First-Person Accounts of Madness and Global Mental Health: An Interview with Dr. Gail Hornstein
Dr. Gail Hornstein, author of Agnes’s Jacket: A Psychologist’s Search for the Meanings of Madness, discusses the importance of personal narratives and service-user activism in the context of the global mental health movement.
Screening for Bipolar: Have You Ever Been “Unusually Happy” for More than a Week?
A new questionnaire funded by AbbVie conflates antidepressant side effects with bipolar disorder and doesn’t actually meet the criteria for being considered “screening.”
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.
The Lessons of Music: Nurturing Mental Health in Cultures Around the Globe
Music is an ancient and omnipresent tool for wellness, a carrier of peace for individuals, and a bonding agent for communities throughout history and the world.
Kids Are Not the Problem: An Interview With Gretchen LeFever Watson
In this interview, Brooke Siem, who is the author of a memoir on antidepressant withdrawal, May Cause Side Effects, interviews Gretchen LeFever Watson, PhD.
Gretchen...
Lessons from a Global Psychiatric Conference: The Good, the Bad, and the Complicated
Has the global mental health movement truly reformed its tone-deaf universalist attitudes?
From Compliance to Activism: A Mother’s Journey
Through years of turmoil and confusion, Cindi Fisher’s enduring love for her involuntarily committed son gradually changed her from compliant mom to mental health civil rights activist. That’s when authorities banned her from even contacting her son. But could she be a bellwether of a coming nation-wide wave of protestors?
A Therapist Navigating Antidepressant Withdrawal: Nelson Lee on the Power of the Present Moment
Therapist and coach Nelson Lee joins us on the podcast to discuss how he approaches helping clients while navigating the complexities of antidepressant withdrawal.
“All Real Living Is Meeting”: Brent Robbins on Love, Death, and the Possibilities of...
Psychologist and existential thinker Brent Robbins reflects on a lifetime of work, the limits of psychiatric diagnosis, and what facing mortality has taught him about joy and human connection.
An Open Letter to VA Secretary Robert Wilkie: A Plan for Deprescribing Veteran Suicides
Through my research and experiences, I've found that what the Veterans Administration has been doing to fight the veteran suicide epidemic isn't working and appears to be unintentionally exacerbating it. These problems are fixable. But I need your help.
The Radical Politics of Madness: An Interview with Micha Frazer-Carroll
MIA's Justin Karter interviews Micha Frazer-Carroll about her new book, "Mad World: The Politics of Mental Health."
For Life: Opera on Psychiatry and Its Drugs
An interview with composer Dawn Sonntag and librettist Kermit Cole about their new opera about the harms that can come from psychiatric drugs.
We Should Listen to Our Emotional Pain: An interview with Paul Andrews
Dr. Paul Andrews is an Associate Professor of Evolutionary Psychology in the Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour at McMaster University. His research focuses...
Tanya Frank—Zig-Zag Boy: My Family’s Struggles With Broken Mental Healthcare
Author Tanya Frank discusses her book 'Zig-Zag Boy A Memoir of Madness and Motherhood', which chronicles the experiences of her son Zach who experienced psychosis as a 19-year-old.
Questioning the Moral Panic Around Teletherapy: An Interview with Hannah Zeavin
MIA's Emaline Friedman interviews Hannah Zeavin about what the history of teletherapy reveals about its limitations and radical potential.
Tensions in Mental Health Care in China: An Interview with Zhiying Ma
Anthropologist Zhiying Ma explores mental health care in China, including tensions between Western psychiatry and socially-oriented local frameworks.
Art and Transformation: Creating Justice in Mental Health
An upcoming conference focuses on the perspective of artists and activists in answering what it means to have a just mental health care system: Who decides who is labelled as mad?
In Andrew’s Honor: Attorney Elizabeth Rich’s Fight Against Unjust Commitments
Anyone detained and then formally committed under Wisconsin’s civil mental health laws can initially be held and forcibly drugged for six long months. Yet, for years, not a single person has been able to appeal the six-month commitments in court.
David Carmichael—The Antidepressant Safety Tour
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.
Embracing the Shadow—Charlie Morley on Lucid Dreaming as Therapy
On the Mad in America podcast, we hear about the potential of lucid dreaming therapy to aid those struggling with post-traumatic stress.
Mental Health and Emotion in the Digital Age: An Interview with Ian Tucker
MIA's Tim Beck interviews psychologist Ian Tucker about the relationships between digital technologies, emotion, and mental health.
Diving into Your Soul: Lessons from “Queer Eye”
"Queer Eye" has a fresh, therapeutic twist: Installment after installment, it sends the repeated messages: Take care of yourself. Be kind to yourself. You’re beautiful. You’re good. We love you. Love yourself. Or, in the words of Van Ness: Yass, queen!
Psychosocial Disability Rights and Digital Mental Health: An Interview with Piers Gooding
MIA's Emaline Friedman interviews legal scholar Piers Gooding on his work on disability rights and digital mental health technologies.
“Making a Silk Purse Out of a Sow’s Ear”: Erick Turner on How Publication...
Ayurdhi Dhar interviews Erick Turner about publication bias in antidepressant trials, compromised psychotherapeutic research, and a culture of journal worship.
Narrating Asylum History Through an Anti-Racist Lens: An Interview with Author Mab Segrest
Mab segrest is Professor Emeritus of Gender and Women's Studies at Connecticut College and the author of Administrations of Lunacy: Racism and the Haunting...