The Politics of Distress: A Discussion With Dr. James Davies on His New Book,...
James Davies on the medicalization and individualizing of distress and its connection to neoliberal ideology, and the need to focus on pervasive inequality and other social causes.
Making Mental Health an Ongoing Priority: A Patch Adams Approach
My brother’s sudden death and Mental Health Awareness Month spurred me to spend May making small, very personal efforts to both honor his memory and move the mental health conversation forward.
How Far Has Psychiatry Really Come? Historical Practices Versus Modern-Day Psychiatry
The basic assumptions behind unethical practices like lobotomies and insulin shock therapy are still the foundation on which psychiatry’s main treatments are built today.
An American History of Drugs and Addiction, Part 7: The Harm Reduction Revolution
Many of the harms associated with drugs were very much rooted in policy choices rather than in the nature of the drugs being used, or even addiction in general.
Pets More Effective for Grief Support than Humans, Study Finds
A new study explores effective forms of grief support, finding that animals are more effective than humans in providing support.
Mental Health Survival Kit, Chapter 4: Withdrawing from Psychiatric Drugs (Part 6)
Peter Gøtzsche gives advice on what withdrawal symptoms may look like and explains the dangers of—and alternatives to—forced treatment.
EMDR in a Nutshell: Healing from Trauma
Rather than medicalizing distress, EMDR provides a way of healing from trauma. EMDR isn't about trying to treat the symptoms of an illness. It's about healing from the root cause.
The Transformational Qualities of Hearing Voices Groups
Results from a national study show the transformational qualities of Hearing Voices groups, including their egalitarian structure and the genuine connection they foster.
The Worst Thing: How My Mother’s Death Pushed Me to Overcome OCD
The goal of creating a legacy for my mother required that I go beyond managing my symptoms to confronting my OCD at its roots. I had to fundamentally change my understanding of anxiety.
FDA Approves Failed Alzheimer’s Drug
The FDA approved Biogen's failed drug aducanumab, overriding the 10-0 recommendation of its own advisory committee. Three panel members resigned in protest.
Psychotherapy Is Safer and Less Expensive Than Drug Treatment
In 1991, we conducted a study and found that psychotherapy saved money compared with drug treatment. We also found rampant overprescribing.
Barriers to Shared Decision Making in the Prescription of Antipsychotics
Researchers push for a renewed focus on true shared decision-making for patients diagnosed with psychosis.
Mental Health Survival Kit, Chapter 4: Withdrawing from Psychiatric Drugs (Part 5)
Withdraw from psychiatric drugs at your own speed—according to what you feel. Don’t reduce again before you feel stabilised on the previous dose.
Boy, Interrupted: A Story of Akathisia
I watched my son’s life change almost overnight. He developed akathisia from antidepressants, taken as prescribed for just a few weeks for garden-variety anxiety.
WHO and the Sea Change in Mental Health: Interview with Michelle Funk
MIA's Ana Florence interviews Michelle Funk about her leadership of the new WHO guidelines on rights-based mental health.
Understanding Psychological Disorders: My Personal and Professional Journey
A conflict in my personal life made it possible for me to imagine the power of emotional trauma to trigger a mental health disorder—and gave me new insights about what can help heal it.
Discourse, Drug Use, and Psychiatry: An Interview with Critical Psychologist Ilana Mountian
Richard Sears interviews Ilana Mountian on drug use, marginalization, the disease model of addiction, and problems with prohibition.
A Review of “Mud Flower: Surviving Schizophrenia and Suicide Through Art”
In "Mud Flower," Meghan Caughey seeks an ethics centered on the valuation of madness—and on art as one communicative pathway for values—for the muddy waters discarded by society.
Mental Health Survival Kit, Chapter 4: Withdrawing from Psychiatric Drugs (Part 4)
Psychiatrists have made hundreds of millions of people dependent on psychiatric drugs and yet have done virtually nothing to find out how to help the patients come off them again.
No, the FDA’s Black Box Warning Did not Increase Suicides
Researchers again debunk the claim that the FDA black box warnings on antidepressants led to more suicides.
Lessons from the Pandemic: Panic Attacks Are Not Random
The ease and confidence with which many clients assume they are prone to panic attacks reflects larger cultural trends truncating and framing human suffering in medicalized terms.
Treatment Providers Have the Power to Make or Break Recovery
We need treatment providers that listen to their patients and treat them like human beings. Their job is to support our recovery, not stymie it.
Modern Psychiatry’s Allure: It Tells People What They Want to Hear
Could psychiatry’s medical model owe its popularity to wishful thinking? Could it work so well for people (at some deeper level), that they’re willing to overlook its illogic/flaws?
Minimal Medication Alternatives for Psychosis Needed
Researchers question the long-term use of antipsychotics and suggest increased research and investment in psychosocial interventions.
My Letter to an Advocate for Involuntary Treatment
How long would I have to be off meds and stay safe and out of the hospital before my story would mean something to you and the advocates for chemical interventions?
