of ADHD Diagnosis and Prescription of Stimulants Continue to Rise
Two new articles find that rates of ADHD diagnosis and stimulant prescription continue to rise all over the world.
Dr. Joseph Firth: The Role of Exercise and Nutrition in Early Psychosis
Dr. Joseph Firth of Western Sydney University talks about his research into the role of exercise and nutrition in supporting young people in the early stages of psychotic illness.
Service-Users Who Found CBT Unhelpful Offer Their Perspectives
Counseling clients in the UK who found CBT unhelpful were interviewed about their experiences.
Antidepressants Overprescribed to Post-Menopausal Women Despite Risks
A new study reveals that antidepressants, commonly prescribed to post-menopausal women, may increase risks of falls, cognitive decline, and cardiovascular issues, raising questions about their overuse in this population.
Relapse in Antipsychotic Drug Trials is Poorly Defined
There is a lack of consensus in the definition of ‘relapse’ across randomized controlled trials of antipsychotic maintenance treatment for schizophrenia and psychosis.
Spoiling Split: Hollywood’s Latest Run at ‘Alternative Facts’
Will ‘Split’ lead directly to someone dying or being beaten up? No, probably not. But, is it a pretty outrageous piece of evidence illustrating cultural trends that regularly represent people with psychiatric diagnoses as frightening and volatile? Absolutely.
Parent Training as Effective for Childhood Anxiety as Therapy
Yale study finds that training parents how to react to child behaviors is as effective at reducing anxiety as providing therapy to the child.
‘Full Moral Status’ for Psychiatric Clients: How I Fought Back
I was going to leave the 'mental health' system on my terms, with all the paperwork proving them wrong. Or I was going to run for my life with an open diagnosis, hoping I would survive withdrawal. As I surveyed the landscape for any other path, there was only institutionalization. There was no template for what I had to do... so I made it up.
#RestoreTheirRights: An Update on Guardianship Action
It’s time to change the conversation around guardianship. The question is not “When do we remove someone’s rights?” but “How can we best support them?”
Mental Health Apps May Lead to Overdiagnosis, Study Finds
A new study finds that mental health apps promote a one-dimensional view of mental health.
Psycho-Bizarreness Theory: A Rational, Anti-Psychiatric Theory of Madness
Contrary to the traditional view, Psycho-Bizarreness Theory sees madness as a rational coping mechanism which individuals adopt out of expediency.
Pets Play Central Role in Management of Mental Health Problems
Individuals with long-term mental health conditions identify pets as valuable supports in their daily lives.
Psychiatry’s Medical Model: How It Traumatizes, Retraumatizes & Perverts Healing
The beginning of healing from trauma requires stripping power away from disconnecting violators like psychiatry's medical model.
The Social-Emotional Distress Field, or How I Divorced “Mental Health”
At this crisis point, I realised that resigning from my job was not enough. I needed to divorce from the Mental Health field as a whole.
Trauma Blocks the Frontal Lobes – “Verbal Physiotherapy” Can Unblock Them
Trauma makes the speech centers of the brain shut down. This is why talking about abuse is so difficult: the words are blocked. If you reclassify trauma effects as trauma-strokes, and you adapt physiotherapy to take this clinical evidence into account, then you come up with Verbal Physiotherapy.
Data Shows That Nutrients Reduce Aggression: Why is Policy Not Changing?
Despite study after study after study showing that there is a simple, cheap solution to reducing aggression in many people, the message hasn’t carried through to changing policies or treatment approaches. If a drug were shown to reduce aggression with no side effects, would it be ignored?
Undisclosed Financial Conflicts of Interest in the DSM-5: An Interview with Lisa Cosgrove and...
On the Mad in America podcast we talk with Lisa Cosgrove and Brian Piper about their BMJ paper entitled "Undisclosed Financial Conflicts of Interest in the DSM-5 TR: Cross-Sectional Analysis"
Understanding the Youth Mental Health Crisis: An Interview with Elia Abi-Jaoude
The child psychiatrist talks about the importance of seeing the big picture and why parents shouldn't "be afraid if their kid is in distress."
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.
My Fight Against Antidepressants, Part III: Breaking Free
I had managed to get off the drugs again, this time with practically no withdrawal reactions other than some disturbances to my sleep which eventually settled down. I truly feel that I have been given a second chance because I am aware of how many people struggle terribly with these drugs just as I did.
Observational Studies Confirm Trial Results That Antidepressants Double Suicides
Depression drugs don’t work, and they increase suicide.
Critical Psychiatry Textbook, Chapter 2: Are Psychiatric Disorders Mainly Genetic or Environmental? (Part One)
Textbooks portray ADHD and schizophrenia as genetic disorders, despite the much stronger evidence for environmental factors.
