Why I Won’t (Yet) Recommend 988 as a Crisis and Suicide Prevention Resource
From Medium/Vic Welle: Simply put, 988 is not trauma-informed, and the current rollout is carrying over the same harmful protocols and practices of the Lifeline it is replacing.
How to Take the News That Depression Has Not Been Shown to Be Caused...
From Joanna Moncrieff: So maybe thinking about depression as a brain disease is the wrong way to think about it. Maybe we need a different sort of framework.
Are Antidepressant Drugs Being Prescribed Too Widely? A Review of “Evidence-biased Antidepressant Prescription”
Depression was considered a condition that most spontaneously recovered from, until drug companies changed that narrative.
We’re Historians of Disability. What We Just Found on eBay Horrified Us.
From Slate: We were disturbed to come across a slew of listings for private, highly personal, and revealing medical records from now-closed New York state psychiatric institutions.
A Decisive Blow to the Serotonin Hypothesis of Depression
From Psychology Today: An exhaustive new review debunks the “chemical imbalance” theory of depression, despite its persistence among physicians and the public.
“Trauma-Informed Care” Left Me More Traumatised Than Ever
From Psychiatry Is Driving Me Mad: Trauma-informed care isn’t just about changing the question from ‘what's wrong with you’ to ‘what happened to you’ while keeping the same clinical structure.
Depression Likely Not Caused by a Chemical Imbalance in the Brain – New Study
From The Conversation: Until now, there has been no comprehensive review of the research on serotonin and depression that could enable firm conclusions about the chemical imbalance theory.
The Transformative Potential of Psychosis
For some, myself included, the “psychosis” became a catalyst for greater connection to self, others, and a sense of purpose.
The 988 Helpline Exists in an America Full of Broken Systems—Of Course It’s Flawed
From Refinery29: While 988 is well-intentioned, it can only do so much good when connected to broken criminal justice, healthcare, and mental healthcare systems.
The Corruption of Character in Medicine
From the Journal of Bioethical Inquiry: At 26, I finished medical school and decided to switch careers, because I had come to feel that medical training was turning me into a terrible human being.
Mass Shootings and the News Media: Catching Up to the Science of PACEs
From ACEs Too High: Over the last 25 years, the main development that has changed our understanding of violence is the CDC-Kaiser Permanente Adverse Childhood Experiences Study.
The Parts Within Us: An Interview with Richard Schwartz, Creator of Internal Family Systems
IFS is a different paradigm, which says that rather than being a sign of pathology, it’s the nature of the mind to have “parts." We’re born that way because they're all valuable.
Marx, Spinoza, and the Political Implications of Contemporary Psychiatry | Bruce Levine, PhD
From CounterPunch: That organized religion has a great deal in common with organized psychiatry would be apparent to two of history’s most famous critics of the political implications of organized religion.
July is Both Disability Pride Month and Mad Pride Month: Happy Bastille Day!
The National Council on Independent Living (NCIL) supports both Disability Pride Month and Mad Pride Month: Both are July!”
Mindfulness in Schools Does Not Improve Mental Health, Study Finds
From The Guardian: Students who engaged with the meditation practice benefitted but many were bored by it, say researchers in the UK.
The Biology of Loss: Recognizing Impaired Attachments & Fostering Resilience | Gabor Maté, MD
From BC Provincial Health Services Authority: Dr. Gabor Maté illuminates the sources of developmental challenges, childhood and adult mental disorders, and physical health issues as originating in the prenatal, perinatal, and early childhood periods.
Andrew Scull—Desperate Remedies: Psychiatry’s Turbulent Quest to Cure Mental Illness
Sociologist and author Andrew Scull discusses the history of psychiatry's "Desperate Remedies," from lobotomy and the asylum to the failures of today's drugs and the fads of ketamine and deep brain stimulation.
Opinion: Changes to the Mental Health Act Must Prioritize Human Rights
From The Journal: A group of Irish academics and people with lived experience advocate for a human rights–based approach to treatment under proposed laws.
MIA Webinars: Past, Present and Future
We are pleased to announce that Charmaine Harris, who is a part of the POD team, will join the peer-supported Open Dialogue panel on Wednesday as a co-host.
The Protective Power of Delusions
From Psychology Today/Justin Garson, PhD: If delusions are playing a protective role, you don’t want to target them as if they're the disease itself, as doing so can cause even more harm.
How Society Gaslights Survivors of Narcissistic, Sociopathic & Psychopathic Abuse
From Self-Care Haven by Shahida Arabi: Not only does secondary gaslighting from other people further isolate the survivor, it also hinders the healing process.
What’s Wrong With Students? No—What’s Wrong With Colleges?
From Inside Higher Ed: Rather than blame students for a lack of well-being, colleges should consider institutional factors that contribute to the student mental health crisis, say two college counseling directors.
What It’s Like Living With Voices in Your Head
From KERA/Think: Some people who hear voices are actually choosing to embrace them rather than seeking to silence them. Caroline Mazel-Carlton discusses her experience with voices and her work to change how 'mental illness' is viewed.
“Pollution’s Mental Toll”: A Talk with Journalist Kristina Marusic
The reporter explains how air and water pollution affect our brains, why children are so vulnerable, and what to do about it.
“Mental Health Units” in Prison Are Solitary Confinement by Another Name, Activists Say
From Truthout: According to a new report by the HALT Solitary and the Mental Health Alternatives to Solitary Confinement campaigns, isolating 'mentally ill' prisoners as punishment still happens fairly frequently in New York despite laws designed to protect them.
