How Western Psychiatry Harms Alternative Understandings of Mental Health
An anthropological look at the Global Mental Health (GMH) movement suggests several ethical problems and contradictions in its mission.
Does Facebook Use Improve Social Connections or Weaken Attention?
A network analysis of participants’ social media use and well-being reveals complex links with social capital but a minimal association with attentional control.
Merry, Beautiful, Unique: YOU
You and me, we are different. We live in the world of magic, where angels appear, where voices scare but also reveal, where visions show us the other, real, parallel world. God blesses only very few of us with such an ability. And that’s why you have to fight for this right.
Anatomy of a Suicide: Stress and the Human Condition
The Defense Cascade is a survival framework that evolutionary researchers are exploring as an explanation for extreme states that many people experience. It can help explain why chronic stress can make us feel like ending our life is the only reasonable way out.
How Pain is Treated Depends on Socioeconomic Status
A new international study reveals how healthcare providers treat patient’s pain may depend on that patient’s socioeconomic status.
Researchers Set the Record Straight on Controversial Zoloft Study
An issue of Lancet Psychiatry is devoted to clarifying the lack of efficacy for Zoloft (sertraline).
Medical Ghostwriting: When an “Author” Is Not Necessarily an “Author”
Ghostwriting, which is prominent in the psychiatry literature, is a scam in which pharmaceutical companies use an academic sleight of hand to stump the naïve reader. It is time for editors of the major medical journals to use the same standards of authorship found in the humanities and social sciences.
The House of Cards with Informed Consent Standards
I recently submitted a recommendation to Oregon’s mental health officials as they consider revising their clinical standards. If adopted, my proposal will open the door to a much wider recognition of the role that poorly conducted informed consent plays in the excessive use of psychiatric medications.
What is the Evidence for Empirically Supported Treatments in Psychology?
New meta-scientific review questions the evidence for the gold standard psychotherapies and empirically supported treatments.
Twin Studies and Ken Burns’ Upcoming Documentary on “The Gene: An Intimate History”
Siddhartha Mukherjee clearly knew little about the evidence supporting his claim that schizophrenia is a “genetic disease,” yet he thought he knew enough to reach strong conclusions in favor of genetics in what would become an award-winning book that was turned into a Ken Burns documentary.
Growing Research Connects Nutrition and Mental Health
A new article reviews studies in the field of nutritional psychiatry and how nutrition can prevent and treat mental health issues.
The Media’s New Hashtag: #GuardianshipIsGood for Britney Spears
Recent press coverage of top star Britney Spears, who remains under a personal and professional guardianship, reflects conventional attitudes about “mental illness” that are both stigmatizing and encourage legislation that promotes forced treatment.
Ketamine for Harmful Drinking: A Look at the Data
New research contends that ketamine can reduce problematic alcohol use but does the data support the claims?
Blaming Climate Change Inaction on Psychological Barriers Misses the Point
Researchers argue that blaming climate change inaction on psychological barriers ignores the effects of neoliberal capitalism and social structures.
Is Australia’s Psychiatric System Redeemable?
We have reached the point where we have to ask: Is psychiatry doing anything useful for society, or has it degenerated to an insatiable, high-cost and self-sustaining rentier gorging on the public purse? The Australian Productivity Commission is holding an enquiry into mental health; it is to be hoped that this will assist in the process of uncovering the truth.
Peter Breggin and Michael Cornwall – Stop the Psychiatric Abuse of Children
An interview with Drs. Peter Breggin and Michael Cornwall who discuss their new initiative, Stop the Psychiatric Abuse of Children (SPAC!). SPAC! was formed in response to the introduction of the Monarch eTNS, an electrical stimulation device worn on a child’s forehead at night that was fast-tracked by FDA with little testing.
The Field of Mental Health Has Gone Astray, But We Can Fix It
People should have real choice. The research and knowledge about how to work differently are already there. Now we need politicians and policymakers to force the change and make it happen in the established services. Mad in Norway will be a leading voice in ensuring this change.
Why is the Field of Psychotherapy Still Fractured into Different Approaches?
Psychotherapy is dominated by contradicting schools of thought, exhibits a gap between research and practice, and repackages old ideas rather than finding clinical consensus.
Pervasive Industry Influence in Healthcare Sector Harms Patients
Experts across the globe point to the harms of drug companies’ influence on research, practice, and education in healthcare noting that it compromises patient care.
Researchers Critique WHO Mental Health Technology
Researchers critically examine the underlying assumptions and implications of a new WHO mental health technology designed to streamline psychiatric assessment internationally.
What Does ‘Relapse’ Mean? Definitions Used in Antipsychotic Trials Are Unclear
Antipsychotic drugs are prescribed on the basis of trials that demonstrate a higher rate of ‘relapse’ in people who are withdrawn from these drugs compared to those who continue to take them. Yet, incredibly, there is no consensus about what ‘relapse’ means in this situation.
Young Adult Food Insecurity Linked to Poor Mental Health
A new study identifies significant links between food insecurity and sleep, anxiety, depression, and compromised wellbeing among young people in the United States
Statisticians: Current Policies Approve Ineffective Treatments
Current standards for clinical trials rely on statistical methods that allow for ineffective treatments to gain approval.
The Matrix: Disentangling Anti-Psychiatry
For the last forty years, psychiatry has been comprehensively critiqued from a myriad of disciplines including sociology, psychology, and the user movement. Is there anything that can be salvaged from the psychiatry project? How would a psychiatrist practice ethically in such a nefarious environment?
In Memory of Julie Greene
With deep regret, Mad in America announces another loss in our contributor community. Julie C. Greene, writer and antipsychiatry advocate, lost her battle with kidney disease on November 29 at her home in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania. Julie had been an MIA blogger since 2014, including several pieces on the dangers of lithium.
