How Hunter-Gatherers Maintained Their Egalitarian Ways | Peter Gray, PhD
From Psychology Today: One anthropologist after another has been amazed by the degree of equality, individual autonomy, indulgent treatment of children, cooperation, and sharing in the hunter-gatherer culture that he or she studied.
Adverse Childhood Relationship Experiences: The Most Underestimated Risk Factor for Chronic Illness
From Chronic Illness Trauma Studies: The impact of one of the ACEs (adverse childhood experiences) in particular - emotional neglect - is huge and underrecognized.
“Tetris for Trauma” Viral Twitter Thread: A Master Class in Misleading Psych Research
A TV writer claims that research shows that Tetris is “literally a trauma first aid kit.” Her tweets sound scientific, but the research behind it is unconvincing.
Remembering Darby Penney — A Fierce Advocate for Justice and Human Rights
Celia Brown, Ron Bassman, and Peter Stastny mourn the loss of Darby Penney, who fought to transform the mental health system in New York.
A Dystopian Vision of Psychiatry’s Future
As a psychiatric survivor, I was stunned to see a medical professional describe a dystopian nightmare as a vision of progress for psychiatric medicine.
A Racial Disparity in Schizophrenia Diagnoses in Nursing Homes
From The New York Times: Experts say some facilities are using a schizophrenia loophole to continue sedating dementia patients, and the impact has been more severe for Black residents.
Peer Respite: Why It Should be Everyone’s Concern
My intent with this blog is to compare some lessons learned from my recent medical crisis response to a similar peer-run respite response.
The Shadow Penal System for Struggling Kids
From The New Yorker: The Christian organization Teen Challenge, made up of more than a thousand centers, claims to reform troubled teens. But is its discipline more like abuse?
Respect Psychiatric Hospitals’ Real-Life Horror Stories
From The Detroit News: This is ground made hallow by the tremendous torment that was endured there. To have the suffering and misery mocked up for the amusement of Halloween thrill-seekers is disrespectful.
New Perspectives on Eating Disorders: An Interview with Shira Collings
“Eating disorder recovery is about rejecting oppressive values.” Therapist Shira Collings discusses person-centered approaches to dealing with food-related challenges in youth.
More Than a Third of English ECT Patients Given Procedure Without Consent, Study Suggests
From The Daily Mail: "Our research shows that there is no effective monitoring or regulation of ECT in England," said Professor John Read, who led the study.
Fate of a Whistleblower: I Spoke Out About Abrupt Med Withdrawal
A rapid withdrawal can be very dangerous and even deadly. You do not solve the problem by firing those who point this out, but that happened to me.
‘You Have to Scream Out’: Being Black and Disabled Is a Constant Struggle
From The Atlantic: "I became an advocate not because I wanted to but because I had to, to survive," said Angel Love Miles. "I was not very outspoken at all. But if you’re trying to get home and the bus keeps passing you up because you’re in a wheelchair, you have to scream out."
Combatting Structural Racism and Classism in Psychiatry: An Interview with Helena Hansen
MIA interviews psychiatrist and anthropologist Helena Hansen about bringing structural competency to psychiatry while rebuilding communities.
A New Liberation Movement, Focused on Relationship
The harm that medical-model practitioners inflicted on me had to be managed and overcome. This delayed my progress resolving my childhood traumas.
Does Capitalism Make Us Crazy? | Susan Rosenthal, MD
From Susan Rosenthal, MD: It’s a huge challenge to trap a highly social species in such a dehumanizing social arrangement.
Trieste’s World-Famous Community Mental Health Program Under Attack
From MindSite News: The appointment of Pierfranco Trincas as director of the Barcola mental health center in Trieste, Italy, has set alarm bells ringing among supporters of this unique system of community mental health.
Books Under Review: Fall 2021
Reviews of four recent books reflecting various perspectives on the mental health system, including explorations of the DSM and Open Dialogue.
‘French Psychiatry Has Gone Downhill in Part Because of American Influence’
From France 24: "Human beings are born with a search for meaning that can’t be suppressed by an injection of antipsychotic drugs or a few anti-depressants," said one Parisian child psychiatrist.
Why the National Survivor User Network Doesn’t Do ‘World Mental Health Day’
From NSUN: Are there still some people who are not 'aware' of 'mental health'? Yes, of course. Maybe World Mental Health Day is for them, but somehow, I’m not so sure.
I Set Up a Suicide Crisis Centre to Provide the Opposite of What I...
Our approach is to openly care about our clients and empower them as much as possible. It's vital that clients know we care about their survival.
Interview: How Does Climate Change Affect Youth Mental Health?
Psychiatric epidemiologist Jennifer Barkin talks about her research on the traumatizing effects of extreme weather events on youth and how caregivers can help them build resilience.
Mass. Locked Up People With ‘Mental Illness’ for Decades. Now Advocates Want Their Stories...
From WBUR: "There is no formal statement of what the state schools and...hospitals were or why they came to be, what they were, how they closed," said Alex Green, who is seeking to establish a commission to reckon with the way patients were treated and the abuses they endured.
Patient Sues Psychiatrist After 35 Years of Treatment for ‘Condition He Never Had’
From Queensland Law Society: The Australian man is seeking damages for personal injury caused by the clinician’s "alleged negligence, breach of contract, battery and misleading or deceptive conduct" over the course of his treatment.
Restoring ‘Respect & Dignity’ to 777 Souls Who Died at Delaware Psych Hospital
From WHYY: "When you see it for the first time, it stuns you, but that’s the way these people were regarded...There’s no names there. Just these little blocks with numbers," said Dennis O'Connell, whose grandmother is buried there.
