MIA Today

Headlines of Today's Posts

Debunking Pharma’s Spin on Racial Equity

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From Lown Institute: What could be a fruitful conversation has been largely co-opted by pharmaceutical companies as a method for trying to get drugs with unclear benefits approved.

The Failure to Acknowledge Contributions of “Non-Professionals” in Psychiatric Research

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In an essay published in Research Ethics, Will Hall writes about contributions by "non-professionals" and psychiatric survivors to research studies -- such a drug-tapering...
Illustration of paper airplanes flying diagonally as a fleet from bottom right toward upper left. One plane in the lead is colored orange.

Improving Therapy Outcomes: The Case for Deliberate Practice

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With Deliberate Practice, I doubled the number of sessions I had with my clients, cut the amount of unplanned dropouts in half, and improved the number who experienced clinical change.

I Made Professor Before Ritalin. Now I Can’t Work Without It

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From Psyche: Instead of helping to maintain my self-confidence during a veritable earthquake in my life, my need for a crutch in pill form radically undermined my faith in myself.

David Healy – Polluting Our Internal Environments: The Perils of Polypharmacy

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On the MIA Podcast, Dr David Healy discusses World Tapering Day, antidepressant treatment and sensory neuropathy and the difficulties that can be encountered when trying to deprescribe.

AMI-Quebec Lecture: Rethinking Psychiatry With Robert Whitaker

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From AMI-Quebec and the Montreal Gazette: The way drugs shape long-term outcomes must be understood against our natural capacity to recover, said author Robert Whitaker ahead of his public lecture in Montreal.
A colorful illustration in blues and greens depicting a figure standing atop a globe, holding an orange ball in their hands.

Growing Good Mental Health with Choice Theory

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On those days when I’m experiencing discomfort, anger or frustration, I ask myself: Which need is not being adequately met and which is driving my discontent?

The Ideology of Human Supremacy

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From Jeremy Lent/Resilience: Human supremacy is a specific ideology with origins in the Western worldview that desacralized nature, turning it into a resource to exploit.

Lithium Use Leads to Chronic Kidney Disease

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New evidence suggests that lithium, commonly prescribed for bipolar disorder, can increase the risk of chronic kidney disease.

More Play and Less Therapy for Students | Peter Gray, PhD

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From Psychology Today: Mother nature designed kids to play, explore, and daydream without adult intervention because that is how kids develop the skills, confidence, and attitudes necessary for mental health and overall wellbeing.

The Nurtured Heart Approach Goes Mainstream: Research and Experience Support “Celebrating Greatness in Every...

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The Nurtured Heart Approach represents a massive shift in thinking—about schooling, about children and how to raise them, about how we regard those with intensity, and about the medical model pathologizing them.

‘What If Yale Finds Out?’

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From The Washington Post: Suicidal students are pressured to withdraw from Yale, then have to apply to get back into the university.

No Evidence for Psychiatry’s Depression Claims, Report Three 2022 Research Reviews

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From CounterPunch: The public has routinely heard proclamations that depression is a neurobiological phenomenon or brain disease, but recent major research reviews refute these claims.
Close-up photo of hands writing in a journal or notebook

6 Good Things That Happened When I Stopped Believing in ‘Mental Health’

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The pursuit of mental health had made me mad. After 12 years, I quit Prozac and found a new psychoanalytic therapist. Life changed, almost overnight.

Out of the Prison of Self-Blame | Alice Miller

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From alice-miller.com: How can people love themselves if the message that they were not worth loving was drummed into them at an early stage?

Breaking Academia’s Silence on Inpatient Psychiatry: An Interview with Researcher Morgan Shields

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Morgan Shields discussed her experiences in inpatient psychiatry and her efforts to bring patient-centered care to this oft-neglected field.
Close-up photo of the shift button on a computer keyboard, but it's labeled "Paradigm shift."

Are We Witnessing the Emergence of a New Paradigm?

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Increasing numbers of people are finding the perspective that sees mental distress as an isolated, static category, fixed within a biological predisposition or malfunction, to be insufficient.

‘Surviving Antidepressants’ Video Chat Event With Brooke Siem, Author of ‘May Cause Side Effects’

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From Surviving Antidepressants: Join the live video chat on Friday, November 11 to learn about Siem's new book, the first memoir on antidepressant withdrawal to hit the mass-market.
A zombie hand bursts from a grave. On the headstone is written "Serotonin theory: Rest in peace?"

The Serotonin Zombie: Authors of New Study Try to Breathe New Life into the...

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Despite new claims that their study provides "clear evidence" linking serotonin and depression, their data actually supports the opposite conclusion: serotonin levels did not correlate with depression.

Anders Sørensen – Tackling Psychiatric Drug Withdrawal Through Research and in Practice

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Anders Sørenson is a Danish clinical psychologist with a special interest in psychiatric drug withdrawal. He has undertaken research which assesses the state of guidance on psychiatric drug withdrawal and paid close attention to tapering methods with the aim of identifying approaches which might make withdrawal more tolerable for people.

‘Committable’ Podcast: What Is 988, How Does It Work, and What Has Changed?

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From Committable: The Committable podcast interviews Aneri Pattani, Rob Wipond, and Yana Calou about 988, the new national suicide and crisis line.

Healing From Transgenerational Trauma: My Mum, My Daughter, & Me

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Emotional trauma is the type of wound that, if not processed and integrated, can become a void that expands to swallow not just the traumatized person but also their children and grandchildren.

Delta ‘Weaponized’ Mental Health Rules Against a Pilot. She Fought Back.

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From The Seattle Times: After a first officer raised some safety concerns, Delta management removed her from service, alleging mental health issues. She fought a legal battle that resulted Friday in a scathing ruling against the company.
An illustration of a woman in a white dress, trapped inside a bottle full of blue and white pill capsules, against a gold background.

Why Detox Facilities and Psych Wards Are Not the Place to Come Off Psychiatric...

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In online communities, patients learn their strange symptoms may be due to the medications they are taking, and are offered solutions that provide hope.

Antidepressant Tapering Platform ‘Outro’ Launches in Canada Ahead of World Tapering Day

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From Business Wire: "We are providing a science-based and holistic way to help people safely stop antidepressants while minimizing withdrawal symptoms and risk of relapsing," said Outro co-founder Mark Horowitz.