MIA Reports

Reviews of four recent books reflecting various perspectives on the mental health system, including explorations of the DSM and Open Dialogue.

Styblo discusses the history of the Benzodiazepine Bill, its current status, the purpose of the legislation, and why she and others have so vigorously pursued this legislation.

Despite finding no meaningful correlation between genes and substance use, high-profile geneticists misleadingly conveyed optimistic results.

In this interview with Ayurdhi Dhar, Becky Brasfield calls for radical truth-telling in the mental health system.

In the past five years, there has been a dramatic explosion of interest in the Open Dialogue Therapy practiced in Tornio, Finland. It is a humanistic “treatment” that has produced five-year outcomes for psychotic patients that are, by far, the best in the developed world, and there are now groups in the United States, Europe and beyond that are seeking to “import” this care. However, the challenges for doing so are many and, last month, Open Dialogue UK - on the occasion of the first-ever fully recognized Open Dialogue training outside of Tornio - organized a conference in London to hold an open dialogue about Open Dialogue.

In the United States and abroad, a growing number of groups have devoted their mission and mindset to rethinking psychiatry, doing their best to...

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.

Reviews of four recent books reflecting various perspectives on the mental health system.

An interview with Vanessa Green, executive director of Call BlackLine a nationally recognized hotline serving BIPOC and LGBTQI communities.

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.

Ayurdhi Dhar interviews influential cultural psychiatrist Laurence Kirmayer on how metaphors, histories, and social structures contour our experiences of suffering and healing.

Why does the U.S. describe perinatal screening as providing a proven benefit, while the task forces in the U.K. and Canada see no evidence of such benefit?

MIA's Julia Lejeune interviews scholar, activist, and educator Pata Suyemoto about lived experience activism and racial justice in the mental health field.

Researchers from University College Cork discuss their research on the benefits of listening to mental health related podcasts which indicates that podcasts improve mental health literacy, and reduce stigma.

Reviews of five recent books reflecting various perspectives on the mental health system.

Giovanni Fava joins us to discuss the uncertain future of the journal 'Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics' which he edited for thirty years and which has been essential to our understanding of the impact of psychiatric treatments.

Greg Hitchcock is standing and schmoozing with a cluster of people in the soaring, glass-domed rotunda of what once was a grand old bank...

Ayurdhi Dhar interviews David Goodman about his vision for a psychology grounded in care for the other, the risks of psychotherapeutic standardization, and why humility—and even embarrassment—may be vital to human flourishing.

Part two of a Mad In America investigation into the expansion of psychological screening and electronic surveillance of children and youth. Experts point to mounting evidence that scientifically dubious mental health screening programs are just one part of an international governance shift towards creating all-pervasive surveillance systems for diagnosing 'pre-crime' and managing 'at-risk' children and youth. And not only is this not helping kids, critics argue, it’s demonstrably harming them.

You had better be able to back up what you say with enough force to overcome any opposition; this rule applies to both inmates and staff.

Chris Bullard is the executive-director of the Sound Mind Live Festival which uses music as a connective force to bring people together to help address mental health stigma.

Clinical psychologist Jessica Schleider is founding director of the Lab for Scalable Mental Health, researching single-session interventions.

Susan Grundy on her lifelong caregiving journey for an older sister diagnosed with schizophrenia at the age of 13.

This is the first of 4 spotlight interviews with some of the talented youth behind the pieces in MIA's art exhibition. HoJin states: "The original idea for my drawing started with the brain. The complexity of its sudden twists and curves fascinates me."

On the podcast this week we are joined by Kermit Cole who shares his thoughts on how humor can help in creating a shared experience that is helpful to the healing process. Kermit, in his experiences of being with people in psychotic states, has seen humor as a moment when a connection can be made. In many ways, this project is bringing Kermit back full circle to his work as a film director, early in his professional career.