Poverty, Pathology and Pills: An Interview with Dr. Felicity Thomas and Dr. Richard Byng
MIA’s Tim Beck interviews Dr. Felicity Thomas and Dr. Richard Byng about their report, Poverty, Pathology, and Pills, which situates increasing rates of mental health diagnosis and psychiatric prescriptions within socioeconomic and policy trends across the UK.
Live and Learn: An Interview with Laysha Ostrow
MIA’s Peter Simons interviews Laysha Ostrow about her mental health research and consulting company, the inclusion of peer specialists in mental health care, and her personal experience with the mental health system.
MDMA Assisted Psychotherapy and Therapeutic Humility: An Interview with Marcela Ot’alora
Richard Sears interviews Marcella Ot’alora, therapist and principal investigator for MAPS MDMA-assisted psychotherapy.
Professor John Read: UK Royal College of Psychiatry Dismisses Complaint
An interview with Professor John Read who brings us up to date on the Royal College of Psychiatry's response to a formal complaint lodged on behalf of a group of thirty academics, psychiatrists and people with lived experience.
Ten Years of Rocking the Boat: Reflecting on Mad in America’s Mission and Work
Continuing our 200th podcast, staff members join us to discuss reinvigorating MIA continuing education, science writing and blogs, personal stories, community commenting and family resources.
What If This Pandemic Is the Best Thing to Happen to Children with Challenges?
Families may be worried that the stress of lockdown may aggravate their child’s struggles. Yet, we hear some parents say the situation has changed their child for the better. Why might that be? In this interview, Dr. Nicole Beurkens talks about the impact of “quarantine life” on children with different types of behavioral, emotional, and neurodevelopmental challenges.
Pharma Corruption, Dangers of Antidepressants, And More
Peter Simons covers news on mental health app Cerebral and pharma companies Biogen and Cassava; how social media influencers are the new pharma marketers; studies that found antidepressants don't improve quality of life and are harmful to the fetus when pregnant women take them; benzo withdrawal; and more!
Bob Fiddaman: Taking on the Pharmaceutical Regulators and the Seroxat Scandal
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.
Psychological Support for Psychiatric Drug Withdrawal
We discuss the release of guidance which has been specifically written to support UK psychological therapists and their clients in having discussions about taking and withdrawing from psychiatric drugs. The guidance is a collaboration between counsellors, therapists, psychologists, peer support specialists and psychiatrists.
Jim Gottstein: Patient Rights in Mental Healthcare
Jim Gottstein, president and founder of the organisation Law Project for Psychiatric Rights, talks about his own experiences with the psychiatric system, patient rights in mental healthcare and the recent trial between Wendy Dolin and the UK Pharmaceutical manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline.
The 57th Maudsley Debate: Interview with Professor John Read and Doctor Sue Cunliffe
This week on MIA Radio we turn our attention to Electroshock or Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) as it’s known in the UK. On Wednesday, September 19th, this emotive and controversial intervention was discussed at the 57th Maudsley debate, held at Kings College, London.
Anatomy of a Psychiatrist
An interview with Dr. Sandy Steingard, Medical Director at Howard Center and Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the College of Medicine of the University of Vermont. Dr. Steingard serves as Board Chair of the Foundation for Excellence in Mental Health Care and is editor of the book 'Critical Psychiatry, Controversies and Clinical Implications' due in 2019.
Can Psychosocial Disability Transform Mental Health? A Conversation with Luis Arroyo and Justin Karter
Mad in Mexico's Luis Arroyo interviews MIA's Justin Karter about how psychosocial disability inclusion can transform Global Mental Health.
Dr. Noel Hunter and Brett Francis: Diagnosis, Empowerment and Equality
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.
Global Mental Health: An Old System Wearing New Clothes
On October 10th, 2018, World Mental Health Day, The Lancet Commission on Global Mental Health and Sustainable Development published a report outlining a proposal to “scale up” mental health care globally. In this podcast series, we discuss the implications.
Unscientific Diagnoses Medicalize Normal Human Experiences
In this 30-minute podcast, Peter Simons reports on the latest scientific articles in psychiatry.
Bonnie Burstow and Nick Walker: An Introduction to Cognitive Liberty
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.
The International Institute for Psychiatric Drug Withdrawal
Millions of people around the world are currently trying to come off psychiatric drugs but finding it extremely difficult because of withdrawal effects which are often severe and persistent, and because there is so little support available to come off the drugs slowly and safely.
Chris Hansen: Making Connections Through Intentional Peer Support
This week on MIA Radio, we interview Chris Hansen. Chris works as Director for Intentional Peer Support and in this interview, we talk about Chris’s personal experiences of the mental health system and how Intentional Peer Support approaches contrast with mainstream psychiatry.
John Read – UK Esketamine Approval – Not so Fast
An interview with Professor John Read who joins us to discuss the UK licensing of esketamine nasal spray (Spravato) for so-called ‘Treatment Resistant Depression’. John led a group of 12 academics and professionals who wrote to the UK regulator expressing concerns.
Conflicts of Interest Questioned in Review of Prescribed Drug Dependence
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.
Peter Breggin, MD: The Conscience of Psychiatry (part 2)
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.
No Link Between Serotonin and Depression: What Does That Mean for Antidepressants?
Peter Simons covers in detail a new systematic review that debunks the widely popularized myth of low serotonin in depression, the “chemical imbalance theory.”
Dr. Gordon Warme: The Relationship Between Culture and Psychiatric ‘Disorders’
This week we interview Dr Gordon Warme on the dominance of biological psychiatry and the relationship between culture and psychiatric ‘disorders’.
Lithium, Antidepressants, Esketamine—All No Better Than Placebo?
Peter Simons covers a clinical trial that found lithium ineffective at preventing suicide attempts, an essay by Allen Frances on the overdiagnosis of depression and overprescription of antidepressants, a review of the ineffectiveness and dangers of antidepressants, and an analysis that revealed that esketamine failed five of its six clinical trials.
