Non-Pharmacological Interventions More Effective For Health in Schizophrenia
Review compares the effectiveness of pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions for improving physical health outcomes in people diagnosed with schizophrenia.
Racial Discrimination a Clear Contributor to Youth Mental Health Disparities
Greater perceptions of discrimination during adolescence are linked to more depressive and internalizing symptoms.
Orthodox Madness
The Orthodox believe that we are all mentally ill due to sin and that the Orthodox Church is the hospital for the soul, the psychiatric hospital with God being our Psychiatrist, the Physician of our souls. Orthodox belief regarding the human psyche may appear to be pure madness, even delusional, from the perspective of modern western medical science.
More Evidence for the Lasting Psychological Impact of Lead Exposure in Childhood
New research points to numerous harmful effects of high-level lead exposure in childhood on adult mental health and personality characteristics.
ASIST Suicide Prevention Training: “Safe” for Who?
Ever since the cops and CPS were called on me by someone at an ASIST Suicide Prevention training, I've been trying to see it all as a gift. What better proof to counter those who claim it's "safe" to tell than what happened to me? What better evidence that our system responses are seriously off track? It wasn't safe. Not for me.
Opioids May Cause Depression and Worsen Chronic Pain
“Converging lines of evidence now suggest that depression—a common comorbidity in the setting of chronic pain—may in some patients represent an unrecognized yet potentially reversible harm of opioid therapy.”
Peer Providers of Mental Health Services Use Personal Narratives to Help
Interviews with peer providers indicate that they strategically use their personal illness and recovery story in order to assist others.
Spiritual Texts in the Psych Ward
With current self-publishing capabilities, there’s little that can stop anyone with the slightest messianic complex from actualizing their potential as a prophet—except perhaps the tactics psychiatry employs: forced drugging, locking people up and limiting their abilities to communicate with the rest of the world.
How Long Does Antidepressant Withdrawal Last?
The patient experiencing the pain of withdrawal believed that they would feel better when they stopped taking their antidepressants. After all, they’re under the care of a board-certified medical professional who has vowed to do no harm. But despite those reassurances, they find themselves in a world of hurt.
‘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.
Researchers Challenge Interpretation of Antidepressant Meta-analysis
Researchers question the overstated results of a large antidepressant meta-analysis and point to cultural pressures to turn to these drugs for a quick fix.
Why the ‘Psychological Injury Model’ Will Ultimately Triumph
The Psychological Injury model will triumph, not just because literally thousands of studies show how trauma and stressful life events result in mental health problems, but because at our core, we know it is true. People hurt people, and people heal people. This cracks the intellectual foundation of psychopharmacology.
5 Steps to Personalize Deprescribing Practices
Researchers identify simple ways for clinicians to begin deprescribing conversations.
Technology Not a Strong Factor in Adolescent Well-being, New Study Claims
A new study suggests digital media use among adolescents has a smaller negative effect on well-being than bullying or smoking marijuana.
A Secret No Longer
My psychiatrist/therapist was able to give me a true understanding into what addiction and psychosis really are and how they can be treated with little or no medication. I still struggle, but I have been able to manage my symptoms with the help of ACT therapy, exercise, "forest bathing," storytelling, music and art. I am now able to feel a sense of peaceful fulfillment, and that is all anyone can really ask for.
Treatment Guidelines Should Not Be Written by Professional Societies and Insiders
John Ioannidis, a leading expert on research methods, takes a critical look at the way professional societies write treatment guidelines.
Critical Psychologist On How Scientific Research Can Influence Public Policy
Critical participatory action research conducted on the higher education programs offered in prison leads to mobilized advocacy and shifts in public policy.
Traumatic Immobility: Depression as a Stress Response
What if we don't have a depression epidemic, but a stress epidemic of traumatic proportions? What if we've been steered away from learning how our minds and bodies actually work, and into believing that our attempts to survive traumatic, threatening real-life circumstances are "symptoms of mental illness"?
Towards Resilience and Possibilities and Away from Diseases and Symptoms
An interview with Professor Jim van Os who says that, arguably, ‘love is the most powerful evidence-based treatment in mental health’. We discuss his recent paper published in World Psychiatry which envisions a future for mental health that moves away from symptoms and diagnoses and towards peer support and lived experience.
“Not all NAMIs!”: Why Even the Best Local NAMI Chapter is Still a Problem
Every time I write about NAMI, at least one person approaches me and says, “But not all NAMIs!” Yes, all NAMIs. Every. Last. One. Because even the best of the local chapters are benefiting from the systemic oppression perpetuated by the dominant group to which they are tied. They all participate somehow in sustaining the imbalance.
Developing Alternatives to the DSM for Psychotherapists
A new article suggests counselors and psychotherapists are dissatisfied with current diagnostic systems and outlines some potential alternatives.
I Navigated the Mental Health System and Never Took Medications
I kept thinking, why was I the one to be labeled when my husband was doing all this unhealthy, violent stuff? I sought out doctors through health food stores and communities that didn’t believe in medications for a social and family problem. That way no controlling, pill-pushing medical doctor had authority over me.
“ADHD: A Return to Psychology” Video Series
Most people believe that children diagnosed with ADHD misbehave because they possess an inferior inhibitory system that renders them less able to suppress unacceptable actions. However, this belief has numerous shortcomings. This series of videos challenges these assumptions and offers alternative explanations for why a child may exhibit ADHD behaviors.
Climate Change Negatively Impacts Mental Health, Study Finds
Climate change-related extreme weather and increasing temperatures associated with higher rates of mental health challenges.
Polypharmacy Associated with Cognitive Decline in Elderly Patients
Study finds that elderly patients taking at least 5 medications were at increased risk of mild cognitive impairment and dementia.
