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.
Statisticians: Current Policies Approve Ineffective Treatments
Current standards for clinical trials rely on statistical methods that allow for ineffective treatments to gain approval.
Measuring How Mental Health Professionals See Service Users’ Rights
A new scale has been developed and validated to examine beliefs held by mental health professionals towards service users’ rights.
Experts Raise Ethical Concerns About Machine Learning in Medicine
The use of machine learning algorithms (known as artificial intelligence) in the medical field raises a slew of ethical concerns.
How Antidepressants Shape Young Women’s Sense of Self
Young women’s narratives indicate ways antidepressants have shaped their sense of self.
From Stoned to “Schizophrenic”: My Mental Healthcare Journey
During a period of self-doubt, I chose to see a psychiatrist because I was engulfed in negative thoughts and couldn't find a direction in life. The slightest joys came only when I was high. Though my weed addiction was likely causing all of my symptoms, my psychiatrist’s response was to prescribe antipsychotics.
Involuntary Hospitalization More Likely With Psychosis Diagnoses and Few Resources
New study links involuntary hospitalization with psychotic diagnosis, previous involuntary hospitalization, and economic deprivation.
Dehumanization Linked to Poorer Mental and Physical Health
A new review finds that dehumanizing language, including self-dehumanization, is connected to anxiety, depression, and disordered eating.
Refugees and Immigrants Experience Increased Medical Coercion
Refugees and first-generation immigrants of African descent are at greater risk of experiencing medical coercion when compared to immigrants of other visible minority communities in Canada.
Training Health Workers in Therapy Leads to Improvements and Less Medication Use
A Nigerian study finds that more than three-quarters of patients improved, even when only 13% were prescribed medication.
Exporting Psychological Concepts Associated With Gender May Have Unintended Consequences
New qualitative research finds a shift in the meaning of gender as it enters the local lexicon of people in rural Malawi, in turn having negative ramifications for those it is meant to help.
How to Integrate Culture into Mental Health Care
Researchers explore how culturally responsive services can create greater equity in mental health care.
It is Time for Global Mental Health to Acknowledge Sociostructural Determinants of Distress
Researchers call for action to address social challenges and inequalities that obstruct mental health and well-being globally.
Berlin Manifesto for Humane Psychiatry Released
Changing the mental health and psychosocial support system in Germany requires public debate about the ways our society should help and support people in mental crisis and with chronic mental health problems. We believe the driving force behind all help and support should be humanitarianism and respect for inalienable human rights.
A Social Psychiatry Manifesto that Takes Social Context Seriously
A re-visioned approach to social psychiatry aims to understand the broad influence of social life on mental health.
New Review Finds Lancet Global Mental Health Report Misguided
A new critical review of the latest Lancet global mental health report finds that while the movement claims to take a public health approach in its rhetoric it continues to focus on culturally inappropriate individual-level interventions.
Discrimination Leads to Mental Distress for Gender Diverse People
Researchers seek to identify adaptive coping responses to discrimination for the transgender and gender diverse community.
Non-Gender Affirmative Treatment Detrimental to Mental Health
Gender identity conversion efforts impact psychological distress and lifetime suicidality in transgender people.
Loneliness Increases Risk of Severe ‘Common Mental Disorders’
Loneliness was found to both predict and be reinforced by severe common mental disorders.
Humanizing Mental Healthcare by Reducing Coercive Practices
A review of the literature demonstrates that coercive practices lack empirical support and violate human rights.
Time’s Up: Culture of Denial Impacts Mental Health of Sexual Abuse Survivors
Study finds that not believing sexual abuse survivors often leads to self-blame and mental health issues.
Decontextualized Depression and PTSD Diagnoses Fail Indigenous Communities
A case analysis of an American Indian woman illustrates how the DSM diagnostic criteria misrepresent the lives of indigenous people.
How Social Dynamics at School Impact Teen Suicide
Teen suicide risk is influenced by relationships with adults and teachers, perceived popularity, close friendships, and school connectedness.
“Please Be Normal!” My Experience Working for NAMI
At my job with a NAMI affiliate, I heard daily from people who looked at family members with “mental illness” as non-people, non-human, the “other.” In the office, it was no different. If NAMI had a tagline, it would be “Please be normal like us.”
Economic Deprivation and Social Fragmentation Drive Suicide Rates in US
Major study finds that economic deprivation and a lack of social capital are driving increasing rates of suicide in the U.S.
