Court-Ordered Psychiatric Tests Used as a Weapon
FromĀ Courier Mail: Divorced parents are increasingly ordering involuntary psychiatric examinations against one another to be used as a weapon in custody fights.
"Family lawyer Deborah...
NPR: āGun Violence And Mental Health Lawsā
On NPRās Morning Edition, Lauren Silverman debunks the assumption that mass shooters are usually āmentally ill,ā and that mental health policy can substitute for...
6-Year-old Boy Committed to a Psych Ward
FromĀ BuzzFeed News: A six-year-old boy in Jacksonville, Florida was recently committed to a psychiatric institution for throwing a temper tantrum in school. There, he...
āPunish People, Not Just Corporationsā
Drug makers have faced large fines for unethical and harmful practicesĀ but have simply treated these as a cost of doing business. Ed Silverman reports...
Failure to Report, Patients at Riskā
"A STAT investigation finds that āMost research institutions āĀ including leading universities and hospitals in addition to drug companies āĀ routinely break a law that requires...
Police Not Told of Sexual Assault Reports by Mental Patients
FromĀ The Age: According to a new report, sexual assault claims by mental health patients are not being reported to the police or even the...
I’m Reinventing Mental Health Care by Putting Patients in Charge
In this piece forĀ The Guardian, Joy Hibbins describes how her experiences of powerlessness as a mental health service user led her to start Suicide...
Ireland’s Implementation of Rights Covenant Under Examination
Next week the United Nations Human Rights Committee is scheduled to begin evaluating Ireland's progress towards implementing the International Covenant on Civil and Political...
Gay Conversion Therapy Advocates Heartened by Election
FromĀ ABC News:Ā Advocates for gay conversion therapy have been heartened by the election of President Trump, believing that the new administration will fight off efforts...
“Donāt Coerce the Mentally Ill into Treatment”
Republican Tim Murphy should be lauded for bringing attention to important issues through his proposed legislation, but he "has it wrong when it comes...
Lieberman Claims Mass Shooters are Untreated Mentally Ill in the āTimes
Jeffrey Lieberman, past-president of the American Psychiatric Association, authored an Op-Ed in last Fridayās New York Times, calling for improved mental health screenings in schools and emergency rooms in the wake of the murder of Virginia journalists Alison Park and Adam Ward. In support of forced treatment mechanisms, Lieberman claims: āAlmost every mentally ill perpetrator of mass violence had been symptomatic and untreated for lengthy periods of time before their crime, because they (or their families) did not seek treatment or they refused it.ā
Rewriting the Narrative on Psych Ward Abuse in Journalism
From Paginated Thoughts: The usual journalistic narrative about abuse in psychiatric wards focuses on funding and staffing shortages, as well as overcrowding and bed...
In Praise of Defiance
FromĀ Aeon: Throughout history, psychiatry has pathologized defiance and continues to label individuals who resist authority and stand up for their rights as mentally ill....
How I Know That Psychiatric Hospitals Don’t Cure Gun Violence
In this piece for theĀ Hartford Courant, Kathleen Flaherty describes why President Trump's assertion that more psychiatric hospitals would prevent mass shootings is inaccurate and...
“94 Psychiatric Patients in South Africa Died of Negligence, Report Finds”
The New York Times reportsĀ on theĀ findings of a South African government investigation that determinedĀ that "94 psychiatric patients died of negligence last year after being...
Changing Law That Lets Mentally Ill Stay on the Streets
From theĀ San Francisco Chronicle: San Francisco city officials are hoping to change the law that allows homelessĀ individuals with mental health diagnoses to stay on...
Advocate for Outpatient Committal Recants
In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Tom Burns recants. Burns is described as a psychiatrist who was long one of the strongest...
Facebook Rolls Out AI to Detect Suicidal Posts
FromĀ TechCrunch: Facebook's new artificial intelligence technology will now scan all posts for suicidal thoughts and send mental health resourcesĀ or contact local first-responders for users...
Institutional Psychotherapy in France: An Interview
In this interview for Hidden Persuaders, Camille Robcis discusses institutional psychotherapy, a French psychiatric reform movement that began during the Second World War.Ā Robcis explains...
Three Experts Discuss the Role of Insanity in Our Legal System
Three leading legal scholars speak toĀ Pacific Standard about the nature and history of the insanity defense, as well as its impact on our criminal...
āPentagon Wants Psychologists to End Ban on Interrogation Roleā
Only months after the American Psychological Association voted to ban psychologists from āadvanced interrogationā facilities like GuantĆ”namoĀ Bay prison the Pentagon is asking them to...
I was Forced to Choose Between an Abortion or a Mental Hospital
In this personal essay forĀ MarieClaire, one woman sharesĀ her story of being locked up in a mental hospital for refusing to have an abortion.
When Oregon Sent its Most Troubled Patients Into the Woods
FromĀ TIME: In 1972, 51 of the most troubled mental health patients at Oregon State Hospital were sent into the woods for a camping trip....
The FBI and Defense Department are Investigating UHS Hospitals
FromĀ BuzzFeed News: America's largest chain of psychiatric hospitals, United Health Services, is currently under investigation by at least three federal agencies including the FBI...
Mental Health Industry Should Embrace Choices Beyond Drugs
In this video forĀ NowThis, Yana Jacobs critiques the mental health industry standard of prescribing drugs as the first-line treatment for "mental illness." She emphasizes...