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.
How the Life Coaching Industry Sells Pseudo-Solutions to Our Deepest Problems
From Current Affairs: The cultural pressures to become a self-made individual have intensified at the same time that sources of social support have decreased. Enter the life coach.
SSRI Withdrawal has Social, Cognitive, and Emotional Consequences
New research finds that the non-physical aspects of withdrawal from SSRIs are often overlooked.
“Impairment: Says Who?”: The Fundamental Question of Mental Health Treatment
The criterion of "impairment" is defined not by the person seeking treatment, but by other people: parents, clinicians, courts, employers, and so on.
Much of U.S. Healthcare Is Broken: How to Fix It (Chapter 2, Part 5)
Les Ruthven addresses increases in suicide and homicide caused by antidepressant drugs.
Searching for the “Psychiatric Yeti”: Schizophrenia Is Not Genetic
After decades of study, billions of dollars spent, and thousands of studies conducted, the failure to identify any genes for schizophrenia should definitively put to rest the notion that schizophrenia is a genetic disorder, according to E. Fuller Torrey.
Workplace Wellness Programs Have Little Benefit, Study Finds
From The New York Times: An Oxford researcher measured the effect of popular workplace mental health interventions, and discovered little to none.
Toxic Interactions: Social Circumstances and Well-Being
Social circumstances are indisputably connected to psychological well-being, but this has gained no traction in policy and service provision.
Scientific Misconduct and Fraud: The Final Nail in Psychiatry’s Antidepressant Coffin
From CounterPunch: A recent reanalysis of previously undisclosed data reveals that STAR*D may go down in US medical history as one of its most harmful scandals.
What It Was Like to Be a Black Patient in a Jim Crow Asylum
From Mother Jones: "You see a society that was comfortable discarding people," says author Antonia Hylton. "I think a lot of families are still allowing loved ones who are suffering to slowly disappear."
The Psychological Humanities Manifesto: An Interview with Mark Freeman
Justin Karter interviews narrative and philosophical psychologist Mark Freeman about his vision for the future of psychology.
Accounting for Mental Disorder: Time for a Paradigm Shift
Many people continue to be victimized by psychiatry’s adherence to a model that exists to satisfy guild interests, not science.
The Longest Journey – or, What Can We Expect from Psychotherapy? | Alice Miller
From Alice Miller: Child Abuse and Mistreatment: The longest journey of my life was the journey to my own self. Successful therapy should shorten this long journey.
Attitudes Towards and Patterns of Medication Use Among Persons With ‘SMI’
From Mifrasim Institute for Psychotherapy Research and Teaching: A recent conference in Israel explored how attitudes and patterns of medication use are related to different aspects of the identity and domains of recovery.
Much of U.S. Healthcare Is Broken: How to Fix It (Chapter 2, Part 4)
Les Ruthven addresses a ghostwritten study claiming effectiveness of antidepressants for children and adolescents.
Arrested Development: Britney Spears’ Memoir Is a Survivor’s Tale of Generational Trauma, Psychiatric Abuse,...
Miranda Spencer discusses Britney Spears' new memoir and the harms of conservatorship.
Giving Caregivers a Platform: Sherita, Mother of Tony
This is the story of Sherita and her son Tony, and her efforts to help him following years of psychiatric drugs and hospitalizations.
Financial Conflicts of Interest Persist in DSM-5-TR Panel Members
From the BMJ: Lisa Cosgrove and colleagues report that 60% of the panel and task-force members of the DSM-5-TR received payments from industry. Collectively,...
What Helped—and What Didn’t Help—My Recovery
In order to recover, it was necessary to give up the psychiatric treatment system, and the idea that I need something from that system, that I belong there.
It’s Health’s Illusions I Recall, I Really Don’t Know Health at All
There is a core concept shaping the ‘market’ in health, the concept of an assay, that few doctors or patients understand.