SAFE: Survivors And Families EmpoweredâAn Update
We hope to combat the increasing reliance on force, too often used with the justification âfor your own good.â
Elder Eyes Wide Shut
There is no universal moral code: Elder law and the injustice and inhumane practice of legal guardianship are a calculated effort by the court, the attorneys, and the healthcare system.
To Young People of Color with Lived Experience: Pay it Forward; Become a Peer
A Peer Support Specialist tells her story and issues a callout to the BIPOC LatinX community, advocating for change.
Giving Caregivers a Platform: Leigh, Mother of Melissa
This is the story of a young woman who suffered through the agony of "kindling" and other drug-related harm, eventually dying by suicide. This is also the story of her motherâs path ahead.
The Birth of The âJust Stop Itâ Movement: A Familyâs Journey Through Mental Health...
Will was plunged into an extreme state following exposure to a synthetic street drug, which led to repeat hospitalizations and psych drugs.
Did Something Happen?! The Power of Poetry in Telling My Sonâs Story
It's hard, if not impossible, to impose on my sonâs story any kind of literary âsense.â As a writer and a mother both, this has been my challenge.Â
Stealing My Mother From Me: The Horrors of Conservatorship
My beloved mother was mistreated, cheated, abused mentally, and alienated from her family by her conservator and the courts.
When the Help Becomes Part of the Problem
The feeling of being institutionalized and medicated over minor ailments is difficult to shake. I have been to countless therapy sessions attempting to deconstruct the feelings of dehumanization into digestible morsels.
A Felt Sense of Safety â From Disassociation to Embodiment
I know now that I can trust myself and listen to my intuition. Within the mental health system, I trusted everyone but myself.
Engaging Voices, Part 2: Working Our Way Toward Connection
Sam Ruck shares his fourth excerpt from his book Healing Companions, which describes his life with, and love for, his wife and her âalters.âÂ
Giving Caregivers a Platform: Meagan, Mother of Matt
A mom describes her son's descent into the harms of psychiatryâand his way out. "It was really difficult to watch Matt decline. He had given up hope that he could get well."
Engaging Voices, Part 1: Validating The Arrival of My Wifeâs First âAlters’
Sam Ruck shares his third excerpt from his book Healing Companions, which describes his life with, and love for, his wife and her âalters.âÂ
My Lived Experience Helps Others Heal:Â Working with Families on the Path to Recovery
If one person is struggling, everyone in the family is struggling. Families need support.
Reflections on the Silicon Valley Teen Suicides-by-Train: Fifteen Years Later
A psychiatrist and mom reflects on teen suicide clusters in Palo Alto and discusses alternative ways to address adolescent mental health.
Enlarging the Treatment Lens for Postpartum Depression
Drugs, social support, placenta encapsulation: How can we approach the specter of postpartum depression?
As a Psychologist, I’ve Seen Many Children Misdiagnosed as AutisticâIt’s a Clinical Catastrophe
The ASD diagnosis glosses over the many developmental specifics that might underlie a childâs challenges related to social communication.
“Get Over It”? A Response to Empower Parents to Repair Instead of Victim Blame
An epidemic of children blaming their parents in therapy? In my 20 years as a psychologist, I've seen the opposite.
Arrested Development: Britney Spearsâ Memoir Is a Survivorâs Tale of Generational Trauma, Psychiatric Abuse,...
Miranda Spencer discusses Britney Spears' new memoir and the harms of conservatorship.
Giving Caregivers a Platform: Sherita, Mother of Tony
This is the story of Sherita and her son Tony, and her efforts to help him following years of psychiatric drugs and hospitalizations.
Conservatorship: The Racket That Ruined My Fatherâs Last Years
I have watched as my fatherâs pursuit of happiness was swept away by the court system in his senior years.
Escaping The Shackles of Psychiatry: What Iâve Seen and Survived, as Both Doctor and...
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing,â said Edmund Burke. This is as true on...
Words from My Heart to ‘My Heart’: What Might Have Helped My Late Friend?
More than two and a half years later, Iâm still processing my grief, still picturing our happiness and innocence as kids, and still acknowledging our struggles and pain.
Reality According to Whom? Listening to My Wifeâand The Problems with âPsychosisâ
Sam Ruck shares an excerpt from his book "Healing Companions," which describes his life with, and love for, his wife and her âalters.âÂ
Survivors and Families Working Together For Change: A New ProjectÂ
Based on his lived experience, Ron Bassman describes his efforts to create an educational and support program that links families with survivors.
Medication Overload, Part II: The Explosion of Drugs for Kids
An analysis of the huge increase in drugs for children, the role of Big Pharma, and a look at the impact on families and communities.
