Creating a Guide for Parents During Lock Down – by Children
From Dulwich Centre: A number of narrative practitioners have consulted children in their lives to create a guide for parents during lockdown.
Peter Breggin and Michael Cornwall – Stop the Psychiatric Abuse of Children
An interview with Drs. Peter Breggin and Michael Cornwall who discuss their new initiative, Stop the Psychiatric Abuse of Children (SPAC!). SPAC! was formed in response to the introduction of the Monarch eTNS, an electrical stimulation device worn on a child’s forehead at night that was fast-tracked by FDA with little testing.
Eleanor Longden
Eleanor Longden is a doctoral researcher who has lectured and published internationally on aspects of voice hearing, trauma, psychosis, and recovery. She is current...
Madness and the Family, Part III: Practical Methods for Transforming Troubled Family Systems
We are profoundly social beings living not as isolated individuals but as integral members of interdependent social systems—our nuclear family system, and the broader social systems of extended family, peers, our community and the broader society. Therefore, psychosis and other forms of human distress often deemed “mental illness” are best seen not so much as something intrinsically “wrong” or “diseased” within the particular individual who is most exhibiting that distress, but rather as systemic problems that are merely being channeled through this individual.
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.
Teacher Wellbeing Matters for Student Mental Health
Teacher’s personal wellbeing plays a role in students’ mental health outcomes, suggests a new study.
The Hidden Epidemic of Sexual Dysfunction Experts Are Blaming on SSRI Antidepressants
From The Daily Mail: Patients on antidepressants are not being warned of the risk that the pills could permanently ruin their sex lives, experts say.
Val Marsh, MSW – Short Bio
Valerie L. Marsh, MSW, is Executive Director of the National Coalition for Mental Health Recovery (NCMHR). Marsh received both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in social...
Invisible Trauma: The Children Left Behind When Parents Are Hospitalized
It would take decades before I recognized the trauma caused by repeatedly being separated from my mom when she was hospitalized. I grieved almost exactly the way children did who had lost a parent to death. Yet it was grief without closure because my mom was not dead, just... gone.
Breaking the Cycle: How I Overcame Intergenerational Trauma and Became a Peer Advocate
How did that young Puerto Rican girl who very much disliked seeing a therapist when locked up in the juvenile system end up working in the mental health field as an adult?
A Dreaded Part of Teachers’ Jobs: Restraining and Secluding Students
From NPR: "There's a tension within me of knowing that if I am to restrain a student, then I'm essentially putting forth a situation that's going to create trauma for that student."
Growing Research Connects Nutrition and Mental Health
A new article reviews studies in the field of nutritional psychiatry and how nutrition can prevent and treat mental health issues.
Robert Nikkel – Short Bio
Policy for Recovery: As a former state mental health and addictions commissioner, Bob Nikkel writes about policy and practice changes that are needed to promote recovery...
Researchers Highlight Pitfalls of Cognitive Assessment in Schools
Historical, current, and potential future complexities of cognitive assessment; a longstanding, controversial fixture in schools throughout the United States.
George Atwood, PhD – Short Bio
Men on Hooks: George Atwood, PhD, is a Professor of Psychology at Rutgers (retired), where he taught for 41 years. George has devoted his...
Q&A: My Child’s School Is Pressuring Me to Give Him Stimulants
My eight-year-old son has trouble paying attention in school. He's always been very active and easily bored. The school had him evaluated by the school psychologist, who thinks he has ADHD. They are pressuring me to get him on stimulants and threatened to call Child Protective Services if I don’t. I feel very uncomfortable with this, but they seem to think it's the only answer. What should I do?
Pharmed Out Podcast: Paying Attention to ADHD Diagnosis and Treatment in Children
On the latest Pharmanipulation podcast, hosts Dr. Adriane Fugh-Berman and Caroline Renko interview psychologist Dr. Gretchen LeFever Watson and journalist Robert Whitaker about the...
The NY Times Suddenly Discovered We’re Giving Kids Dangerous Drugs
From the New York Post: The New York Times' splashy story about the overmedication of children was 20 years too late. Why does obvious damage to children go ignored for so long?
CT Sen. Chris Murphy Calls for Restrictions of Restraint and Seclusion in U.S. Schools
From CT Insider: "It's hard to believe, but there are thousands of kids who are being put in solitary confinement or having their hands bound as punishment for misbehavior at school," said Murphy.
Alison Bass – Short Bio
A former medical and science writer for The Boston Globe, Alison Bass writes  about conflicts of interest in medicine and flaws in the way drugs...
Research Progresses on Mindfulness Based Interventions for Adolescents
A new meta-analysis analyzes randomized control trials of Mindfulness-Based Interventions for adolescents.
Are Psychiatric Medications Safe? The FDA’s Answer May Surprise You
From the Inner Compass Initiative: The real responsibility for determining if a drug is "safe enough" or "worth it", said the Deputy Director for Safety at the FDA’s Division of Psychiatry Products, lies with individual physicians and patients.
Bridget Mildon – Short Bio
Bridget Mildon is President and Founder of FND Hope, spending most of her time helping patients and doctors understand Functional Neurological Disorder. She has submitted commentary...
Healing From Transgenerational Trauma: My Mum, My Daughter, & Me
Emotional trauma is the type of wound that, if not processed and integrated, can become a void that expands to swallow not just the traumatized person but also their children and grandchildren.
Everyone Has a Story
Greetings to all in the Mad in the Family community. I’m the new editor of this bustling corner of Mad in America, and I’m thrilled to start working with you all.