The Global ‘Mental Health’ Movement – Cause For Concern
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.
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.
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.
Julia Rucklidge: Nutrition, Mental Health and TED
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.
Benzodiazepine Awareness 2018
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.
Peter Groot and Akansha Vaswani: Tapering Strips and Shared Decision-Making
Doctoral candidate Akansha Vaswani interviews researcher and geneticist Dr. Peter Groot, who has led the development of Tapering Strips, a novel and practical method by which people taking certain prescription medications can gradually reduce their dosage.
Sami Timimi and John Read: Royal College of Psychiatrists, Latest Update
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.
Peter Gordon: Addressing the Divide Between the Arts and Medical Sciences
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.
Laura Delano: Connecting People Through the Inner Compass Initiative
An interview with Laura Delano, Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Inner Compass Initiative and The Withdrawal Project, which aim to create safe spaces for people to connect and the opportunity to learn about and be guided through the process of getting beyond the mental health system and off psychiatric drugs.
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.
Jeffrey Michael Friedman: Trauma and Forced Psychiatric Treatment
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.
Dr. Russell Razzaque: Breaking Down is Waking Up
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.
Dr. Duncan Double: On Being a Critical Psychiatrist
An interview with Dr. Duncan Double, consultant psychiatrist in the UK. Duncan is a founder of the Critical Psychiatry Network and runs a critical psychiatry blog. We talk about Duncan’s experiences as a critical psychiatrist working within a bio-medically oriented profession.
Professor John Read: The Royal College of Psychiatrists and Antidepressant Withdrawal
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. Lucy Johnstone: The Power Threat Meaning Framework
An interview with Dr. Lucy Johnstone about the new Power Threat Meaning Framework, an ambitious attempt to outline a conceptual alternative to psychiatric diagnosis which was published on January 12th this year by the Division of Clinical Psychology of the British Psychological Society.
Dr. Joanna Moncrieff: Challenging the New Hype About Antidepressants
An interview with psychiatrist, academic and author Dr Joanna Moncrieff, one of the founding members of the Critical Psychiatry Network. We talk about the recent meta-analysis of the efficacy and tolerability of 21 antidepressant drugs, widely reported in the UK news media on February 22nd.
Michael Fontaine: What the Ancient World Can Teach Us About Emotional Distress
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.
Johann Hari: Lost Connections
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.
Kelli Foulkrod: Integrating Yoga with Psychotherapy
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.
Dr. Jennifer Bahr: Treating the Whole Person
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.
Professor Sir Robin Murray: Reframing Psychotic Illness
An interview with Sir Robin Murray, who is a Professor of Psychiatric Research at the Institute of Psychiatry. He is perhaps best known for helping to establish the neurodevelopmental hypothesis of schizophrenia, and for his work on the environmental risk factors relating to schizophrenia.
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.
Dr. George Atwood: Shattered Worlds, the Experience of Personal Annihilation
Dr. George Atwood has devoted a substantial part of his life to the study and treatment of what he refers to as ‘so-called psychosis’ and has authored or coauthored several books, including The Abyss of Madness published in 2011 and more than one hundred articles.
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.
Dr. Joseph Firth: The Role of Exercise and Nutrition in Early Psychosis
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.
