As Cost of Health Care Skyrockets, So Does Pay of CEOs
From NPR: In the seven years since the Affordable Care Act was passed, the earnings of CEOs of U.S. health care companies, including pharmaceutical companies,...
âPost-Katrina Stress Disorder: Climate Change and Mental Healthâ
Writing for Truth-Out, hurricane Katrina survivor G. Maris Jones writes: âTo adapt to a changing climate, survivors of these catastrophes - especially those in marginalized, low-income communities - need long-term physical and mental health services.â She adds a concurrent call to âassume our responsibility to make positive change through action on climate change.â
Funny/Sad Video About Overmedication, âImmatureâ Kids
A YouTube video called âDrugs for Kidsâ takes a rather tongue-in-cheek approach to the overmedication and overdiagnosis of kids. Studies reveal a correlation between how young...
Scott Gottlieb Confirmed as Head of the FDA
From Pacific Standard: This past Tuesday, the Senate confirmed Scott Gottlieb as head of the Food and Drug Administration.
"Although some Senate Democrats had worried about...
Nine Rights Every Patient Should Demand
From The New York Times: Many medical centers, professional associations, and states have developed patients' bills of rights. It is time to develop a Financial Bill of...
Ritalin Used to be âGrandmaâs Little Helperâ
Eugene Raikhel reveals ads from 1966 where Ritalin, now prescribed largely for ADHD, was marketed as a âkind of mind antidepressant for housewives.â Â âI...
âCannabis for Schizophrenia â Does it Work?â
The German news agency DW features a video report on whether cannabidiol, an active substance derived from marijuana, can help relieve the symptoms of schizophrenia.
State Permanently Closes Psychiatric Hospital
From The Boston Globe: The state of Massachusetts has permanently closed the Westwood Lodge psychiatric hospital due to issues of patient safety, quality of care,...
Six Ways You Can Really Help Prevent Suicide
The first time I tried to kill myself, I was 14. I wonât go into the indignity of being involuntarily locked up, time after time, until I satisfactorily convinced the staff that I wouldnât harm myself or attempt suicide again. (I was lying.) The system taught me to lie, to hide my suicidal feelings in order to escape yet another round of dehumanizing lock-ups and âtreatments.â
Trust Falls – Are We in a New Phase of Corporate Research?
From The Scholarly Kitchen: We may be in a new phase of corporation-funded research. According to the 2016 Science & Engineering Indicators from the National...
Some Thoughts on Insanity Defense
I am not comfortable with an all-or-nothing insanity defense that is both legally and socially stigmatizing because it sets the person apart as someone who is legally determined to be incapable of being treated as a moral agent. This stigma spills over onto all people who are psychiatrized, and it is part of the conception of madness that also ends up serving as a justification for civil commitment, since we are perceived (incorrectly) as outside the reach of ordinary law.
Antidepressant Use May Increase Risk of Diabetes
New study confirms previous evidence that antidepressant use is linked to developing type 2 diabetes.
The FDA Is Hiding Reports Linking Psych Drugs to Homicides
In my wildest dreams, I could never have imagined being drawn into a story of intrigue involving my own governmentâs efforts to hide, from the public, reports of psychiatric drugs associated with cases of murder, including homicides committed by youth on the drugs. But that is precisely the intrigue I now find myself enmeshed in.
Thomas Szasz: Does Mental Illness Exist?
A conversation with Thomas Szasz, published on March 28, 2014. Â He discusses the question of whether mental illness exists and whether it is possible...
Percentage of Americans on Antidepressants Nearly Doubles
From 1999 to 2012 the percentage of Americans on antidepressants increased from 6.8% to 13%, according to a report published this week by the...
Book Review: “Overmedicated and Undertreated”
A former pharma executive has broken ranks with the industry in a new book by reporting how multiple psychiatrists, schools, and his desperate hopes pressed him to allow higher and higher doses of antipsychotic medications. The result: his 15-year-old son's death from Seroquel.
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.
The Empire Dreamt Back: Britain’s Use of Psychoanalysis
From Aeon: In the early 20th-century Age of Empire, officials in the British Empire sought to better understand their colonial subjects through the use of...
I Smoked Weed Three Times and Ended Up in Rehab Hell
From VICE: In her recently published memoir, The Dead Inside, Cyndy Etler tells her story of being abused and subjected to attack therapy in a teen rehab...
Are Pharmaceutical Companies to Blame for the Opioid Epidemic?
From The Atlantic: As opioid abuse rises, some attorneys general and advocates are filing lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies for misleading doctors and the public about...
Invitations to Crucial Re-orientation
In this lecture for the Forum for Existential Psychology and Therapy, SÞren Hertz, a child and adolescent psychiatrist in Denmark, challenges our tendencies on to focus on individual...
âBig Pharma and the Big Push for Patients to Take Their Medsâ
âThe pharma industry loses tens of billions in worldwide sales each year when patients donât fill, or refill, their prescriptions,â Rebecca Robbins reports for STAT. So...
Poor and Foster Care Children More Likely to be Diagnosed and Treated with Psychiatric...
Study details Medicaid-insured birth cohortâs exposure to psychiatric medications and mental health services.
Majority of Youth Prescribed Antipsychotics Have No Psychiatric Diagnosis
The majority of children, adolescents and young adults prescribed antipsychotic medications have not been diagnosed with a mental disorder, according to a recent study published in JAMA Psychiatry.
Investigative Reporting on Floridaâs Mental Hospitals Wins Pulitzer Prize
A team of reporters and data specialists from the Tampa Bay Times and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune spent more than a year investigating Floridaâs largest...
