Two Who Died in Psychiatric Hospitals Were Improperly Medicated
From The Boston Globe: According to a new report from the Disability Law Center in Boston, two patients who died at Arbour Health System psychiatric...
For-Profit Medicine Incentivizes Overmedicating Our Elderly
From NBC: According to human rights investigators, anti-psychotic drugs are often administered to nursing home residents to address behavioral issues. Our nation's lack of funding...
We Need to Encourage People to Make Advance Directives
In this piece for STAT, Jennifer Adaeze Okwerekwu describes the value of psychiatric advance directives for those at risk of experiencing an emotional crisis.
"'It’s something that can...
The Mental Health System Can’t Stop Mass Shooters
In this piece for The New York Times, psychiatrist Amy Barnhorst explains why it is not feasible for mental health professionals to identify or treat people...
Apology Sought for Confinement of People with Disabilities
From the National Post: An independent report found that disabled people were being unjustly confined in a Nova Scotia psychiatric hospital. Law professor Archie Kaiser...
Psychiatry’s Little Known Role in Creating the Holocaust
From NewBostonPost: In light of the recent commemoration of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, it is important to acknowledge the role that eugenics, a field developed by psychiatrists...
Why Aren’t Providers Screaming About the Mental Health Act?
In this piece for Tales from the Madhouse, Gary Sidley critiques the Mental Health Act as a form of legal discrimination against people deemed "mentally...
DeJarnette Sanitarium
From Atlas Obscura: In the 1930s, hundreds of people with mental disabilities committed to the now abandoned DeJarnette Sanitarium were forcibly sterilized and experimented on by the hospital's eugenicist namesake.
The Unfortunate Experiment, Updated
From Fear and Loathing in Bioethics: A new fifteen-minute television documentary investigates New Zealand's "unfortunate experiment," a horrific case of nonconsensual experimentation at the National...
He Tenido Un Sueño (I Had a Dream)
In this piece for La Otra Psiquiatría, Fernando Colina describes his vision for a compassionate, non-pathologizing mental health system. Below is the full translation of his...
Your Pills Are Spying On You
From Pacific Standard: The new Abilify MyCite pill, which contains a digital sensor that tracks whether a patient has ingested the drug, has the potential...
Mental Illness Weaponry and Shrink Hypocrisy
In this piece for CounterPunch, Bruce Levine critiques the pervasive hypocrisy among U.S. mental health professionals, who on one hand claim they hope to abolish the...
A Nurse’s Response to the Power Threat Meaning Framework
In this piece for the Critical Mental Health Nurses' Network, Jonathan Gadsby speaks to the potential of the Power Threat Meaning Framework to transform the...
5 Ways to Address a Mental Health Crisis Without Calling 911
From The Body Is Not An Apology: For many people, calling the police during a mental health emergency can result in brutality. Here are five...
Histories of Violence: Neurodiversity and the Policing of the Norm
In this interview for the Los Angeles Review of Books, cultural theorist and philosopher Erin Manning discusses neurodiversity, a movement that seeks to depathologize traits, experiences, and...
Psychiatry is a Disaster Area in Healthcare That Needs Attention
In this piece for The BMJ, Dr. Peter Gøtzsche points out several of the major problems with the drug-based paradigm of psychiatric care as well as...
Mental Health Seclusion to be Scrapped After UN Condemnation
From Stuff: In 2015, the United Nations Committee Against Torture expressed concern at New Zealand's use of seclusion against mental health patients. According to a...
Study Investigates Factors that Foster Posttraumatic Growth in Prison
Emotional support, religion, and searching for meaning are positively correlated with posttraumatic growth among prisoners.
Word Salad is Not “Disorganized Thought and Speech”
This piece for Holistic Elephants discusses the role of social context and environment in our perception and construction of "word salad," a common symptom of psychosis and...
Antipsychotics, Restraints, and Seclusion Raising Concerns
From ABC Australia: Australia's high rate of antipsychotic prescriptions, as well as the frequent usage of restraints and seclusion, has raised concerns among Australian mental health advocates, researchers,...
Changing Law That Lets Mentally Ill Stay on the Streets
From the San Francisco Chronicle: San Francisco city officials are hoping to change the law that allows homeless individuals with mental health diagnoses to stay on...
It’s Time for Full Legal Equality for People With Diagnoses
In this piece for the National Survivor User Network, Liz Sayce argues that people with mental health conditions will continue to stay silent about their...
Mental Health Seclusion Rates Increase
From Stuff: More than 800 New Zealand mental health patients were held in seclusion at some point last year, representing a six percent increase in...
“If You Wanted to Kill Yourself, You Would Have Done It”
From The Independent: The notion of choice is increasingly being used to discourage suicidal people from seeking help. Many people's suicidal thoughts and actions are...
NSUN is Advocating for a Rights-Based Mental Health Act
The National Survivor User Network (NSUN) has expressed concerns about the UK government's plans to reform the Mental Health Act, as the government's current approach...
