MIA podcast: general

An interview with Dr. Russell Razzaque, consultant psychiatrist and associate medical director in east London who, together with colleagues, is leading a pioneering multi-centre Open Dialogue pilot in the UK National Health Service.

The reporter explains how air and water pollution affect our brains, why children are so vulnerable, and what to do about it.

"You're not going to sell many drugs by saying your problem is your life experiences. It's far more effective to say your problem is in the brain. It's an imbalance, we can correct that imbalance, just take our product."

Drug safety advocate David Carmichael joins us to discuss his upcoming antidepressant safety tour and the importance of fully informed consent when prescribing SSRI antidepressants.

Sociologist and author Andrew Scull discusses the history of psychiatry's "Desperate Remedies," from lobotomy and the asylum to the failures of today's drugs and the fads of ketamine and deep brain stimulation.

A special two-part interview to join in with events for World Benzodiazepine Awareness Day 2018. We hear from W-BAD Lead Operations Volunteer Nicole Lamberson, psychiatrist Dr Josef Witt-Doerring, therapist and campaigner Chris Paige and Mad in America founder Robert Whitaker.

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 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.

An interview with Professor Jim van Os who says that, arguably, ‘love is the most powerful evidence-based treatment in mental health’. We discuss his recent paper published in World Psychiatry which envisions a future for mental health that moves away from symptoms and diagnoses and towards peer support and lived experience.

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.

An interview with Professor Peter Kinderman about his new book, A Manifesto for Mental Health, Why We Need a Revolution in Mental Health Care, in which he proposes a rejection of invalid diagnostic labels, practical help rather than medication, and a recognition that distress is usually an understandable human response to life's challenges.

On the Mad in America podcast this week, we hear from the co-authors of a paper published in the journal Ethical Human Psychology and...

An interview with Beatrice Birch who is the initiator of the residential healing community Inner Fire. For over 35 years, Beatrice worked as a Hauschka artistic therapist in integrative clinics and inspiring initiatives in England, Holland and the USA. We discuss how Inner Fire works to help the people that attend, and how a core principle of their healing work is that ‘human being are creators, not victims’.

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 Doctor Lee Coleman, in which we focus on psychiatry in the courtroom and why the psychiatric expert witness role may be failing both the individual on trial and society at large.

On MIA Radio we interview Derek Blumke, who tells of his time serving in the military, his experiences taking and coming off psychiatric drugs and his role as editor of MIA's new Veterans Initiative.

An interview with Amanda Burrill, who, after a successful career as a Surface Warfare Officer and Rescue Swimmer in the US Navy, was on track to continue her career as a professional triathlete and marathon runner. Around the time of her discharge, she was prescribed a cocktail of psychiatric medications that caused physical injuries, leading to an early end to her rapidly accelerating career.

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.

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

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 Professor Sami Timimi, Psychiatrist Peter Gordon and campaigner Stevie Lewis, who talk about the potential for conflicts of interest with the UK Royal College of Psychiatrists participation in a Government-led review of Prescribed Drug Dependence.

On the Mad in America podcast this week we have Robert Whitaker with us to answer questions sent in by readers and listeners.

An interview with Doctor Lee Coleman in which we turn our attention to the need for action to address the inherent power held by psychiatry and how society might respond.

This week on the Mad in America podcast we turn our attention to prescription-drug-induced akathisia and joining me to discuss this is Jill Nickens. Jill is the president and founder of the Akathisia Alliance for Education and Research, a nonprofit organization formed by people who have personal experience of akathisia.

US Navy Veteran Lindsay Church describes how a surgical procedure led to her being prescribed 16 medications in 18 months and ultimately to consider taking her life. Lindsay now focuses on supporting minority veterans through social engagement and community building.