Review of the Conference on Withdrawal and Side Effects: IIPDW
The online conference Withdrawal From Psychiatric Drugs was held on Friday May 6th and 7th. Here we summarize each of the speakers' points.
Sonic Doom: The Effects of Noise Pollution on Physical and Mental Health
From The Guardian: We live in a world where peace and quiet is increasingly a luxury item and noise and stress are baseline conditions for the disadvantaged.
Allowing Human Nature to Work Successfully | Jean Liedloff
From ContinuumConcept.org: In her book The Continuum Concept, Jean Liedloff argued that the psychosocial ills of modern society result from our misconception of human nature as something inherently bad or problematic.
Is Mad in America Doing More Harm Than Good?
A dialogue between Dr. Jim Phelps—a psychiatrist who questions whether MIA is doing more harm than good by reporting the results of long-term trials of psychiatric drugs—and Robert Whitaker, founder of MIA.
Psychiatry in Aeromedicine: Who Is Denied the Privilege of Piloting an Aircraft?
Urging aviation students at the summit to seek help if they need it is a noble cause, but it sounds hollow when the FAA regulations are built on stigma.
“My Doctor Is Lacking Insight”: Alternative Experiences of Insight in Mental Health
From Psychiatry Is Driving Me Mad: "Insight" in mental health is usually thought of in relation to people with mental health difficulties; rarely do we consider the insight (or lack thereof) of the professionals themselves.
Bringing Integrative Community Therapy to Pittsburgh: An Interview with Alice and Kenneth Thompson
Father and daughter Ken and Alice Thompson run the Visible Hands Collaborative, bringing Integrative Community Therapy to the US.
The Bear in the Classroom – Trauma-Informed Teacher
From Ransom for Israel: Here’s the reality; if you are a teacher or you work in any capacity with children, then you are working with children with Complex Trauma.
From Horse Ranch to Home Ground: Healing Families via Telehealth
Since COVID, NISAPI has transitioned our collaborative therapy setting from barns and fields to kitchens and living rooms. Our clients report similar positive outcomes with telehealth as in person.
Who Are the New ‘Patient Influencers’ on Social Media?
From HealthDay: 'Patient influencers' are being seen as an increasingly popular direct-to-consumer marketing tool by pharmaceutical companies and medical device manufacturers.
Unity in Diversity: Rethinking Mental Health and Our Connection to Nature
Meditation, walks in nature, and artistic and musical activities: These all have something in common—they have the power to dissolve the boundaries between us.
Wireless Mind, Gullible Mind | Chellis Glendinning
From CounterPunch: Somehow a population with DDT, Love Canal, the Dalkon Shield Intrauterine Device, asbestos, Three Mile Island, and Agent Orange under its belt is mustering up the same old psychological defenses it used to not learn from those debacles.
Inside a Forensic Psychiatry Unit: Cultivating the Superpower of Equanimity
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.
What Is the Role of the Prosumer in the Mental Health System?
I believe "prosumer" is the best term to describe consumers of mental health services who are also traditional professionals in mental health care.
Top Mental Health and Prayer Apps Fail Spectacularly at Privacy, Security
From Mozilla: Mental health and prayer apps are worse than any other product category at protecting people’s privacy and security, according to Mozilla researchers.
CO: State Hid Findings of ‘Life-Threatening’ Errors at Mind Springs Health
From Steamboat Pilot & Today: Colorado state officials kept secret an investigation into a pattern of potentially fatal prescription errors at one of its regional mental health centers.
ADHD: The Money Trail
Doctors, drug companies, and the news media have profited from skyrocketing rates of diagnosis and drugging for ADHD, and the law has created a perverse set of incentives for parents and children which favor the ADHD label.
Research Explores the Experience of Benzodiazepine Withdrawal
A new study reveals many benzodiazepine users are misinformed about the risks of withdrawal and experience devastating consequences.
Inner Fire Is the Only Place I Would Go for Emotional Distress
At Inner Fire, people share meals, take walks, clean, and garden, learning how to live again after being disconnected from others, nature, and our authentic selves.
A Tribute to Peter Campbell, 1949-2022
Peter Campbell, one of the pioneers of the mental health user and survivor movement in the UK, is remembered in a blog post by the activist collective Recovery in the Bin.
Federal Physician Malpractice Database May Not Work as Intended
From Cairn's/Modern Healthcare: The National Practitioner Data Bank provides a flawed system to prevent doctors with histories of malpractice from skirting accountability, experts say.
How to Distinguish Antidepressant Withdrawal from Relapse
Mark Horowitz and David Taylor provide advice on how to tell the difference between antidepressant withdrawal and depression relapse.
Do You Still Believe in the “Chemical Imbalance Theory of Mental Illness”? | Bruce...
From CounterPunch: If you took SSRI antidepressants believing that these drugs helped correct a chemical imbalance, how does it feel to learn that this theory has long been disproven?
Thomas Insel Makes A Case for Abolishing Psychiatry
In his new book, former NIMH director Thomas Insel, while exploring the causes of poor mental health outcomes in the United States, omits any mention of NIMH studies that tell of how the drugs worsen long-term outcomes.
The Roots of Pathology: Authoritarianism Towards Babies | Darcia Narvaez
From Kindred Media: When traumatized early and subjected to existential fear, a child loses their center of gravity, surrenders spontaneity and begins to function as an automaton.
