Then and Now: Will Psychiatry Ever Change?
In my experience, psychiatry is a discipline in which treatment and gaslighting exist in a complex braid. One side might show more than the other at times, but theyāre closely woven together and hard to pick apart.
Who Is a Danger to Others: The “Mentally Ill” or the Powerful?
If the cultural and socioeconomic structures of society had, from the beginning, allowed me to function, and even thrive, I undoubtedly never would have felt a need for antidepressants and ātherapy.ā
Validating Psychosis: The Missing Narrative Ā
I am here today because I didn't take the psychotropic medication I was prescribed. Because I didn't accept someone else's narrative about MY story. Because I listened to my voices. Because I let them guide meā into the underworld, and back.
Ecotherapy/Nature Therapy/Green Therapy
Do you love hiking, backpacking, gardening or taking walks in beautiful places? Ecotherapy explores how our relationship with nature is an essential and therapeutic part of our humanity.
Behavioural Geneticist Robert Plomin: āThere Are No Disorders, There Are Just Quantitative Dimensionsā
It is encouraging to hear leading scientists such as Plomin acknowledge that psychiatric diagnoses are fundamentally arbitrary and that the idea of a ācureā does not make sense with regards to psychological issues.
A Tale of Two Paradigms
Two recent mental health reports from Oregon are steeped in the medical model, written by "experts" without lived experience and sponsored by the pharmaceutical industry.
Stop Saying This, Part Three: “Everything in Moderation” and More
Letās start only accepting real relational offerings that do not make us contort, disavow comfort, strong-arm ourselves into appearing strong, or shoulder responsibility that is not ours.
Identity, Oppression, and the Culture of āThe Mentally Illā
A "mental illness culture" means that full time work is seen as impossible and discouraged, and your social world only consists of other mental health "consumers" and mental health workers.
Kicking Over a Straw Woman
The Galvin family is the quintessential example of "genetic" schizophrenia. But their history of sexual abuse, violence, and trauma provides a clearer and simpler explanation.
A Recovery Movement Jedi Master, Bill Anthony, Died Recently
The first time I met Bill was in 1991. I was just a couple years out of residency, and he was already the legendary āfather of psychiatric rehabilitation.ā
Trauma in a Place Where Peace Should Be
It should have been safe and healing for me in the hospital. Instead, it was like being at home with my stepfather: I was abused and invisible, just trying to protect myself.Ā
Strategies for Tapering and Discontinuing Antidepressants
A new review of strategies to support both patients and practitioners through the process of discontinuing antidepressants.
How to Know What We Donāt Know: An Interview with Psychologist and Novelist Jussi...
MIA's Gavin Crowell-Williamson interviews the neuropsychologist and novelist Jussi Valtonen about how novels can lead us to see the limits of our understanding.
Drs. Pies and Ruffalo Still Rattling Their Wooden Swords
Pies and Ruffalo argue that psychiatric diagnoses are "diseases" because the word "disease" can't be defined, and suggest that circular logic is scientifically valid.
How 1 Panic Attack Led to 15 Years of Psychiatric DrugsĀ
My brain zapsāsymptoms of benzo withdrawalāwere like having a mini seizure on a daily basis. But my doctor kept telling me that my āunderlyingā anxiety was causing all my distress.
An American History of Addiction: Ardent Spirits
Our fears about drugs and drug addiction have allowed our society to accept court mandated treatment and the continuing militarization of police.
Service-User Knowledge Helps Researchers Develop Psychiatric Drug Tapering Approaches
New strategies for tapering psychiatric drugs achieved by acknowledging withdrawal symptoms and valuing service-usersā first-hand knowledge.
Professional Mental Health Leaders: Experts in Humanity or in Marketing?
A lot of people, perhaps especially Americans, like a quick fix.Ā Unfortunately, for those of us who get the āhelpā of the mental health system, the results can be disastrous.
Embrace the Messiness! An Interview with Pediatrician Claudia Gold
An interview with Claudia Gold, M.D., pediatrician, infant-parent mental health specialist, author, teacher, and speaker based in western Massachusetts. We discuss the importance of human interaction in child development.
Whose Finger is Taking the Pulse of Americaās Shock Treatment Controversy?
My doctors presumed I had agitated catatonia and ran 450 volts of electricity through my head 116 times to ārebootā my brain. They called it electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). I call it Electroconvulsive Trauma.
Mental Health and Emotion in the Digital Age: An Interview with Ian Tucker
MIA's Tim Beck interviews psychologist Ian Tucker about the relationships between digital technologies, emotion, and mental health.
For People āAt Risk for Psychosis,ā Antipsychotics Associated with Worse Outcomes
Researchers studied whether antipsychotics could prevent transition to full psychosis and found that the drugs worsened outcomes.
Reporting the COVID Crisis at Psychiatric Hospitals: A Missed Opportunity
In its coverage of the impact of COVID on psychiatric hospitals, the media missed opportunities to challenge stereotypes and interrogate problems with current carceral approaches to mental health treatment.
Stop Saying This, Part Two: “Reframing” and More
Myths around reframing, having to love yourself before someone else can love you, and being triggered are all addressed in this blog.
World Benzodiazepine Awareness Day 2020
This week on MIA Radio, we present the second part of our podcast to join in the events for World Benzodiazepine Awareness Day 2020...
