Much of U.S. Healthcare Is Broken: How to Fix It (Chapter 2, Part 8)
Les Ruthven addresses benzodiazepines and whether substance abuse disorders should be considered brain diseases.
Irish Psychiatry Says Chemical Imbalance Is a Figure of Speech—So, What Now?
Don’t researchers and clinicians have an ethical responsibility to inform the public that the "chemical imbalance" story is false?
Moving From Crisis Response to Crisis Prevention in U.S. Mental Health Systems
From STAT: In Chicago, community organizers are lobbying for the 'Treatment not Trauma' approach, which is neither a psychiatric nor police model but a public health model of community wellness.
Enlarging the Treatment Lens for Postpartum Depression
Drugs, social support, placenta encapsulation: How can we approach the specter of postpartum depression?
In the US, ‘Mental Health Treatment’ Can Be a Death Sentence
From The Nation: Deploying the language of “helping” those in need, policymakers are reaching not for a Band-Aid but a club.
How the Medical Profession Pathologizes Emotions and the Damage to Patients
Doctors’ diagnostic inflexibility and unwillingness to take an integrative approach limits patients’ autonomy in their own treatment.
Despite Safety Risks, Prescribers Receive Little Guidance of Monitoring Antipsychotic Clozapine
A new review finds a lack of available guidance on how to effectively monitor adverse effects of antipsychotic drug clozapine.
I Heard Some Voices and They Were Magnificent
Even though my 'psychoses’ have been beautiful, you also need a safe place to be able to process them.
Joey Marino Dies; ‘ER’ Actor Had Developed Severe Tardive Dyskinesia
The actor had become disabled by the movement disorder after being prescribed Seroquel for anxiety.
Much of U.S. Healthcare Is Broken: How to Fix It (Chapter 2, Part 7)
On antidepressants versus CBT, the buzz around ketamine, and drugs for postpartum depression.
Modern Culture Is Traumatizing and NOT Normal | Gabor Maté, MD
From Commune: Drawing conclusions about human nature from how we live in this society is like trying to understand a wild animal inside a cage.
The Dangers of Curiosity in the Mental Health Field and the Family System
From Daniel Mackler: There are consequences to being curious and asking questions: real conclusions sometimes are not easy to bear.
Trauma and Resources Within Social Context
What is seen as pathology is a complex web of surviving strategies learned in aversive circumstances that can cause distress later.
Mental Health Patients ‘Raped and Sexually Assaulted’ as NHS Abuse Scandal Revealed
From The Independent: A major investigation by The Independent and Sky News has revealed the horrific scale of sexual abuse and assault within the UK’s psychiatric system.
As a Psychologist, I’ve Seen Many Children Misdiagnosed as Autistic—It’s a Clinical Catastrophe
The ASD diagnosis glosses over the many developmental specifics that might underlie a child’s challenges related to social communication.
The Social-Emotional Distress Field, or How I Divorced “Mental Health”
At this crisis point, I realised that resigning from my job was not enough. I needed to divorce from the Mental Health field as a whole.
Are “Trauma/Addiction Experts” and Psychiatrists Misleading Us?
“Experts” refer to an ill-defined concept of “trauma,” but unique traumatic experiences should not be generalized.
How Woman’s Dramatic Escape From NHS Psychiatric Care Exposed ‘Scandal’ of Sex Abuse Complaints
From Sky News: Patient 11 - a new joint podcast from Sky News and The Independent - investigates Alexis Quinn's escape from psychiatric 'care' which has now exposed a catalogue of sexual abuse and harassment complaints in NHS England 'care.'
How Early Relationships Can Define Reality – For Better or Worse
From Jay Reid Psychotherapy: Kids will do an amazing amount of shape-shifting to get their parents to be willing to care for them.
Much of U.S. Healthcare Is Broken: How to Fix It (Chapter 2, Part 6)
Les Ruthven addresses the research showing that psychiatric hospitalization increases suicidality.
RADAR and the Dignity of Risk-Taking
The goal may not be to eliminate risk, but to respect the risk that people are willing to take, and to help make tapering as safe as possible.
“Get Over It”? A Response to Empower Parents to Repair Instead of Victim Blame
An epidemic of children blaming their parents in therapy? In my 20 years as a psychologist, I've seen the opposite.
The FDA Warned an Asthma Drug Could Induce Despair. Many Were Never Told.
From The New York Times: Singulair, now a generic, is still used by millions of Americans even after thousands of patients and dozens of studies have described harm. Children face the greatest risks of the drug's ill effects.
Two Out of Three Find Antidepressant Effects Not Worth Burdens
New study reveals: 2 in 3 people need more than the current antidepressant benefits to consider them worthwhile.
The Dangers of Precision Medicine: Mental Health Is Not a Battlefield
Rather than a war to be fought within individuals, we should envision mental health as a garden to be carefully nurtured.
