Psychiatrists Warn Policymakers Benzodiazepine Overuse Could Lead to Next Epidemic
Although opioid addiction and overuse have garnered significant national attention, similar trends in benzodiazepine overprescription and overuse continue to go unnoticed.
Psychiatry Poured Oil Down the Hill I Was Climbing
I have nothing good to say about the psychiatric drugs prescribed to me or about the psychiatrists that prescribed them. I did not have a condition that needed to be medicated. There was no informed consent about the severe and indefinite damage that the drugs caused me, and I did not have the appropriate help withdrawing from them.
Stop the Shocks: Torture in Massachusetts
For 7 hours, Andre McCollins was strapped to a 4-point restraint board and shocked 31 times while he screamed and begged and apologized. What happened to him is still legal. It wouldn’t be legal for anyone else — not convicted terrorists, not captured enemy combatants, not anybody. And it shouldn’t be: torture should not be legal. But it happens every day to disabled people.
Professor John Read: The Royal College of Psychiatrists and Antidepressant Withdrawal
Patients, academics and psychiatrists formally complain that the president of the UK Royal College of Psychiatrists has misled the public over antidepressant safety. Professor John Read talks to us about recent events.
Creating “Mental Illness” – An Interview with Christopher Lane
The story behind how the ICD and the DSM came to include certain mental disorder descriptions is a fascinating one. Christopher Lane, a 2005 Guggenheim Fellow, wrote about these seminal events in Shyness: How Normal Behavior Became a Sickness. We discuss what led him to write this book a decade ago, and why the questions he posed are still relevant today.
Rewarding the Companies That Cheated the Most in Antidepressant Trials
When I first saw this Lancet 2018 network meta-analysis of antidepressant trials, my thought was that the authors had rewarded those companies that had cheated the most with their trials. My suspicion was strengthened when I looked at the results in their abstract and the three drugs they claimed were more effective and better tolerated.
Outdoor Education Tied to Psychological and Academic Benefits
How the satisfaction of basic psychological needs (BPN) in outdoor education environments can peak student interest and boost intrinsic motivation.
A Personal Perspective on the Development of the Survivors’ Movement in Israel
In order for there to be a real chance for significant positive changes, a strong and independent advocacy organization of our people must be established. There is no such body right now in Israel. Our deep hope is that the younger generation will establish an advocacy organization that will act on policy issues and promote rights.
Transcranial Electrical Stimulation Can’t Directly Alter Brain Patterns, Researchers Find
Due to the thickness of the scalp and skull, transcranial electrical stimulation (TES) is incapable of targeting networks of neurons in the brain.
How Relational Therapy Enhances a Sense of Self and Relationships
Relational therapy can be informed by the intersubjective dynamics observed in early childhood to facilitate the development of healthy relational patterns and a strong sense of self.
Dr. Lucy Johnstone: The Power Threat Meaning Framework
An interview with Dr. Lucy Johnstone about the new Power Threat Meaning Framework, an ambitious attempt to outline a conceptual alternative to psychiatric diagnosis which was published on January 12th this year by the Division of Clinical Psychology of the British Psychological Society.
“Aha” Moments: In the World of Electroshock
A fictional shock survivor was the narrator of my novel, but her memory loss was such that she did not know huge sections of the story she was trying to tell. In finding solutions to such problems, I came to take in not only the extent of the injury but the sheer ingenuity of the daily work that shock survivors have to do to manage and inject meaning back into their lives.
Dr. Joanna Moncrieff: Challenging the New Hype About Antidepressants
An interview with psychiatrist, academic and author Dr Joanna Moncrieff, one of the founding members of the Critical Psychiatry Network. We talk about the recent meta-analysis of the efficacy and tolerability of 21 antidepressant drugs, widely reported in the UK news media on February 22nd.
Suicidal Tendencies, Part II: The Real ‘Stigma’ of Suicide
The true ‘stigma’ happens when someone is unable to confess the magnitude of their pain without facing the consequence of involuntary incarceration (aka hospitalization) — when someone wants to die because of how powerless and trapped they feel in this world, and the system’s response is to hastily grab their last remaining drops of power away.
8 Years of Mental Health Research Distilled to 4 Infographics
Pictures are worth a thousand words. So I’ve chosen pictures to distill the mountain of mental health research I’ve examined over the last eight years. Three infographics summarize research on psychiatric drugs, and one asserts why I think Integrative Mental Health is the best path available for mental health recovery.
Majority of Counselors Lack Training to Treat Racial Trauma, Study Finds
The percentage of clients who have experienced racial trauma far exceeds the percentage of counselors who are trained to identify and treat it.
ADHD More Severe in Children Exposed to Pollution and Economic Deprivation
ADHD behaviors were linked to the presence of both high levels of pollutants and persistent economic deprivation at birth and through childhood.
Psychiatrist Says: More Psychiatry Means More Shootings
Psychiatry not only increases the risk of violence by giving violence-inducing drugs, it lulls patients, families, professionals, schools and the public into an unrealistic and even disastrous sense of security. It's an irony of tragic proportions: Cruz was left unsupervised and free to buy a gun because he was faithfully taking psychiatric drugs that can cause violence.
Study Explores Meanings of Bipolar Disorder to Those Diagnosed
The narratives about Bipolar Disorder promoted by drug companies may influence how those diagnosed understand themselves.
Promoting Healing After Psychosis
It makes sense to be cautious about any kind of exploratory practice that might send someone who has been "psychotic" into another period of being lost and confused. But we should also beware the risk of trying to be too stable and "normal" after psychosis — the risk of avoiding the transformative work that might need to happen for that person.
Challenging the New Hype About Antidepressants
The extraordinary media hype over the latest meta-analysis of antidepressants puts the discussion of these drugs back years. Despite the fact that rates of prescribing have doubled over the last decade, the authors of the analysis are calling for yet more prescribing. But this latest meta-analysis simply repeats the errors of previous analyses.
Dr. Pies Defending Psychiatry’s Position on Auditory Hallucinations
On September 4, 2017, psychiatrist Ronald Pies published an article titled: "Hearing Voices and Psychiatry’s (Real) Medical Model." Let's take a look at the six fundamental assumptions that the eminent and scholarly Dr. Pies assures us "underlie the model most psychiatrists actually use in their clinical work."
Race and Class Affect Teacher Perceptions of ADHD Medication Use
Study uncovers teachers’ attitudes surrounding ADHD medication use and examines the influence of race and social class on teacher beliefs.
Taking Big Pharma to Court: Why Lawsuits Have Little Effect on Drug Companies
2018 has already brought particular attention to the pharmaceutical industry’s “profit over patient” mentality, as drug manufacturers and distributors continue to be hit with civil cases throughout the country for their involvement in the opioid epidemic. But the sad fact is that these lawsuits are nothing new.
Mindfulness and Self-Compassion Interventions Target Depressive Symptoms
A new study finds self-coldness predicts depressive symptoms and supports self-compassion as a buffer.
