Photos of Jim Phelps and Robert Whitaker against a turquoise background

Is Mad in America Doing More Harm Than Good?

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A dialogue between Dr. Jim Phelps—a psychiatrist who questions whether MIA is doing more harm than good by reporting the results of long-term trials of psychiatric drugs—and Robert Whitaker, founder of MIA.
Silhouette against sunset: A person sits and meditates under a tower of stones

Inside a Forensic Psychiatry Unit: Cultivating the Superpower of Equanimity

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In the detention center, there is really no better tool to overcome the constant threat of death than equanimity. Meditation was my antidote to hopelessness.
Thomas Insel

Thomas Insel Makes A Case for Abolishing Psychiatry

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In his new book, former NIMH director Thomas Insel, while exploring the causes of poor mental health outcomes in the United States, omits any mention of NIMH studies that tell of how the drugs worsen long-term outcomes.

A Tribute to Dr. Dean K. Brooks: The Fire Still Burns

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Stories of a state hospital leader who challenged the mental health system by placing patients as the most important people: Dr. Dean K. Brooks of Oregon State Hospital.

Inside a Forensic Psychiatry Unit: Calling in AIR Strikes

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I was not going to earn my release the “traditional” way through unquestioning obedience to the treatment team and ADMIN. I was either going to die in there or find a non-traditional path to my freedom.

Thomas Jobe: The Legacy of Research He Leaves Behind

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Thomas Jobe was a collaborator in a longitudinal study that upended conventional thinking about antipsychotics. He died March 16.
Photo of books on a table in a prison

Inside a Forensic Psychiatry Unit: Access to the Courts—A Right and Survival Tool

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Being stuck in the custody of a malicious treatment team could mean death. I had to resort to the Mother of All Tactics Hegemony (a lawsuit).
Photo of a prison cell with an uncomfortable-looking bed in the corner; a guard stands by the door

Inside a Forensic Psychiatry Unit: Earning the Right to Sleep on the Floor

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Life in the DC was far too complicated for me to be able to just listen to my body and sleep on a thick yoga mat placed on the floor to alleviate my severe back pain.
Photograph of a modern prison's front gate

Inside a Forensic Psychiatry Unit: The Ground Where Death Meets Life

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How the unrelated murder of an inmate on another unit led to Sean's transfer, his escape from forced medication, and eventually, his release.

Inside a Forensic Psychiatry Unit: Here’s How to Survive

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Sean Gunderson, who was detained by the criminal justice system for 17 years after receiving an NGRI verdict, documents the life of a forensic psychiatry inmate.
Poster for the documentary film "Cured"

In a PBS documentary, ECT Is Bad for “Curing” Homosexuality, but Great for Depression!

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A new documentary about gay activists' defeat of the APA ends with a disclaimer that ECT is "effective" for severe depression. Bruce Levine spoke with the filmmakers.
A bird soars between bright clouds

Can Psychotherapy Promote Liberation? Addressing Power Dynamics in Clinical Practice

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Just as it risks transmitting harmful narratives about pain and distress, psychotherapy might also subvert these very harms in pursuit of genuine healing and transformation.

“Never Look on the Dark Side”: The Science of Positivity from Early Eugenics to...

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The "science" of happiness has always been inextricably linked to eugenics. Modern positive psychology, with its focus on genetics and willpower, is no different.