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.
Undisclosed Industry Payments Rampant in Drug-Trial Papers
From Nature: At least a quarter of medical researchers involved in clinical trials in Australia did not declare funding from pharmaceutical companies, according to a recent study.
On the Right of People on Disability to Refuse Psychotropic Medications
The People With Disabilities Foundation won a judgment against SSA for illegally using a plaintiff’s right to refuse psychotropic medications as evidence she was "not disabled."
Trans Lifeline: Naming Trans-Specific Harm in Mental Health
Interim Hotline Manager Jahmil Roberts and Advocacy Director Yana Calou from the Trans Lifeline work towards connecting trans people to the community support and resources they need to survive and thrive - free of prisons and police
How Melissa Lucio Went From Abuse Survivor to Death Row
From The 19th: Some trauma victims are more likely to take responsibility for crimes even when they may be innocent.
Mad by Design: An Ancient Paradigm of Psychiatric Thought
To propose that madness may have a function is not to deny the toll it may exact on people, but to help us understand what problem it is meant to solve.
Did Psychiatry Ever Endorse the Chemical Imbalance Theory of Depression?
With the chemical imbalance theory falling out of fashion, researchers examine the claim that psychiatry never truly endorsed it.
That Time When the Psychiatric System Went Too Far… | Joanne Cacciatore
From Dr. Joanne Cacciatore: A few very persistent scholars have finally succeeding in declaring that extended expressions of grief indicate 'mental illness' — a move that offends many.
Thomas Insel and the Future of the Mental Health System
Insel says he has the answer—the same emphasis on neuroscience and genetics, which he admits led to no improvements under his leadership at NIMH.
Antidepressants Do Not Improve Quality of Life
A new study found that taking antidepressants did not improve quality of life.
A Tribute to Dr. Dean K. Brooks: The Fire Still Burns
Stories of a state hospital leader who challenged the mental health system by placing patients as the most important people: Dr. Dean K. Brooks of Oregon State Hospital.
Dhru Purohit Podcast: Does Long-Term Use of Psychiatric Drugs Do More Harm Than Good?
From Dr. Hyman/The Dhru Purohit Podcast: We’ve all heard the term "chemical imbalance," but this theory is being increasingly questioned. Dhru Purohit and Robert Whitaker dig into the questions surrounding psychiatric drugs and psychiatry's "disease model."
Ending Coercive “Help”: A Review of “Reimagining Crisis Support”
The book presents a thoughtful, comprehensive plan for replacing the current coercive medical model of crisis “support” with something that actually helps.
