Rethinking Psychiatry/Medical Model

Robert Whitaker: “Imagining a Different Future in Mental Health”

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Robert Whitaker on Imagining a Different Future in Mental Health, Philadelphia May 6, 2012

Does Everyone Have a Mental Illness?

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Psychiatrist and author Allen J. Frances, former chair of the DSM-IV task force, outlines why he thinks the DSM-V will lead to millions of...

My “Head in a Bucket” Metaphor

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“How could I not have known?” This question has been asked of me, as a psychiatrist, with regard to prescribing psychiatric drugs. All those...

Incoming APA President Emphasizes “Positive Psychiatry”

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President-elect Dilip Jeste intends to lead the APA into an era of "positive psychiatry."  "We should not be satisfied merely with treating symptoms in...

The Pond, Learning and Humility

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What an amazing ride I’ve had in the past few days on the tsunami of commentary from my previous post. While it’s been fun (dare...

Pandora’s Box

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This morning I remind myself to point my eyes forward. I tend to want to re-do the past and try to make bad things...

10 Reasons Survivors Might Know More Medicine Than Psychiatrists

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We've been discussing a potential role for psychiatrists on this site, and I wanted some of the doctors to understand why many mental health...

It’s Not Going To Get Better Soon

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I’ve been thinking a lot about George Saslow since I came south to take a timeout and think. I miss him. A lot. Dr....

Troubling Times

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These are troubling times for me as a physician and as a psychiatrist. They were even more so before I ran away… excuse me…...

Post-Prozac Nation: The Science and History of Treating Depression

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The Sunday New York Times Magazine traces the history and controversy around serotonin, "imbalance theory," deep-brain stimulation and more; including references to Irving Kirsch and placebos,...

What a new role for psychiatrists might look like

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People have been wondering on this site lately if there is still a role for psychiatrists. The short answer is maybe, if they can...

Doctors Need Support

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An old friend suggested to me that doctors need support after hearing the messages in Robert Whitaker’s book, “Anatomy of an Epidemic”. I agree....

Mania is Not Strongly Associated With Violence

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A review of New South Wales court documents from 1992 to 2008 found that only 12 of 272 people found not guilty by reason...

Overlap Between Borderline and Bipolar

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Researchers in Australia investigate the growing evidence that childhood trauma predisposes individuals to both bipolar and borderline syndromes, with the intention of examining areas...

Recovery: Personal, Achievable, and Multidimensional

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Interviews with 30 individuals three to five years after initial treatment for a first-episode psychosis found that a majority considered themselves to be recovered,...

Training the Brain for Well-Being

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Experience shapes the brain, for better or worse. Richard Davidson & Bruce McEwen review the ways that adverse early experience create measurable changes in...

Symptoms do not Correlate with Quality of Life in Schizophrenia

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Researchers in France found that among 306 outpatients followed for a year, quality of life remained stable relative to subjects' expectations and perceptions about...

Fostering Secure Attachment Prevents Depression and Anxiety

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Researchers from China and the Harvard Medical School studied the effects of anxious and avoidant attachment on the development of depression and anxiety in...

PTSD Mediates the Relationship Between Trauma and Mental Health

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In a sample of 175 persons with severe mental illness, researchers at the University of Hawaii found that rates of trauma exposure and PTSD...

Childhood Trauma and Auditory Verbal Hallucinations

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Researchers in the Netherlands compared childhood trauma and auditory verbal hallucinations (AVH) in 127 non-psychotic individuals with frequent AVH, healthy controls, and 100 psychotic...

Inquiry into the ‘Schizophrenia’ Label

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An inquiry into the 'Schizophrenia' label has been launched by a group of organizations and individuals concerned about the meaning and usefulness of 'schizophrenia'...

How the “Brain Defect” Theory of Depression Stigmatizes Depression Sufferers

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Viewing depression as a “brain defect” rather than a “character defect” is supposed to reduce the stigma of depression, according to the American Psychiatric...