MIA podcast

This week we interview Dr Gordon Warme on the dominance of biological psychiatry and the relationship between culture and psychiatric ‘disorders’.

This week we interview Dr. Noel Hunter and Brett Francis who have, in their different ways, experienced the psychiatric system and then gone on to challenge our response to mental ill health and the medical model.

This week on the Mad in America Podcast we launch our series on forced treatment, interviewing antipsychiatry scholar Bonnie Burstow and neurodiversity scholar Nick Walker. Central to both Nick and Bonnie’s work is the concept of cognitive liberty, or freedom and integrity of the mind.

An interview with Celia Brown, psychiatric survivor and prominent leader in the movement for human rights in mental health. Celia is the current president of MindFreedom International, and was last year’s recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Alternatives Conference.

An interview with Kelli Foulkrod, who has been integrating yoga and the healing arts into traditional psychotherapy for over eight years and is passionate about offering holistic mental health treatment options.  

An interview with Dr Peter Gordon who describes himself as a gardener with an interest in medicine. He trained in both medicine and architecture before specialising in psychiatry. In addition, he is an activist and campaigner and has a range of creative interests including filmmaking, photography, writing and poetry.

An interview with Dr. David Healy, internationally respected psychiatrist, psychopharmacologist, scientist, and author, discussing Post SSRI Sexual Dysfunction (PSSD) and his innovative approach to finding a cure.

This week we interview psychology graduate and teacher David Mielke who has become increasingly concerned about the number of children in the education system that have a psychiatric diagnosis and are on psychiatric drugs.

Psychiatrist Jim van Os is Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry and Psychology at Maastricht University Medical Centre, Maastricht, The Netherlands. He challenges current diagnostic conceptions of schizophrenia and other mental disorders, and offers a vision for creating a new paradigm of mental health care.

An interview with Professor Sami Timimi and Professor John Read who provide an update on a complaint made to the UK Royal College of Psychiatrists by a group of thirty academics, psychiatrists and people with lived experience.

Pratima Singh, who got her medical degree in India, works at the Maudsley NHS Hospital in London as an adult psychiatrist. She has a deep interest in alternatives to biological approaches to psychiatry and the use of psychotropic medications.

An interview with Professor of classical languages and literature, Michael Fontaine. Michael is Associate Vice Provost of Undergraduate Education at Cornell University in New York. We discuss what Ancient Greece and Rome can teach us about psychiatry and the concept of mental disorders.

World Benzodiazepine Awareness Day seeks to raise global awareness of iatrogenic benzodiazepine dependence, the dangers of its adverse effects and the associated withdrawal syndrome, which can last for years.

An interview with Dr. Jennifer Bahr, who is a passionate advocate for naturopathic approaches to health and wellbeing. She is the founder of Resilience Naturopathic, which was founded with a mission to provide an alternative to those who struggle with their mental health.

An interview with psychiatric survivor and prolific activist Sera Davidow, Director of the Western Massachusetts Recovery Learning Community and founding member of the Hearing Voices USA Board of Directors.

An interview with Dr Julia Rucklidge, professor of clinical psychology at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand and Director of the Mental Health and Nutrition Research Group.

An interview with journalist and author Johann Hari about his latest book: Lost Connections: Uncovering the Real causes of Depression and the Unexpected Solutions, in which he learned that almost everything we have been told about depression and anxiety is wrong.

Monica Cassini has seen the mental health system from both sides – as a social worker and as a person whose life was severely ruptured by psychiatric drugs. She writes critically about the system, as well as holistic pathways of healing without medication.

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.

Dr. Joseph Firth of Western Sydney University talks about his research into the role of exercise and nutrition in supporting young people in the early stages of psychotic illness.

Dr Beggin tells us about recent developments with the Michelle Carter trial, and we discuss alternatives to psychiatric drugs and the value of the therapeutic relationship.

An interview with Jeffrey Michael Friedman, clinical social worker and activist in the psychiatric survivors movement who provides trauma-informed therapy to victims of abuse and violence, including those who have survived abuses within the mental health system.

Professor Michael O'Loughlin of Adelphi University talks about his childhood experiences and how they influenced his narrative and conversational approaches to supporting those suffering with psychological distress.

Will is a mental health advocate, counsellor, writer, and teacher. Will advocates the recovery approach to mental illness and is recognised internationally as an innovator in the treatment and social response to psychosis.

Today on the MIA podcast we talk to Bobby Fiddaman about his experiences of the mental health system, his research and campaigning over the years and his relationships with the UK and US pharmaceutical regulatory bodies.